# Review of Rawalpindi Medical College [RMC]



## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

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


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## Dr.Eevil (Jan 26, 2006)

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


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

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


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

[yt]1gyM4LtNfHg[/yt]


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

*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.


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

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


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## Rehan (Jan 26, 2006)

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


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

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...


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

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!


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

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


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

Sadia said:


> 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 =)


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

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


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## malik_saabjee (Aug 24, 2006)

count me in!


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## Rehan (Jan 26, 2006)

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


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

Rehan said:


> 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?_
> ...


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

*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.


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## Majid (Jan 28, 2006)

brilliant idea of reviewing medical schools


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

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


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## Majid (Jan 28, 2006)

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'


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

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


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

Sadia said:


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


I think every medical college requires physics as a prerequisite. Sure sucks#baffled


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

does indeed ..not even the dubai medical college 4 women requires physics...ok i better stop complaining


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## Majid (Jan 28, 2006)

Sadia said:


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


Yeh they do require physics.

Which I personally dont understand, the European medical schools dont require physics yet Pakistan does.

So if you want to apply there, you gotta take all the 3 sciences.

Plus I find physics not my cup of tea.


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

*More Random Pictures*

I've included one of the college lobby, dont mind the blur, some guy walked by and got caught in! And the dude posing in the lobby is the pharma attendant. Also pictures of the college dogs that live in the parking lot and chase cars occasionally, as well as the back college lawns (please excuse the garbage, it is pakistan after all), and another view of the lecture halls from where the student angle.


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

Also forgot you have to stand up everytime a teacher walks into the class room or right before they walk out.. Its pretty weird.


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

we used to do that when my grandad used to walk in and out again....


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

*More Pics*

Enjoy


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## SalSabeel (Nov 26, 2006)

wow...how do u survive being in that college alll the time?? I think the fourth image is the only nice(?) one? 


#roll


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

i say its all a conspiracy (a good 1)...they're not doing RMC up so the students dont get distracted...if they provided lush cafeterias etc, everyone would jus chillax..like they do here


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## Rehan (Jan 26, 2006)

Don't be fooled by the less than stellar facilities into thinking this place doesn't churn out world class physicians, because it does.

In the end, the clinical sense students acquire in those halls and labs is what matters, not how clean or nice the place looks. Not to say that nice faculties aren't great, because they are, but those kinds of things come with sufficient funding, and Pakistan doesn't have that. You don't need excellent facilities to impart an excellent education, but having them doesn't hurt either.


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

Its no conspiracy, its just that it does not occur in the administrations minds to fix anything up.... UNLESS some governor is coming to visit or something then they carefully plan out his movements and make things where he will walk look decent temporarily. But ya actually ALL govt colleges in Punjab are VERY similar to RMC. Even KE which sounds so nice , aka "the best" is just as crappy I mean it has paint coming off the walls and everything too. RMC, the building, was actually a christian owned church/building and then the govt confiscated it from them for this purpose it now serves. The basement is still used by them on sundays! They fighting in courts all the time to have it returned to them.

But unless you go to Aga Khan or something private, these are the facilities your looking at and will have to prepare yourself for. In NWFP things are actually nicer but not by much, ie Khyber and Ayub have nicer campus. For Punjab, Nishtar has one of the nicest campuses in my view.

You get used to it sort of and dont even think about it after a while, just have to realize how many doctors who graduated from these same places are now practicing all over the world and some are making millions each year just because they spent 5 years in places like these!!


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

yea like i said even if it is a cosnpiracy its a good one as students jus get down to business and get on with studying...


