Pakistan’s Medical Colleges failing to meet WFME’s criteria makes students opt for Caribbean Universities!
The United States will not permit doctors who graduated from Pakistani Medical Colleges to work there after January 2024. The reason behind it is the registration deadline for the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) is rapidly approaching, and meanwhile, Pakistan has failed to meet the standards.
This happened in 2019 when the Defunct Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) requested WFME accreditation and invited its team to Pakistan. However, the PMDC got replaced with Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC), thus delaying the WFME visit.
Now Pakistan has time till January 2024 to get a license from the WFME and be recognized by an international organization. For this, PMC also stated that it had “formally initiated the application procedure for the recognition” and that the entire process, including the WFME on-site visit, will only take 12 to 15 months before 2024.
But here comes the alarming part, the current Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) Act also does not meet the criteria to be recognized by the world community. Moreover, PMC officials also express concerns that Pakistan might fail the deadline for WFME recognition.
The young aspiring medical students do not want to take any risks under all these chaotic concerns and many of these Pakistani students are seeking safer options like studying in the Caribbean rather than fear until 2024.

How to Become a Doctor in the USA or Canada?
The US follow the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program which is considered as Post Graduate education. To enter into a medical school the student has to have a 4 Year Bachelors of Science degree, qualifying them for a MD direct entry. The students study for 2 years in basic sciences and for the last two years in clinical science while performing rotations at an approved teaching hospital. As part of the curriculum the Medical Universities prepares their students for USMLE Part 1 & 2 with success rates of over 97%.
After completing their studies, student apply for residency programs at US hospitals, training to become specialist in their fields.
The cost of medical education is very high in US and Canada, but there is a more affordable options. There are American certified and accredited medical schools in the Caribbeans (West Indies) where students can undergo the same curriculum and training at a fraction of its cost, making it a wise choice for even US and Canadian nationals.
Some of the medical schools have specially designed program for MBBS and BDS qualified students who are allowed exemptions and can pass their US Medical license exam while going through this concentrated program.
Furthermore, most Caribbean medical colleges don’t require any medical entrance exam such as UCAT, CASper or BMAT, making their entry criteria suitable for students with an excellent academic background but who may have performed poorly on these tests. In contrast to this, they often adopt a holistic approach to admissions. They’ll consider your flexibility, critical analysis, intellectual and interpersonal maturity, personal experiences, and volunteer activities. Rather than merely a set of grades, you’ll be recognized as a separate individual.
There are several Caribbean Medical Schools to choose from like
- St. George’s University – in Grenada
- American Unviersity of Barbados
- American University of Antigua College of Medicine – in Antigua
- Saba University – in Saba
- American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine – in St Maarten
- St Mathews University
- Medical University of the Americas
To make more sense of it all, these universities are also on the approved and accredited medical university list of the Pakistan Medical Council (PMC).
In most of the universities’ initial academic term, the curriculum emphasizes small class sizes with a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio followed; for the rest of the curriculum, this ratio increases to 20:1. Moreover, the curriculum here is equivalent to that of the UK, US, and Canada. Hence, these students can also complete clinical rotations in the US, UK, and several other countries.

Apply abroad with MediPathway
MediPathway is a specialized student recruitment agency, focusing on medical admissions across the world. Headquarter in the UAE, we have a team of experts who have over 10 years of experience in working with these medical colleges. Our experienced team can help you find the right route to achieve your goals of becoming a successful doctor and practice medicine anywhere in the world.
Regradless of your age, nationality or qualification, we can help you find your pathway to a top ranked medical college. Our partner universities tuition fee starts from as low as USD5,000 per year and have options in Europe, Asia and the Caribbeans.
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