The Aga Khan University Department of Postgraduate Medical Education Admission Cycle 2016 Information for Interns, Residents and Fellows 0
The Aga Khan University Department of Postgraduate Medical Education Admission Cycle 2016 Information for Interns, Residents and Fellows The Aga Khan University (AKU) offers internship, residency and fellowship programmes for national and International medical graduates. These programmes offer an excellent training environment with close faculty supervision. In addition to training students have access to Continuing Medical Education (CME) seminars, guest lectures by eminent scholars, and state-of-art library and audio visual facilities. AKU is open to all academically qualified candidates irrespective of gender, religion, race, creed, colour or domicile. Most of the residency and fellowship programmes are recognised by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan (CPSP) and many are also recognised by the Royal Colleges in the United Kingdom. Internships at AKU which provide clinical experience under the supervision of senior faculty are recognised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC). All the training programmes start from January 1, 2016. Internship All medical graduates, including those expecting their MBBS final results by end November, 2015 are eligible to apply. MBBS graduates must be from an institution recognised by the PM&DC and must be provisionally registered with the PM&DC. Applicants are required to attempt an Admission Test aimed at evaluating application of knowledge in solving common clinical problems not specific to any specialty. Based on the Admission Test result, the applicant will be considered for an interview. Successful candidates will be offered a one-year contract: six months each in medicine and allied and surgery and allied specialties. The deadline for submitting all pending documents including MBBS final year results and PM&DC provisional registration is December 15, 2015 after which candidates will not be considered for selection even if they qualify the admission test and interview process. Rotations will be allocated according to ranking on the final merit list. Those interns who successfully complete one-year Internship at AKU with good standing and are interested to pursue residency training at AKU will be exempted from taking the residency admission test. An academic certificate will be awarded to students who complete the entire one-year programme. Applicants selected from training programmes in other institutions must submit a no objection certificate (NOC) or a copy of resignation letter approved by the supervising consultant, before joining the training programme at AKU. 1
Residency Applications are invited for the following residency programmes; 3-year programme Adult Cardiology Clinical Haematology Dermatology Gastroenterology Medical Oncology Nephrology Neurology Pulmonary Medicine 4-year programmes Cardiac Surgery Community Medicine Emergency Medicine Family Medicine Internal Medicine* Neurosurgery Obstetrics & Gynaecology Operative Dentistry Orthodontics Orthopaedic Surgery Paediatrics & Child Health Paediatric Surgery Plastic Surgery Psychiatry Radiation Oncology Urology 5-year programmes Anaesthesiology Chemical Pathology Diagnostic Radiology General Surgery Haematology Histopathology Microbiology Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery A candidate can apply for only one residency programme at a time. Eligibility Requirement for Residency General Individuals applying for a residency programme must fulfil the following conditions as applicable: *As per CPSP guidelines, candidates are required to take a final decision about selecting 2-year internal medicine tract versus 4-year IM residency program before applying to the programme. Change will not be allowed after induction from 2-year programme to 4-year program or vice versa. Hold an MBBS / BDS degree from an institution recognised by PM&DC. Have a valid registration with the PM&DC until December 2016 at the least. Candidates whose PM&DC license will be expiring in December 2015 are required to submit copies of their current license as well as their PM&DC license renewal application. A year s experience as a house officer/intern with six months each in medicine and allied specialties and surgery and allied specialties. Registration with the research and training monitoring cell (RTMC), CPSP, as trainees for the relevant intermediate module will be preferred. 2
