Editorial: Way forward for Departments of Medical Education in Pakistan

The first official notice from Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) about establishing Departments of Medical Education (DME) in every undergraduate medical college came around 2008. Since then many medical colleges have opened DME. Currently, a number of these are run by a single faculty member, usually a senior professor with other responsibilities in his/her parent department, who has too many obligations to give time to the development of educational issues in the institute. On the other extreme are few departments with full-time, dedicated, qualified medical educationists running the entire show. Usually such departments have satellite educationists working in clinical/basic science departments. Nevertheless, opening a DME does not guarantee the improved scenario of medical education in an institute, unless the department is actively functioning to achieve its well thought of objectives for fruitful results. This editorial will elaborate upon what activities the nascent departments of medical education could undertake as priorities.