The Health Minister, Tandin Wangchuk, inaugurated the Postgraduate Medical Education Centre (PGMEC) at the National Referral Hospital in Thimphu, today. The centre is expected to address the shortage of specialists in the country by providing a space for those seeking specialisation.
PGMEC’s Program Director, Phub Dorji, said the need of the hour is to up the secondary and tertiary level of health care in the country. “It is actually very difficult for our graduates to go to other countries to get seats in the PG specialisation courses.”
Phub Dorji said producing required number of specialists in the country would directly and immediately translate into quality of service. “We will be able to give patients more time. Operations can be done at a shorter period of no waiting time.”
The idea to start the postgraduate training was conceived in 2007.
The JDWNR Hospital and University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan also signed an agreement of affiliation. The centre is expected to become a full-fledged Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in the future. The university has already developed the curricula and initiated various processes to launch the postgraduate residency programme in July this year.