Programme Specific Eligibility Requirement In addition to general requirements mentioned above, following are programme specific requirements: Programme Eligibility / Requirement Adult Cardiology FCPS Part I or equivalent. Two years of training in internal medicine. Eligible for intermediate module, however strong preference will be given to those candidates who have already cleared their intermediate module. Anaesthesiology FCPS Part I will be preferred. Cardiothoracic Surgery FCPS Part I Eligible for FCPS intermediate module. Candidates with FCPS Intermediate module or equivalent in general surgery are preferred Clinical Haematology FCPS Part I 2 years residency in medicine Intermediate Module Chemical Pathology FCPS Part I or equivalent. Community Medicine FCPS Part I in community medicine will be preferred. Dermatology One year house job FCPS Part I 2-year training in medicine Eligible for intermediate module, however strong preference will be given to those candidates who have already cleared their intermediate module. Diagnostic Radiology FCPS Part I in radiology. Emergency Medicine FCPS Part I will be preferred in medicine and allied, surgery and allied or anaesthesia. Family Medicine FCPS Part I will be preferred. Gastroenterology FCPS / MRCP Medicine / ABIM or Part I. In case of FCPS part 1, two years experience in internal medicine from a recognised institution with intermediate module (IMM) from CPSP. General Surgery Should have passed MBBS after 2011 or later FCPS Part I in Surgery or equivalent Haematology FCPS Part I or equivalent. Histopathology FCPS Part I or equivalent. Internal Medicine Track I (4 Years) MBBS or equivalent degree approved by the PM&DC, with 58 per cent or above marks in the final examination One year internship with six months in Medicine and allied and six months in Surgery and allied disciplines FCPS Part I/MRCP Part I Track II(2 years) Applicants after the completion of their internship and FCPS Part I will be considered for 2-year internal medicine training at AKU prior to core sub-specialty medicine training MBBS or equivalent degree approved by the PM&DC 3
FCPS Part I Medical Oncology MBBS degree from an institution recognised by PM&DC Completed one year internship with six months in Surgery and allied and six months in Medicine and allied disciplines Track 1 (3-year programme) FCPS Part I with at least two years approved training in Medicine Candidates with Intermediate Module (IM) exam cleared will be preferred. Track 2 (5-year programme) FCPS Part I is mandatory Microbiology FCPS Part I or equivalent. Nephrology FCPS Part I or equivalent. 2-year training in internal medicine. Eligibility for intermediate module, however strong preference will be given to candidates who have cleared their intermediate module. Neurology Track I FCPS Part I or equivalent. 2-year training in internal medicine. Eligibility for intermediate module, however strong preference will be given to candidates who have cleared their intermediate module. Track II(no positions available) Applicants after the completion of their internship and FCPS Part I will be considered for 2-year internal medicine training at AKU prior to core neurology training Neurosurgery FCPS Part I or equivalent. Obstetrics/Gynaecology FCPS Part I or equivalent will be preferred. 3 months house job / experience in Obstetrics/Gynaecology. Operative Dentistry One year house job / internship in various subspecialties of dentistry. FCPS Part I. Orthodontics One year house job / internship in various subspecialties of dentistry. FCPS Part I. Orthopaedics FCPS Part I or equivalent. Otolaryngology/Head & FCPS Part I will be preferred. Preference will be given to those Neck Surgery candidates having some experience in otolaryngology. Paediatrics and Child FCPS Part I or equivalent. Health Paediatric Surgery FCPS Part I or equivalent. Two years training in general surgery Eligible for intermediate module, however preference will be given to those candidates who have already cleared their intermediate module. Plastic Surgery FCPS Part I Two Year experience in general surgery or one year general surgery and one year in surgical specialities other than plastic surgery. Candidates with or without experience in general surgery can apply. Psychiatry FCPS Part I or equivalent preferred. 4
Pulmonary Medicine FCPS Part I or equivalent. Two years training in internal medicine. Eligible for intermediate module, however strong preference will be given to those candidates who have cleared their intermediate module. Radiation Oncology FCPS Part I in radiology. Urology Preference will be given to candidates with FRCS / AFRCS / MRCS Part I or FCPS Part I. For PGY-III preference will be given to candidate having MRCS (Full) with exemption for IM and Part I or IM cleared. Additional Information Applicants for surgical specialties must clear their FCPS Part I in surgery and allied specialties before submission. Candidates may apply in one of the following two categories: a) Candidates who have already passed or who are eligible to sit for the intermediate module