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## SalSabeel (Nov 26, 2006)

*"maik7upurz*: 
You get used to it sort of and dont even think about it after a while, just have to realize how many doctors who graduated from these same places are now practicing all over the world and some are making millions each year just because they spent 5 years in places like these!!*"*

That's realllyy true, i guess that never occured to me before! So, overall you would say it is a good school to go to? the only thing that freaked me out was the part where u said that the teachers randomlyy pick on the students...i'm definately NOT good at that, so it freaked me out...other than that it sounds like a good school #happy


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

SalSabeel said:


> *"maik7upurz*:
> You get used to it sort of and dont even think about it after a while, just have to realize how many doctors who graduated from these same places are now practicing all over the world and some are making millions each year just because they spent 5 years in places like these!!*"*
> 
> That's realllyy true, i guess that never occured to me before! So, overall you would say it is a good school to go to? the only thing that freaked me out was the part where u said that the teachers randomlyy pick on the students...i'm definately NOT good at that, so it freaked me out...other than that it sounds like a good school #happy


 
It shouldnt deter you, I mean usually when they call on you to make you stand up in front of the whole class to embarass you, usually someone in the class room will blurt out your a foreigner (which in their case means your either stupid or its not right to pick on you) but you will find some who will bother you more. You just have to suck it in and stuff. I guess its called the "Socratic Method". Their big on that in Govt med schools and they love embarassing you in the first two years!


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## rzz123 (Sep 13, 2006)

ok...those pics make me wanna cry...especially cuz i've already gone to an american college for more than a year now...and i haven't seen a benches like THOSE in 8 years! the only thing that would help me survive through that is, a bunch of good friends...which i'm guessing aren't too easy to find being the foreigner everyone like to hate?


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

rzz123 said:


> ok...those pics make me wanna cry...especially cuz i've already gone to an american college for more than a year now...and i haven't seen a benches like THOSE in 8 years! the only thing that would help me survive through that is, a bunch of good friends...which i'm guessing aren't too easy to find being the foreigner everyone like to hate?


Ya those pics make me want to cry too hah. I went to a university in Illinois for almost 3 years and we know universities in USA are super nice and modern, I mean each university in usa has a budget the size of Pakistans entire health budget!

But ya friends and stuff make things a lot easier you begin to forget about how bad pak govt college facilities are. You're lucky if you have a foreigner with you in your class, but sadly many foreigners dont make it past 2 years and if your the lucky one to make it farther you'll be alone eventually like me! #sad


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## SalSabeel (Nov 26, 2006)

Is there a certain reason why foreigners don't make it past second year? is it b'cuz they get sick of the enviornment..or is college too hard for them, etc.?


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

*More Pictures*

Holy family hospital Rawalpindi, Prince Book Shop on Tipu Road, the new Islamabad F9 Mcdonalds and the New RMC Campus under construction.

as for the previous questions its the same for all govt schools, true foreigners, sometimes they fail out, sometimes they decide pakistan is not for them, some cant take it anymore, sometimes they move/transfer.


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

im lovin it..


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## SalSabeel (Nov 26, 2006)

yupp..nice pics...especially the McDonalds one! 

:happy:


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

*Lecture Hall*

Here is a view of students seated and a lecture in progress. Its a panorama sort of, stiched two pictures together.


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## abdullah (Nov 28, 2006)

actully this is my first comment....

I just wanna say that I'm impressed about what your doing...thanks

and keep up the good job.


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

*Beware!!*

I would like to take this opportunity to caution everyone buying books from this little shop accross RMC called "Prince Book Shop". First of all they have no climate control so the humidity from the summer causes the pages on books to become a lil wrinkled and messed up! Secondly, their prices!!! They will RIP YOU OFF BIG TIME! Hell, I know this and I still get ripped off, specially after a long tired day and you just need some books and you just say give me this and go. 

First off, if you want a book, look at the 3 shops next to it. Also check Islamabad Saeed Book bank which is pricier SOMETIMES but usually the same in a lot of cases and they have only the highest quality books and usually the latest editions. Their website is here. You can search and view prices. 

Once you have an idea of who has the better price, then buy from them. Prince book shop is in the habbit of telling foreigners double the price of the book up front and so even if you bargain from there your still being chated and forget about getting a good deal! 

