[maik7upurz]

This is going to be the first in a series of reviews of Medical Colleges in Pakistan, govt and private. Things which we will cover are Facilties, Hostels, Canteen, Classrooms, Hallways, Exterior, Sports Grounds, Etc. Ill start off with a few pictures I took with my cell phone and take some more as I get a chance, and will follow up with written reviews.

View from Parking Lot as you enter from the back

Actual Parking Lot

One of the Labs They all Look similar to this

View of the guys Canteen

 

[Dr.Eevil]

intense ! the pictures have been taken very well,..but u didnt tell us what YOU think about these places.

 

[maik7upurz]

I can feel my gastric contents heading north when i view these images.

 

[maik7upurz]

[yt]1gyM4LtNfHg[/yt]

 

[maik7upurz]

Two More Pictures

RMC's "2004 Model Wala" Buses (actually their probably 1970 model, they just paint "model 2004" on the back of them)

Another view from the parking lot

Soon I'll be posting pictures of our famous PRINCE BOOK STORE, famous for having pirated copies of all your main medical books!! About the size of a closet and where bargaining is the way to go. If your a villager from some uknown part of punjab, expect to pay 150 rupee for a pirated book. If your a foreigner and dont speak urdu, probably will pay 200 for the same book. Or worse, your from Shifa, wear american clothes, come to Prince in a car instead of walking across the street from RMC and you end up paying 300 for the same book. =) Just from FYI knowledge.

 

[Sadia]

omg r people wearin labcoats when they're not in lab?!or is that lab?!

 

[Rehan]

Most medical schools in Pakistan require students to wear doctor's coats even when in lectures. Something you'll get used to really quickly.

 

[Sadia]

that is soo different 2 the uk...betterstill at my old uni bio/medical students would not be served at canteens if they were in lab coats...

 

[maik7upurz]

Haha, Its really funny because in first and second year, your in a classroom all day, it gets REALLY hot in pakistan, you dont have a desk in govt med schools and so you sit on benches made for 10 people across but they shove 15 in there so your ass cheek to ass cheek with someone who doesnt shower or wear deodarant. FORGET taking notes you cant move your arms, and the desks in front of you are so low you have to have your legs bent a funny way. Its like the standard size pakistani student is 5'5, if your over or under that you will be VERY uncomfortable for 5 years.

In 3rd year and beyond you can avoid using the lab coat in classes but still use them in labs and in the hospitals. I know some people who just get so used to it they wear it all the time even after school hah. Its funny how some people wear them during exams too. They basically take a white lab coat in Pakistan as the medical school Uniform!

 

[Sadia]

for some reason in the uk people associate labcoats with dirt, they're used as an apron not as a uniform...im doin premed and we cant step out the lab with our coats on.....oh well one day maybe pakistan will understand the concept of hygiene.....now let us pray

 

[maik7upurz]

for some reason in the uk people associate labcoats with dirt, they're used as an apron not as a uniform...im doin premed and we cant step out the lab with our coats on.....oh well one day maybe pakistan will understand the concept of hygiene.....now let us pray

Ha Ha.... haha#rofl #rofl Hygiene. I almost forgot what it means here.. In RMC they dont teach hygiene at all. In our hospitals, 80% of the doctors dont wash their hands at all, even from patient to patient, and the ones that do, do it rarely. There arent actually many locations to hand wash besides surgical ward I guess which is weird. Then again its a paki thing, they dont wash their hands after using the restroom a lot of the times.

Also, the hospital has no incinerator or anything until now anyway they might be installing one. They throw all their fluid waste etc into the sewer drains, ie blood and watever! They throw all the needles and stuff out with the trash and then these poor scavengers go through all the hospital trash and repack the needles and syringes and sell them back to the hospital through another route. Its pretty throughly disgusting. And the white lab coats most students wear, get washed maybe once a year =)

 

[Sadia]

ok peeps we need a revolution...med studentz must go on strike for the sake of hygiene..oh wait pakistan does'nt allow student movements *angry*..all we can actually do is pray

 

[malik_saabjee]

count me in!

 

[Rehan]

maik7upurz, can you give us a more detailed look into medical student life at Rawalpindi Medical College in regards to:

• Schedule and timing of classes - when does the day start and end? When are classes? Is attendance mandatory?
• Basic structure of lectures -- do professors mostly teach or assistants? What are the lectures like?
• What is the makeup of the student body? What percentage are foreigners? How many students per class are there? Is it a diverse crowd?
• Clinical experience that you're obtaining -- how would you rate the teaching hospitals and the physicians who teach you? How would you rate quality and amount of student-patient interaction?
• School facilities
• Things you love about the school
• Things you hate about the school
• What does a normal day consist of?
• Hostel (Dorms) Life -- if you've experienced this

I know this is a huge list of info we're asking for but if you could slowly work on this whenever you get some free time I think it would benefit a lot of people who are probably curious to find out a lot of the details regarding RMC.