may enter the residency programme directly. b) Candidates who wish to apply for preliminary core training in General Surgery at Aga Khan University before applying to a surgery residency training programme. Applicants for Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Paediatrics and Child Health will have rotations at Aga Khan University Hospital campus as well as its off-campus sites in Karachi and Hyderabad. Applicants for Otolaryngology/Head and Neck surgery will rotate through General Surgery for six months during the five-year programme. Flexible Residency Training Programme The University has a flexible residency training programme in the fields of Anaesthesiology, Internal Medicine and Paediatrics Child Health for candidates who are unable to train full-time. Twopositions in Paediatrics and one position each in Anaesthesiology and Internal Medicineare available. Women are encouraged to apply. Fellowship Entrance into Fellowship (post-residency advanced training) is offered in the following subspecialties: 1-year programmes Diagnostic Neuro-Radiology Neurovascular (Stroke) Obstetrics Anaesthesia Pain Fellowship Vascular and Interventional Radiology Women Imaging 3-year programmes Paediatric Cardiology Paediatric Haematology/Oncology* Paediatric Infectious Diseases Paediatric Neurology* 2-year programmes Adult Infectious Disease Clinical Neurophysiology and Electrodiagnostic Medicine Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism Gynae-Oncology Interventional Cardiology Neonatal Paediatrics Paediatric Critical Care Medicine Uro-gynaecology & Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery Peripheral Vascular Surgery * 3 rd year optional 5
A candidate can apply for only one fellowship programme at a time. There will be no admission test for entrance into fellowship training. Selection will be based on interviews. Eligibility / Requirement General Individuals applying for the fellowship programmes must have: An MBBS from an institution recognised by the PM&DC. A year of house job/internship, with six months each in medicine and allied disciplines and surgery and allied disciplines. Have a valid registration with the PM&DC until December 2016 at the least. Candidates whose PM&DC license will be expiring in December 2015 are required to submit a copy of their current license, as well as their license renewal application to PM&DC. Programme Specific Eligibility Requirement In addition to general requirement mentioned above; following are the programme specific requirement/eligibility: Programme Requirement Adult Infectious Disease Three years of approved training in internal medicine. Successful completion of FCPS-II Clinical Neurophysiology Completion of at least three years of adult neurology training from a and Electrodiagnostic national or international training programme. Medicine Should be eligible to appear in FCPS neurology, American Boards in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism Neurology. Four years of approved training in internal medicine. Successful completion of FCPS / MRCP / Diplomate American Board of Internal Medicine or any other equivalent postgraduate qualification. Diagnostic Neuro-Radiology Four years of training in radiology. FCPS Part II and one year experience in a clinical field other than internship/house job would be preferable. Gynae-Oncology Completed structured residency training program in Obstetrics & Gynaecology. FCPS Part II or MRCOG or equivalent qualification according to PM&DC. Interventional Cardiology Three years of approved training in Adult Cardiology Those with completed FCPS-II exam in Adult Cardiology or equivalent will be preferred. Neonatal Paediatrics Four years of paediatrics residency training. Candidates with FCPS Part II in paediatrics will be preferred. Neurovascular (Stroke) At least three years of neurology training from a national or international training programme. Should be eligible to appear in FCPS neurology. Extended research training is also an option and an interest or track 6
record in research will be preferred. Obstetrics Anaesthesia 4 years program in anaesthesiology. Candidates eligible or have successfully acquired FCPS Part II or equivalent qualification in anaesthesia Paediatric Cardiology Four years of paediatrics residency training. Successful completion of FCPS Part II in paediatrics. Paediatric Critical Care Four years of paediatrics residency training. Medicine Successful completion of FCPS Part II in paediatrics. Paediatric Haematology / Four years of paediatrics residency training. Oncology Candidates with FCPS Part II in paediatrics will be preferred. Paediatric Infectious Four years of paediatrics residency training. Disease Candidates with FCPS Part II in paediatrics will be preferred. Paediatric Neurology Four