If you REALLY want a book and cant find it anywhere else, find a local student who has dark skin and dresses badly and speaks urdu/punjabi and get him/her to buy the book from you. They will always give this student the LOWEST price!

I think this information will be useful to lots of people as Shifa, Army Medical, Fauji Foundation, International Islamic and many many other collges buy their books here! So let them know too.


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## MastahRiz (Jan 26, 2006)

Hahahaha... find a local with dark skin who dresses badly... Hey wait a minute!#shocked


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

*Newest Pictures*

Took these today. One is from the New Computer lab inaggurated today.. Yes, some guy came and cut a ribbon for it. I doubt they'll let students use the computers though, most likely decoration (not a joke). Picture of the library as well as the canteen special called a "samosa plate" and 2 random pics of pindi streets near allied hospitals.


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

*APPNA Conference @ RMC DEC 21-23*

APPNA - APPNA Winter meeting December 2006 and Hajj pilgrimage
Click here for information. I believe Abrar Haq will be performing at the end.


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## Pride (Mar 13, 2007)

maik7upurz said:


> Enjoy


 
You guys see a ghost in the third pic? lol

This college is kool. I know someone who goes there(in their last year).

:happy:


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## MastahRiz (Jan 26, 2006)

I *want *a freakin samosa plate... *NOW.*


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

I'm going to start taking new pictures of the al famous paratha and fried eggs, coming soon!


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## DR.MOON (Dec 10, 2006)

Thanks for the pictures maik7upurz...

Hmm... looking at all these pictures I dont know if I want to go there anymore #eek... not that I got in already! #laugh

I dont think I have the patience to see people wear lab coats all the time, have pirated books and not wash hands when going from one patient to another.... ARGH!!!! #angry Like, how many extra infections is this causing in an year?? What about immuno-compromised patients?!? It could be fatal for them! I dont want to become a doctor who can make millions but a REAL doctor: a kind/caring/compassionate/expert in my field one... (which Im sure you guys will be #happy regardless of their teaching!!!) and if they're not practicing simple hygiene techniques then I dont want to imagine their influence on future doctors!!! Im in a similar position as you are. Having studied in a foreign country for the past 10 years (including university studies), dont know how one can cope with this.... #sad

Man, you must be counting down days till you graduate!!!#dull But at least you can graduate with a MBBS next to your name which is the most important thing in the world! #happy


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

Today in my ward the patient gave me a long speech on realizing I came from abroad to study here. He goes... I dont know why you come here..but promise me you will not become like these doctors.. They are rude, uncaring, not compassionate, look down on patients who have no money etc. I told him inshallah I wont be like that. 

But anyway.. Just need the degree.. Have to put up with this crap no matter what anyway its like this is 90% of all medical schools in Pakistan. Trust me.. RMC is one of the NICER ones!!


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## DR.MOON (Dec 10, 2006)

maik7upurz said:


> Today in my ward the patient gave me a long speech on realizing I came from abroad to study here. He goes... I dont know why you come here..but promise me you will not become like these doctors.. They are rude, uncaring, not compassionate, look down on patients who have no money etc.


Awwww... thats so sad #sad



maik7upurz said:


> I told him inshallah I wont be like that.


INSHA ALLAH! #happy



maik7upurz said:


> But anyway.. Just need the degree.. Have to put up with this crap no matter what anyway its like this is 90% of all medical schools in Pakistan. Trust me.. RMC is one of the NICER ones!!


I guess it all comes down to how badly you want MBBS. If you ever feel down, be strong buddy! All this sacrifice would pay back and make you one heck of a doctor! (Insha Allah).


