Organizing Competency-Based Medical Education: Implementing PMDC's Seven Core Competencies at Muhammad Medical College, Mirpurkhas

Abstract

In recent years, competency-based medical education (CBME) has moved away from discipline-based curricula toward clearly defined outcomes-based curricula. It stresses on the development of observable and measurable professional capabilities, to ensure that graduating doctors meet the real-world health care challenges. The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) has listed seven core competencies that every new doctor in Pakistan should achieve. Nation-ally outlined and globally accepted benchmarks for competency-based medical education and accreditation were ana-lyzed. This analysis considered the institutional framework, curriculum organization, teaching–learning methods, and assessment methods used at MMC. This review article explains how the seven PM&DC core competencies are includ-ed in a vertically integrated, outcomes-based MBBS curriculum at Muhammad Medical College (MMC), Mirpurkhas, while focusIng on the overall curricular framework and the teaching–learning strategies used. This approach exhibits that integration of the PM&DC's seven skills into a hybrid, vertically integrated spiral curriculum leads to Active learning from the day one of medical student, with clinical experience, technology-enhanced learning, and multidimensional, compe-tency-aligned assessment to aid and steer learning. It is therefore concluded that vertically integrating PM&DC’s seven core competencies into a coherent, streamlined, outcomes-oriented MBBS curriculum helps the development of a clini-cally competent clinician who has a good grip of all three Bloom’s domains. This model can be replicable in other medi-cal colleges in Pakistan, which can produce doctors who can meet the country’s diverse health care needs.
Keyword: PMDC, HEC, Integrated curriculum, competency based Medical Education