years of paediatrics residency training. Candidates with FCPS Part II in paediatrics will be preferred. Pain Fellowship Completion of four to five years of training in anaesthesia FCPS Part II or eligible to appear in Part II or equivalent. Uro-gynaecology & Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery Vascular & Interventional Radiology Completed residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology from accredited institution. FCPS or MRCOG or equivalent in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Four years of training in radiology. FCPS Part II. Experience in clinical field is desirable. Peripheral Vascular Four years training in General Surgery or Equivalent Surgery FCPS Part II or eligible to appear in Part II or equivalent. Women Imaging Four to Five years of Residency Training in Radiology Residency FCPS Part II. Admission Information Only on-line applications will be accepted. Candidates will be required to first register themselves by defining user name and password. Application form for programmes offered will be displayed after registration. Each candidate can apply only for one programme hence only one application form can be submitted. Candidate may partially fill the form and save it online for resuming filling out the form later using login credentials. Once the on-line application form is filled and submitted, candidate would be able to and must save the PDF version of the application form and take a printout. The hard copy of the online application form along with the required documents and application fee must be submitted to the Admissions Office, Medical College either personally, through friends/relatives or through reliable courier service. Candidates may pay their application fee through the following modes of payment: For candidates in Pakistan: The payment can be made by a pay order / demand draft in favour of The Aga Khan University or by online deposit to any branch of Soneri Bank Limited. The banking details are as follows: Title : The Aga Khan University Account # : 01021227508 Branch code : 0024 7
Branch : The Aga Khan University Branch, Stadium Road, Karachi The acknowledgment of payment given by the bank on the deposit slip should be submitted along with the application form to the Admission Office. For candidates overseas: The payment may be made by demand draft in favour of The Aga Khan University. The Admission Office is open from Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Please click the following link for on-line Application Form www.aku.edu/mc-pk/postgraduate The completed application along with the non-refundable application fee should be submitted to the Admission Office between 9:00 am 12:00 pm according to the following schedule: Early Birds (all programmes): Last Date: July 15, 2015 Application Fee: Rs. 3,500 Late applications (for all programmes): Last Date: August 7, 2015 Application Fee: Rs. 7,000 Please clearly state the programme you intend to apply for. Applications received after August 07, 2015will not be processed. Admission Test Applications will be scrutinised and only those candidates meeting the eligibility criteria will be invited for the admission test for the internship and residency programmes which will be held in Karachi, Hyderabad and Rawalpindi on August 29, 2015.This test will be used to shortlist candidates for interviews in internship and all residency programmes. This test will comprise a section on English, which is designed to assess competence in the English language. Candidates should report for the test at the time and venue stated in the Admit Card. Exemption from Admission Test: Internship: From 2016 admission year onwards, only those AKU graduates who have completed their MBBS programme two years prior to the Internship admission year will be exempted from writing the AKU Internship Admission Test. Applications however will be accepted from all AKU graduates; they will be required to write the AKU Internship Admission Test. For this year (2015), all AKU graduates completing their MBBS will be exempted from writing the test. Residency: From 2016 admission year onwards, only those candidates who have completed one-year Internship programme with good standing from Aga Khan University two years prior to the Residency admission year will be exempted from writing the AKU Admission Test. Applications however will be accepted from all AKU Internship graduates; they will be required to write the relevant AKU Residency test. For this year (2015), those who have completed one-year Internship with good standing from AKU from 2010 onwards are exempted from writing the test. Candidates from outside Karachi, will not be paid TA/DA to attempt the admission test or attend interviews. 8
