User:Dr Ahmad Nadeem Akbar registrar PMDC/sandbox

Ahmad Nadeem Akbar (born on March 23rd 1966) is a Pakistani physician and a medical educationist with post graduation in education and research and postgraduation in Clinical anesthesiology. Since March 2007, he is the registrar, Primary Contact and spokesman[1 ] of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) www.pmdc.org.pk[2 ]  which is the apex, statutory regulatory authority of the medical and dental profession which came into being in 1962 under the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council Ordinance[3 ] as an autonomous body corporate. It is known and respected worldwide and is part of International Community of Medical Regulatory Authorities and is a valued member of International Association of Medical Regulatory authorities (IAMRA) www.iamra.com[4 ]. Pakistani doctors are doing exceedingly well abroad and this is a testimony to the effective regulation of medical education and facilitation by the PM&DC. No Pakistani Doctor can practice in Pakistan or abroad without being registered with PM&DC or without being in good standing with it. Dr Akbar is a voting member of the international Association of medical regulatory bodies IAMRA www.iamra.com and a member of the Federation of state medical boards www.fsmb.org[5 ]. His work as a regulator has been globally acclaimed and he is respected as a regular speaker at all major medical education conferences and workshops in the world[6 ]. He is member of the Executive Committee of the regional association of the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) which is known as AMEEMR[7 ]. The WHO regional office is appreciative of the regulatory measures in undergraduate medical education by PM&DC in Pakistan[8 ]. He is the author of the following regulations which were approved by the Council and are binding on all medical and dental institutions and practitioners in Pakistan. 1.	Medical & Dental Council Regulations, 2007[9 ] 3.	Pakistan Registration of Medical and Dental Practitioners Regulation 2008[10 ] 4.	Election Regulations 2008[11 ] 5.	Medical and Dental Institutions ( Recognition, Eligibility Criteria For Enhancement in Annual Admissions and accreditation standards) Regulations, 2012[12 ] 6.	Admission in MBBS and BDS Course and House job /Internship/ Foundation Year Regulations[13 ] 7.	Regulations for the Appointment of Faculty Professorial Staff / Examiners / Principals / Deans / Administrative Staff in Undergraduate & Postgraduate Medical & Dental Institutions of Pakistan 2011[14 ] 8.	The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (Postgraduate Education ) Regulations 2011[15 ] 9.	Code of Ethics of Practice for Medical and Dental Practitioners Regulations, 2011[16 ] As a medic, he performed meritorious service in Kashmir and was honored and acknowledged by the Prime Minister of Azad Jammun and Kashmir as a hero for the region[17 ]. Global acceptability of Pakistan medical education system and practitioners is due to his international acclaim and professional relations with other world regulators. Pakistan is a country which contributes a significant number of international medical graduates. Dr Ahmad Nadeem Akbar has been effectively projecting and showcasing the standards of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council at various forums of the world and has succeeded in getting international acceptability for the Pakistani medical and dental graduates Largely due to his efforts, Pakistan has emerged as a most credible and effective medical regulator and medical colleges of Pakistan have been recognized internationally and have been included in the list of medical schools maintained by FAIMER as has been reported in the daily NEWS on 2nd August 2012[18A ][18B ]. Pakistan remains one of the important members of the international Association of medical regulatory bodies IAMRA www.iamra.com and Dr Akbar is a voting member of IAMRA world congress. His efforts for international medical passport and adoption of a uniform certificate of good standing as per IAMRA requirements have been globally acknowledged. On behalf of Pakistan, he appeared before the National Committee for foreign Medical education of the Department of Education of the United states of America (NCFMEA) where, on his testimony, it was determined that the standards and processes used to accredit medical schools in Pakistan are comparable to those used to accredit medical schools in the United States[19 ]. The Ambassador of United States to Pakistan, Her Excellency Ann W Patterson personally congratulated him as reported in the daily NEWS on 30th July 2010[20 ]. All the international regulators including the General Medical Council have appreciated the quick verification of credentials practiced by him which enables the foreign employers to safely and swiftly confirm the jobs of the aspiring Pakistani practitioners[21 ]. As a show of their trust, the Pakistan Government and various foreign countries have made him the focal person for all credential verification of Pakistani doctors for overseas employment as reported in the press by the daily NEWS dated 13th October 2011[22 ]. Setting standards and ensuring their maintenance  by medical colleges and recognition of colleges In December 2006, the Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan in para 24 of its judgment reported as PLD 2007 SC 323[25 ] said that Pakistan has seen a mushroom growth of Private Medical Colleges in the past two decades and there is no effective check .Earlier in 2006, Justice Amir Hani Muslim in his report[26 ] examined the accreditation criterion of the council used for recognition of medical and dental colleges in Pakistan and he expressed his disappointment when he said that the said criteria is non specific and vague. Days after he assumed command of the PM&DC office, he issued a public notice warning of punitive action against any institution functioning without recognition under the PM&DC Ordinance 1962. the daily NEWS dated 22nd March 2007 In the light of these observations, Dr Akbar took up the challenging task to give Pakistan a comprehensive and quantifiable accreditation criterion and he achieved this goal once the accreditation criterion[12 ] authored by him was approved by the Council and the Government of Pakistan published it in the official gazette of Pakistan. This Accreditation criterion is the single most important intervention in the history of medical education in Pakistan which ensures establishment of medical and dental institution of quality in Pakistan and will prevent mushroom growth of substandard colleges. He holds regular training workshops to train inspectors viz a viz the accreditation criteria and the processes and conduct of inspections[27 ]. He developed a criteria for accreditation of medical colleges which was termed as the best in the world and then inspections were