Thanks a lot man. #grin

 

[maik7upurz]

maik7upurz, can you give us a more detailed look into medical student life at Rawalpindi Medical College in regards to:

• Schedule and timing of classes - when does the day start and end? When are classes? Is attendance mandatory?
• I'll stick to first/second year. You go to class 6 days a week, monday through saturday. You get 15 min break to go to the canteen at lunch time. Attendance is mandatory, if teachers dont like you they will make you absent in class as a punishment etc. Classes start 8 am and end 2pm. Its not like a college/uni at all, its like elementary or high school one class after a nother. You get one month summer break in july and one week spring break, thats about it. You get breaks to study for exams at the end of the school year too.
• Basic structure of lectures -- do professors mostly teach or assistants? What are the lectures like?
• Lectures, well there is one professor who heads each dept, ie physio, anat, biochem, but they sit in their offices and have servants who run around for them bringing them samosa's and pepsis and they have a/c and they feel superior, rarely they will give an exam. Then there are doctors/teachers in that department who teach the classes. Some teachers are good, some will dictate from books, some will use overheads and just spit out all the information at you as fast as they can. They expect you to take notes constantly and they will randomly call on people in the class and ask them questions if you dont answer they make you stay standing up, will insult you a bit or even mark you absent. Lectures are about one hour long and there are about 300 students in the hall, no desks, just benches. There are also anatomy disection times, lab times for each subject, and tutorials, and self study which is not really self study.
• What is the makeup of the student body? What percentage are foreigners? How many students per class are there? Is it a diverse crowd?
• Out of 300 students, I would say there are about 10 foreigners, 6 being arab or african, they will rarely come to class and 99% of them wont make it past first year. Then there are 4 self finance students who are of paki origin, mostly they are canadian passport holders, some USA rarely. Many of them were raised in pakistan and somehow have passports of foreign and get admission this way. So i find it not a very diverse crowd, 90% of the students are from RURAL punjab, VERY few islamabadi students, maybe 10. SO NOT VER DIVERSE.
• Clinical experience that you're obtaining -- how would you rate the teaching hospitals and the physicians who teach you? How would you rate quality and amount of student-patient interaction?
• This is the one excellent feature of RMC. They are excellent in this regard, maybe 12 students per Physician. Start of each 2 hour clinical rotation usually involves a small discussion followed by going to beds as a group. You also get LOTS of alone time one on one with patients, as well as ER time. Hospital facilities though are sub par but you gain clinical knowledge and find how things work in the real world.
• School facilities
• Well, no internet if thats what you mean, no computers, canteen is more like a snack bar for sodas and cookies. AC is rare thing, usually library is cooled but thats iffy sometimes. Most books in library are locked you have to find an attendant to open a shelf for you, and the nice books are for "reference only" meaning you cant take home even if they let you view it, they claim they are reserved for the faculty. Bus facility is well organized though. Lecture halls are usually a/c but not working usually, hallways are hot, lighting is inefficient. Seats/desks/benches are historical dating back to 1970s when college was first opened, you will find LOTS of writing/carvings in the wood. No freezers for dead bodies whatsoever. Labs are decent, microscopes short in number, sometimes you will have 2 heads sharing one microscope and can smell the others guys sick breath. So there are really NO facilities I mean BARE bones basics!! In pindi power goes out a lot too so get used to that.
• Things you love about the school
• Near islamabad so I can commute and be somewhat sane during the year. Cheaper than others.
• Things you hate about the school
• Racist attitude of faculty towards foreigners. Style of exam is pathetic requiring simple memorization and no understanding. Total lack of organization, never knowing when exam is or what is covered, no student handbook explaining anything at all. Lack of proper facilities. Unfriendly staff, no office hours for one on one contact with principal or professors. HUGE amount of students , ie almost 300 per class. Long school day, no weekends really off.
• What does a normal day consist of?
• Think you get the idea, come to school, sit in lectures for 2 years =)
• Hostel (Dorms) Life -- if you've experienced this
• Different ones. They are stinky, no furniture, no AC allowed, food is subpar. Shared bathrooms.

 

[maik7upurz]

More Pictures

The School Auditorium, the nicest building on the campus but rarely used.
Also have included pics of the modern state of the art facilities offered by RMC, a basketball court, tennis court, soccer field, and a picture of the "modern boys hostel" offering food, electricity and bathroom facility for you enjoyment.

 

[Majid]

brilliant idea of reviewing medical schools

 

[maik7upurz]

Attached are some pictures of the lecture hall benches, the same style you will spend cramped up on for 5 years along with 250 other studentz #yes

 

[Majid]

i think people who are in different universities, should do the same thing as you. It provides really good insight, just from pictures and videos. It gives you the 'flavour'

 

[Sadia]

why oh why does pakistan require physics at Alevel?! nobody else does