For further information, please call the Postgraduate Medical Education Office at 021 486 4546 / 486 4583 / 486 4534 9
Salary and Benefits Interns will be offered a salary of Rs 27,000/- per month. Residents will be offered a monthly salary according to their residency level: Resident I Rs 43,500/- Resident II Rs 44,500/- Resident III Rs 45,500/- Resident IV Rs 46,500/- Resident V Rs 47,500/- Fellows will be offered a monthly salary according to their level: Fellow I Rs 85,000/- Fellow II Rs 90,000/- Fellow III Rs 95,000/- In addition, an attractive benefits package will be provided. Accommodation AKU does not take the responsibility of providing accommodation to all outstation candidates. It is only subject to availability. Subsidised housing near the campus may be provided to interns, residents and fellows from outside Karachi. Those who cannot be accommodated will be provided an outstation allowance. Initial appointment will be for a period of one year, renewable and subject to evaluation by faculty. Information for Applicants Admission Test Centre Applicants should indicate one centre of their choice in the space provided in the application form. The time and venue of the test centres will be indicated on the admit card. In case candidates do not receive admit cards on time, they are advised and permitted to attempt the test at a convenient centre provided they present a photocopy of the application form, evidence of payment of application fee and a photo ID for identification. Discipline The University expects honesty from applicants. Dishonest behaviour during the test or violation of instructions given by the examiner will result in irrevocable disqualification of the applicant from the selection process. Test structure The duration of the test is 2 hours and 30 minutes. The test paper consists of 120 multiple choice questions and all questions are compulsory. Applicants are advised not to guess answers. Each correct 10
answer receives one point. Omitted questions do not get any points. 0.25 points will be deducted for every incorrect response. The community medicine residency test will cover competence in English, Mathematics and Common Clinical Problems. Duration of the exam will be one hour 30 minutes. The candidates of adult cardiology, gastroenterology and pulmonary medicine residency programmes will be required to write paper consisting 50 specialty based MCQ s and 20 English MCQ s. Duration of exam will be 1 hour. The University has not authorised any publication or preparatory classes for this test. Answer sheet The test will be answered on a single, printed answer sheet, which is scored by a computer. All answers must be marked with pencil. The answer sheet is extremely sensitive. Be absolutely sure before marking an answer and make a dark mark. If you wish to change the answer, erase it completely and then make a new mark. If the computer reads two marks, it will record a zero. Name and identity of the candidate At the beginning of the test, you will be asked to fill-in your name and application number on the answer sheet. An example is shown below: Answering multiple-choice questions For every question, there are 4/5 choices and only one correct answer. To mark the answer sheet, darken the appropriate box with the pencil provided. For example, if C is the correct answer, it should be marked: A B C D E 11
Sample questions A 34-year old woman has had severe watery diarrhoea for the past four days. Two months earlier, she had infectious mononucleosis. She abuses drugs intravenously and has antibodies to HIV in her blood. Physical examination shows dehydration and marked muscle weakness. 1. Laboratory studies are most likely to show: A. Decreased serum K + concentration B. Decreased serum Ca ++ concentration C. Increased serum HCO 3 - concentration D. Increased serum Na + concentration E. Increased serum ph 2. In evaluating the cause of the diarrhoea, which of the following is most appropriate? A. Colonic biopsy to identify Giardia lamblia B. Culture of the oral cavity for Candida albicans C. Duodenal biopsy to identify Entamoeba D. Gastric aspirate to identify Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare E. Stool specimen to identify Cryptosporidium 3. Further studies to evaluate her HIV infection show the ratio of helper T lymphocytes to suppressor T lymphocytes to be 0.3. This occurs because HIV: A. Induces proliferation of helper T lymphocytes B. Induces proliferation of suppressor T lymphocytes C. Infects cells with CD-4 receptors D. Infects macrophages E. Stimulates the synthesis of leukotriene 12
THE AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY Department of Postgraduate, Medical Education Stadium Road, P.O. Box 3500, Karachi 74800, Pakistan Fax: +92 21 34934294/2095,Tel: +92 21 3486-4546 / 4583 Email: pgme.admissions@aku.edu 13