Here goes another flip-flop!! As usual our government who is famous for flip-flopping policies had done it again. After so much hype on this Medical Qualification Exams(MQE), finally the government has decided that it is not a popular idea after all, to get votes!! Why is cabinet making a decision on this? IT should be MMC!! MMC should be a free body to monitor the standards of doctors practising in this country. In most countries, their medical councils are independent bodies and they are NOT influenced by any politicians. Politics should never be brought into the education system. Politicians are only interested in taking care of their seats and thus any unpopular policies will not be considered. Furthermore, most of their children are studying overseas anyway and they usually seek treatment from overseas or private hospitals. Go to hell with the rakyat who will be getting the treatment from many underqualified doctors that are being produced/trained nowadays.
Somehow, right from the beginning I had a gut feeling that the government will not implement this. This is because they are still sending thousands of students under MARA, JPA, JAKIM and Majlis Agama Islam sponsorship to various countries in the world. What will happen if these students fail the MQE exams? It will reflect badly on the government and the amount of money spent will obviously go to waste. Thus, the easiest way will be to abandon the common MQE. I heard that this was one of the reason why our ex-DG was unceremoniously dismissed early this year. Our current DG is a YES man unlike our ex-DG who is a “quality” man.
BUT wait a minute, is there are catch here. Our great health minister says that they must still complete their Housemanship? Hmmmmm, I mean, everyone knows this right! Either our Minister is talking nonsense as usual OR it means that there is no guarantee that you will get a housemanship post in the first place! So, if you don’t get a post for housemanship, you can’t get a job or work as a doctor. Of course, JPA and other government sponsored students(including local university grads) will be given priority. What happens to the rest? When that time comes, either they will introduce a common exam to get a job or the rest can simply say SAYONARA……………………..
Common exam plan axed, but medical graduates still need to complete housemanship
By ALYCIA LIM
educate@thestar.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: Medical graduates from recognised universities will not have to sit for a common examination before practising in Malaysia.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the ministry had decided not to amend the Medical Act 1971 requiring all medical graduates to sit for a common examination.
However, they would still be required to complete two years of housemanship.
“The Cabinet has decided to continue with the present system of monitoring the performance of universities and give recognition to those of high quality.”
Liow said this at a press conference after attending the launch of the fourth leadership camp for secondary school students in Mandarin societies nationwide yesterday.
He added that only graduates from unrecognised universities would be required to sit for the examination, and advised students and parents against taking up courses offered by these institutions.
“Students can go to the Higher Education Ministry and the Public Service Department website for the full list of recognised universities.
Liow said there were over 300 universities recognised by Malaysia.
The Star reported last December that many had advocated amending the Medical Act 1971 to make the Medical Qualifying Examination compulsory for all students, as students from recognised schools could also fall short of expected standards.
Currently, the exam is only administered to students from unrecognised foreign medical schools.
Liow also encouraged secondary school students to adopt lifelong learning.
On the concerns of tainted food caused by di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), a carcinogenic chemical found in a clouding agent from Taiwan, Liow explained that Malaysia was not included in the list of companies which the agent was sold to.
He added that all products previously found to be tainted with DEHP have been recalled, and the ministry would continue to take all measures to prevent any contaminated food from entering the country.
The time will come when you cannot get a job as a house officer unless you are from local public uni or sponsored. The govt has no obligation to offer anyone else a job. Yearly graduates gonna hit 6,000 per year soon. Students from the following Malaysian medical schools haven’t hit the workforce yet:
Cyberjaya Uni College of Medical Sciences (1st grads this year)
Allianze Uni College of Medical Sciences
Uni Sains Islam Malaysia
Int. Medical School – Management & Science Uni
Newcastle Uni Malaysia
MAHSA Uni College
Taylor’s Uni
Uni Sultan Zainal Abidin
SEGi Uni College
UTAR
Masterskill
Perdana Uni
And don’t forget all the Malaysians studying in Indonesia, Russia, Ukraine PLUS the 1,000 students MARA sends to Egypt each year.
You forgot :
Kolej Insaniah
Trengganu RCSI
Premier medical college Perak
Perdan Uni got 2 med school
I think there are few more.
Kolej Insaniah? When did they start offering med course. I thought there is a freeze now?
They started in 2010 , twinning with Yemen university!!
[citation needed]
noooo…why??? Medical exams are an integral part to segregate the quality students from those sub-par. All developed countries with well structured medical programs MUST HAVE at least one licensing exam to ensure doctors are of certain quality. Also, doctors are expected to keep up with current findings, research, new treatment and less invasive methods. In fact, all registered doctors should take board exams at least once every 5-10 years even after they specialize. This is to ensure that their knowledge is still up to date and to maintain the quality of the healthcare system.
Politicians should take note that graduate doctors are different from general graduates (business/art etc), they hold the key to medical quality in government hospitals and directly affects the health and lives of many middle income Malaysian families that cannot afford the exorbitant fees at private hospitals. Exams are not meant to segregate race or make certain race fail. It is to ensure quality! I dread to see what will happen in the health care sector when all of these students graduate from their respective medical schools. The sad thing is that most of these students and their parents do not know the reality of medical life. Our country has gone down the drain. =(
The best is to leave this messed up country. Our politicians have killed the nobleness of medicine. I had to study so hard and achieve all A’s to be in a medical university. However, friends who never seen A’s in their lives are studying it too. Really demotivating.
Sir, I am planning to migrate to Canada once my MBBS is done in 2014. What are my options?
you still need to sit for the entrance exam in Canada if your degree is not recognised there.
canada’s entrance exam is much easier but seats for training is much lesser. they even have leftover residents that have to wait sometimes. You need a canadian citizenship or rarely a work visa is you wanna do your training there.