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## zan786 (Nov 12, 2007)

Hmmm I think most Government Medical Colleges are the same, I read *maik7upurz *and they some how mostly sounded like my university i goto, my college is governmenet also Liaquat University of Medical Health Sciences Jamshoro, Sindh. Hahaha I got accepted here becuase for americans they take 20% off for ibcc and my ibcc score was 773/1100 so i got stuck in the middle of no where. I taught i would get accepted to Punjab, I never heard of this place before I got accepted here. I hate it here, it sucks, I still long to go back and Im about to take my 2nd year exams on the 26th of Dec and im still complaining. Im trying to transfer but its sort of hard to transfer out of provience, I wish I knew some people at other universities who can tell me if there are any empty seats are there medical university. In Pakistan you can't transfer in ur 1st and 2nd year, since the curriculum in 1st and 2nd year is diff in every college. So hopefully InShAllah Ill be able to transfer to some college in Punjab in 3rd year. Hmm what else I pay about $6k a year i'm on the Self Finance Scheme Foreigner scheme. I read the post about the lab coats, I dont think you want your name embroided on your lab coat, the teachers at my university at least would end up making fun of you. Also I thing that happens here to 1st year students is ragging (bullying) seniors go up to the freshmen and ask them to sing a song or dance or do somethiing embarassing. It happened to me, I should of absconded while i had the chance. Also if your going to get accepted to Sindh get used to dealing with the politics between ethnic groups (punjabi sindhi urdu and pathan). Today I found out this freshmen kid got bullied today in the hostel, and the kids father is in the army, he sent some rangers to talk to the bullies. I guess the rangers beat up the bullies and now all the sindhi students protested and they want the kid expelled and all the students who are non sindhis (inc me since im punjabi and im living in the hostels) out of the hostels. Right now I am not in Jamshoro, so ill see when i go back whats up (after eid al adha). But I have to admit, I sometimes goto wards, with the senior students and in wards you receive alot of exposure, since all the patients there poor people.


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

yap.. but u should replace "taught" with "thought" haha. you cant beat GOVT. medical colleges for clinical exposure no matter what. Just have to keep in mind how inconvenient it is to go to a doctor in Pakistan, or even a hospital.. The trouble to take time off work, to travel, the expenses, to find your way to the place and get an opportunity to see some doctor and then be admitted into a crappy ward. You have to be VERY sick to go through all that, almost DYING. So ya in govt medical schools you get the classic text book patients and you really can see the symptoms and learn a lot and its very one on one.

Whereas these poor people cant afford private clinics and the ones who can are really not that sick to begin with and even then in a private college you cant get as one on one with the cases you are lucky to get.

So ya I'm glad we dont have politics in RMC but I've heard its bad in some places but ya.. avoid the embroidering of your name on your coat at all costs!


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## Sadia (May 19, 2006)

hey how old can a mature student be if they wish to apply to RMC? is it 25?


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## MedGrunt (Feb 21, 2007)

Sadia said:


> hey how old can a mature student be if they wish to apply to RMC? is it 25?


Check out http://medstudentz.com/pakistan-med...stan-medical-schools-colleges-read-first.html

specifically #3 #cool


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## anumraja (May 6, 2008)

i wanaaaaaaaa get in RMCCCCCCC lol!!#happy


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

I heard they changed the ages to any age but the advertisements in the newspapers these days say cant be older than 25.. maybe they are using the same ads from years past, they too lazy to change stuff in pakistan.

and anum... you will eat those words one day #laugh


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## ay2k (Aug 31, 2008)

I think you ppl dont want us to join govt med schools...

hehehehe


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## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)




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## Hoor Fatma (Mar 27, 2014)

Do students who are doing bsc in allied health sciences from rawalpindi medical college also wear lab couts or overalls??


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## fearless9142 (Sep 4, 2012)

yes


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## Hoor Fatma (Mar 27, 2014)

Whats the scope of bsc in optometry from rawalpindi med college in pakistan? How much do they earn? Do they easily gets jobs in government hospitalis or not? Plz tell anyone


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## faiza_33 (Jan 28, 2016)

Why am i not able to see these pictures


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