Nishtar Medical College is located in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is named after the politician Sardar Abdul Rab Nishtar. It is among the most prestigious educational institutes in Southern Punjab. Formed in 1951, it is the 3rd oldest medical institution of Pakistan. Nishtar medical college is affiliated with Nishtar hospital which has a capacity of 1800 beds. The college supports 1600 students in total.
Location and Overview
The college is located at a distance of 3 km from the city centre. The campus is spread over 20 acres (81,000 m2) of land. The Nishter Hospital is located adjacent to the college. Nishtar Hospital is one of the largest hospitals in Pakistan. The total are of the entire campus, hospital and hostel area is more than 112 acres.
The college was financed with governmental and private
support from local philanthropists. As one of the oldest medical colleges of
Pakistan, it has produced several generations of doctors and dentists.
The city of Multan is one of the hottest localities of
Pakistan; this is reflected in architecture of the college and hospital high
ceilings and large windows are commonplace.
The college itself is spacious, with the various academic
departments housed around a central quadrangle. The quadrangle is a large
garden used for student functions and gatherings. There is an attached
hospital, adjacent hostels, and faculty residential colony. The college as well
as the hostels are nostalgic of old Islamic architecture. The buildings added
to the campus in the 1960s to early 1980s were designed by A. R. Hye.
In the past the student body was predominantly male with
quite active roles in the political aspects of the country. This past
conservatism has slowly eroded and now the college today has a considerable -
or more appropriately - majority - female population.
The first lecture was delivered by the then Assistant
Professor of Physiology Dr. Afzal Rahman. The founding principal was Dr. Jamal
Bhutta. Later well-known luminaries like Prof. Hayat Zafar who upgraded the
hospital most after its first principal took the position of Principal.
Professor Hayat Zafar later headed the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council and
the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan. Professor Rauf Khan, Prof.
Zafar Haider, and Prof. Gulzar Ahmed were amongst its longest-serving faculty.
A large and busy hospital with large catchment, NMC has always been a hospital for getting good for hands-on experience in the medical and, especially, surgical practices.
Students from several countries study at the institute. The overall ranking of this college is impressive within Pakistan as well as in Middle East. The institute has produced Palestinian, Jordanian, Saudi Arabian, Yemeni, Mauritian, Somali, Nigerian, Libyan, Sudanese, U.A.E, Iraqi, Bengali, Afghani, Maldivian, American, Canadian, U.K., Sri Lankan, and Nepalese doctors.
Admissions were at one time arranged by the Economic affairs section of the Federal Government. It is now administered by the Higher Education Commission, Islamabad.
College Campus
The campus contains:
* 5 main lecture theaters along with 5 demonstration halls
* 10 science labs
* 1 dissection hall
* 4 museums
* Large Assembly Hall.
* A library
* Canteen
* Reseach Centre
* 7 departments in the campus namely
o Anatomy
o Physiology
o Biochemistry
o Pharmacology
o Pathology
o Forensic Medicine
