Jinnah Institute of Cardiology struggles to recruit experienced specialists

The newly established Jinnah Institute of Cardiology at Jinnah Hospital Lahore is facing significant recruitment challenges, with a large number of shortlisted candidates for key medical positions reportedly lacking the required experience, 24NewsHD TV reported on Tuesday.

The staffing shortfall has raised concerns about the institute's ability to build a highly specialised workforce as it prepares to expand cardiac healthcare services.

According to recruitment details, the institute has struggled to attract experienced professionals across several critical disciplines, highlighting a wider shortage of specialised healthcare workers in Pakistan.

For 12 registrar positions in cardiac surgery, only 12 candidates applied, matching the number of available vacancies. However, sources said none of the applicants possessed the required experience in cardiac surgery.

A similar situation was reported in the anaesthesia department, where all candidates shortlisted for 15 registrar positions were said to have no relevant professional experience.

The shortage extended to other specialised fields. All candidates shortlisted for seven health physicist positions were reportedly inexperienced, while seven of the nine candidates shortlisted for consultant nuclear medicine posts had no prior experience in the field.

At the consultant level, two of the nine shortlisted candidates for cardiac surgery positions and three of the five candidates shortlisted for consultant anaesthesia posts were also reported to lack relevant experience.

Meanwhile, one of the 11 candidates shortlisted for senior consultant cardiology positions was said to have no previous experience.

The most significant gap emerged in the recruitment of cardiac anaesthesia technologists, where 52 of the candidates shortlisted for 64 positions reportedly had no professional experience.

Sources said the number of applicants for many vacancies barely exceeded, and in some cases only matched, the number of available positions, indicating a limited pool of qualified candidates for highly specialised medical roles.

Healthcare officials familiar with the recruitment process said the available human resource base remains insufficient to meet the institute's specialised staffing requirements.

The recruitment difficulties have sparked concerns that the institute could be forced to rely heavily on inexperienced personnel unless more qualified professionals are attracted through future hiring rounds.

Reporter: Zahid Chaudhry