Emergency Medicine in Pakistan is slowly getting expanded. Now we are seeing another institute getting accredited in Quetta, Balochistan for the training of Emergency Medicine. This will mark the 18th Center for the training in Pakistan and is a moment of great happiness.
Emergency Medicine training is done through College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan(CPSP) and is currently a 5 year training program. Its pre-requisite if FCPS part-1 in either Medicine, Surgery or Anesthesia, and then after doctors can opt for the training in recognized institutes for 5 years. They appear in Intermediate Module (IMM) Examination after two years of training, and after 5 years of training appear in Part-2 exam to earn the prestigious FCPS in Emergency Medicine status. During the training the trainee is rotated in different disciplines and goes through a defined curriculum to cover the knowledge base. At the same time they work in the Emergency Department in a supervised fashion to see how knowledge is applied and how patients get the quality care through their own hands. This system of supervised work and dedicated teaching makes trainees the better doctors to provide help to the patients coming to the Emergency Department.
Previously there is an emergency trained doctor working in Balochistan, and there are few doctors from Balochistan getting trained in different parts of Pakistan in different institutions. We all are aware of the scarcity of trained emergency doctors in Pakistan and any expansion of the training program is a happy occasion for us, which means we are getting closer to our goal of having “a trained EM doctor in each emergency department of Pakistan”.
Running any training program is a huge undertaking on individuals running it as well as the institutions to provide support, but it is more daunting for the Emergency Medicine. That is because although it is a new discipline for the training, but not in the functional sense. People are working in the emergency departments across Pakistan and changing this mind set and working pattern is the main hinderance. In other words, since its birth, the Emergency Medicine field has faced the existential threat and clash of mindset. We have carefully navigated this journey and have done a reasonable job to find allies, alley anxieties and concerns and remain positive in our interactions. This has resulted in finding help and resources who believed in us and helped in very constructive way.
Armed forces of Pakistan presented a great opportunity for the Emergency Medicine community in not only creating EM doctors for the Army, but also to train civilians and help the national cause. The CMH Quetta is the fourth Army institution that is going to become the center of training if approved. Its our duty to support other institutions as well in Balochistan and in other places especially KPK province to increase number of trained doctors.
Its an ongoing endeavor and requires continuous struggle. I have full confidence in the blessing of Allah and also the struggle of my colleagues that we will reach our goal in due course in time.