Islamabad, 19 March 2026 — The Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PM&DC) has formally recommended that Provincial Health Departments expand postgraduate training capacity to address a widening gap between the annual output of medical graduates and available residency positions.
During its Council meeting on 10 February 2026, the PM&DC reviewed national postgraduate training capacity and found that while undergraduate medical education has grown substantially, the number of structured and funded postgraduate training positions has not kept pace. The Council identified the shortage of residency slots in public sector hospitals as a primary bottleneck affecting career progression and workforce planning.
The Council noted that most accredited training programs are administered through public sector institutions, and under the PM&DC Act 2022 the Council regulates standards and accreditation while the establishment and funding of training posts remain the responsibility of Provincial Health Departments. To address this, the PM&DC has urged provinces to upgrade District Headquarters and Tehsil Headquarters hospitals as accredited training centres in line with PM&DC standards.
President PM&DC Prof. Dr. Rizwan Taj said the Council unanimously recommended a phased and fiscally responsible expansion of postgraduate training positions, including doubling slots where feasible and aligning capacity with the annual output of medical graduates and provincial health needs. The Council stressed that expansion must be transparent and linked to merit-based career pathways within the public health system to improve retention of specialists.
The Council also highlighted that increasing postgraduate training capacity will help mitigate the persistent shortage of qualified faculty in medical institutions, since postgraduate trainees and newly qualified specialists are the future teaching and supervisory workforce. Expanding training positions domestically is presented as a key measure to reduce the outflow of skilled medical graduates seeking training and employment abroad.
These recommendations aim to rebalance workforce supply and demand, strengthen secondary and tertiary healthcare delivery, and enhance institutional capacity while respecting the statutory roles of both PM&DC and Provincial Governments in implementing and financing postgraduate training reforms.