conducted and institutions fulfilling this new Council accreditation criteria and the colleges will fulfilled this stringent criteria were given legal status to function and the list of recognized colleges was published [24 ]. Streamlining Admissions in medical and Dental Courses and Parent student alert Dr Akbar has had a tremendous role in streamlining admission rules and processes in medical and dental colleges in Pakistan and his work is reflected in Judgment of the Lahore High Court Lahore reported as PLD 2011 LAHORE 1[28 ] and admission regulations[13 ]. He has been regular in issuing parent and student alert toward them off from getting admissions in unrecognized colleges Daily DAWN dated 17th December 2008[29 ]. His fair stance was duly appreciated by the honourable Supreme Court in the cases of Jinnah Medical College and Al Razi Medical College when the colleges fell short of the accreditation criteria of the Council[30A ][30B ]. Role in protecting the Public and fitness to practice issues of doctors and fight against quackery Curbing fake registrations He took strict action when he found that some PM&DC employees were issuing fake Registrations and he cancelled these fake Registrations on 20th April 2010 and started dismissal procedure of the persons guilty of the crime. 2007[23 ]. Dr Ahmad Nadeem Akbar has been known to believe that public needs to be protected from non proficient and non quality doctors and preservation of merit has been a hall mark in all his efforts and he made sure that the graduates from foreign countries are examined thoroughly before being given the license to practice. On his recommendations the National Examination Board is now being conducted by Public Universities in rotations, and this is a sure check of proficiency and knowledge of the applicants and is great public safety measure[31 ]. He has made it mandatory for all Pakistani Students desirous of seeking medical education in foreign countries to obtain an NOC from the Council (daily Times on 28th July 2010)[32 ]. He regularly announces the eligibility criteria for these students[33 ]. As the ultimate antiquakery measure, he has introduced free online access for the public for verification of credentials with picture identity of medical and dental practitioners via the PM&DC official website[34 ] and he has introduced temper proof security enabled registration certificates[35 ] which are impossible to duplicate. He has instructed the employers of all doctors to satisfy themselves by verifying the credentials of the doctor from the Council and its website and to check the security enabled registration certificate under UV light for authentication[36 ]. He has publicly announced that it is mandatory for the medical practitioners to display a copy of their registration certificates at their place of practice[37 ]. Credential verification of doctors and Improving services for them at the PM&DC office bringing his innovative thinking to bear, Dr Ahmad Nadeem Akbar has revolutionized services at the Council office. He has equipped the office with latest state of the art IT hardware and software[38 ] with an integrated  interactive website where the public can verify credentials of a doctor and his picture. His credentials verification section has been an international success. He has preserved all the record of the Council by digital storage[39 ]. Due to efforts, the office system and protocol have been examined and have been certified to be of ISO 9000 Standards[40 ]. Ethics of practice and communication skills Dr Akbar directed issuance of public notices to all practitioners to strictly abide by the code of ethics to practice[41 ] as it appeared in the daily THE NEWS on 18th January 2012. He has always advised the doctors to be courteous and improve their communication skills and follow the code of ethics of practice as this will surely minimize litigation against them. Career counseling of graduates Dr Ahmad Nadeem Akbar  is big on Career counseling of graduates and has displayed on the website all the available recognized postgraduate opportunities in Pakistan which is the Third schedule of the Ordinance[42 ]. Faculty registration is the flagship idea of Dr Akbar and he introduced this concept in 2008[43A ][43B ] and this is catching on fast in the world. By this intervention the faculty in a college is registered and a track is kept of any shifting of a teacher from one institution to another and so a record is maintained of the teachers in a college. As the data of faculty registration became available, the Council could impose a moratorium[44 ] on new colleges due to dearth of faculty as reported by the daily NEWS on 1st June 2010. review and improvement in Curriculum PM&DC is carefully reviewing the curriculum and moving towards an integrated curriculum[45 ]. It is believed that it only due to the steady hand of Dr Akbar that the country has not been plunged into crisis by any overenthusiastic approach. the daily DAWN on 8th October 2009. success in court cases and fending off challenges on the very existence of the Council he has been brilliant in effectively protecting the interests of the Council in various courts and his fair stands have always been appreciated. He has been courageous and has effectively protected the existence of the PM&DC as the national body by repelling and blunting challenges thrown by the Provinces[46 ] as reported in the press daily DAWN on 10th August 2012. support for doctors on principals  He has always been an ardent advocate for better pays and a good service structure for the doctors. He has never supported the strike of doctors but has always been critical of the management who forces doctors to take these extreme steps[47 ] as reported by the daily DAWN and by the daily EXPRESS TRIBUNE on 14th July 2012. Medical writing and medical journalism he has started indexing the Pakistan journals by maintain a Index Pakistan[48 ] and he terms it a step towards inclusion in the index medicus of all Pakistani medical journals. He holds regular workshops to train authors. Regulation of the postgraduate sector and recognition of postgraduate qualifications and institutions. His toughest challenge was to regulate the postgraduate education sector, though it was the mandate of the Council since 1962, no work had been done on it due to stiff opposition from vested interest group of the postgraduate institutions. He has just won a major decision from the High Court[49 ] which upholds the powers and regulations of the Council[3 ] [15 ] to regulate the post graduate sector. He has successfully compiled and made public the Third Schedule[41 ] which includes all the recognized postgraduate programs and their training sites. Advocacy on establishing more Nursing colleges He has ordered establishment of a nursing college by each medical college as this shall have a positive impact on healthcare in Pakistan[12 ].