Dr P you’re totally right about the new DG. He is basically overturning all the “unpopular” decisions that his tough nut predecessor Ismail Merican made. I met him here in Russia a few months back when he came to have a short dialogue with the students. A total YES MAN and more interested in politics than the future of medicine in Malaysia
The old DG once implemented the ruling that all Russian students should complete their summer practicals in Russia, because it is structured and an official part of the syllabus, as opposed to students wandering around in wards in Malaysia during their summer months. However our new DG flip-flopped the decision, simply because a few students wrote protest letters. When you ask the students why they have to do their practicals in Malaysia, they say things like “Our holiday is too short”, “We miss our family!”
Some nobler ones say that “We want to get used to the system in Malaysia” – but in actual truth many of the students actually take advantage of the whole situation and forge signatures, do practicals in clinics for 2 hours a day 2 days a week and such – so that they can have a longer holiday.
So there you have it, Malaysia’s future doctors. I thought there was some glimmer of hope in implementing the exam, but now everything is just dim.
I know both the DG. When I was the SCHOMOS chairman in Johor, our current DG was the State Pengarah for a while and I must say that I was not impressed at all. When we had meeting with him and bring up certain issues, he will never give an answer. Instead, he will ask the PTD officer next to him and just follows what the PTD officers say!! Spineless guy. I was told that Ismail Merican had a tough time over the last 1 year when the politicians and PTD officers went against him. 1 Malaysia clinic, MQE exams and 1Care issues were some of the issues where our ex DG could not agree.
i think the whole gist of all discussion is a clear protest against misuse of tazpayer money in not-very-smart (ie.stupid) way. i would rather they sit down and think hard on how to improve the current status of our hospital. despite lots of new hospital with nice facilities, lets look at more pathetic one. my example i would like to give is HKL. it is the worst hospital i ever seen. a typically third world hospital 20 years ago and almost the same now. many of the doctors here would say ‘ the only way to re-do the hospital is actually to collapse it and re-built’.
the working environment is terrible.the aircond of procedure room broke down 75% of the time. they is hardly any room to study. FYI, the computer in library is of ages and internet connection is like one is staying in the middle of the jungle (in fact, worse, as i worked in district before). common joke made here is ‘to wait for the loading of a webpage, one need to BO first in the toilet and come back’. there is not enough carparks for the staff let alone the patients. ohh, i havent mention the agony of traffic jam in- and out- of the hospital.
MINE ALL OF YOU, HKL is regarded as a tertiary hospital and production of MRCP holders. it is a shame.
the first class ward is worse than a normal ward in new hospital. (that why Mahathir rather be in IJN for chest infection, Najib in HKL? , come on, its a gimmick)
sometimes, we sat down and wonder, whats go wrong with the hospital. where are all the money spent. sometimes we wish to do some fundraising for the hospital, i am pretty sure a lot can be gained- but of course it is not legal.
then again where all the money from the goverment!!
Not just HKL, most of the old General hospitals are the same. The new ones are grand but will eventually decay as well. As I said, who cares about the rakyat, the politicians and even most of the top civil servants go to private hospitals anyway!
Misuse of the government money? Last time despite I detected it before the dept bought it. I still couldn’t stop them from buying. The termoscan in pakson that time only RM150/piece. But the price for hospital was 450/piece. I questioned the person who responsible it and the reason given was you can pay the bill after 3 months.
I even offered them I can buy for them on the same day but still did not work. What can I do?
Someone sapu the money la. Why do u think JB hospital ran out of supplies end of last year?
Blame the govt for 2 reasons:
1. Appointing incompetent individuals into these positions
2. Malaysians in general tolerating a culture of corruption, and the govt not willing to lay down the law (of course, they’d be in the dock too then)
crony mah…………….
Ah well, “Malaysia (apa-apa pun) Boleh” yet again. Removing the universal MQE also allows for the (? continued) potential greasing of those in a position to award MMC recognition to foreign institutions which will obviously apply for this in order to attract Malaysian students to study there.
Remember when in 2006, the MMC awarded recognition to 3 Czech medical schools and it as later discovered that the recognition was backdated to be effective from 2004? What was that all about? See this blog if you don’t remember:
http://drsaravananr.blogspot.com/2009/01/ismail-merican-bested-and-prince-court.html
Despite some of those scandals, I did like the previous DG – I’ve spoken with him at various events on 3 occasions. He is a far better quality man than our current DG who is a ministry lapdog. *sigh*
And people still ask me why I stayed on in the UK to take up a post as an NHS consultant surgeon rather than come home to serve. I’m certainly not the only Malaysian who ever did that and more will do so given the corrupt state of affairs back home. So much for Talentcorp…
Malaysia has the potential for excellence in so many areas, yet is stunted due to too many political fingers in too many things for self serving purposes.
Latest news about Perdana University. The 5 year medical course is RM800,000…
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/deadline-for-johns-hopkins-backed-medical-programme-extended-to-july/
I wonder if they’re talking about the 5-year undergrad programme linked with the Irish university. Their website has no details on the undergrad programme but states that the postgrad programme is still RM 1,000,000 for 4 years. I doubt they have many takers at that price, except of course our incompetent govt sending sponsored students there.
This is what I found on the Princeton review. I can’t wait to see the first class profile for Perdana University (although I doubt they will ever release it).
Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
Average MCAT Bio: 12.50
Average MCAT Phys: 12.00
Average MCAT Verbal: 10.92
Average MCAT Essay: R
Average UGrad GPA: 3.87
http://www.princetonreview.com/schools/medical/MedBasics.aspx?iid=1033771
I think the MMA should lobby for all medical schools to release their admission statistics to the public (or at least collect the data). They can’t claim to be credible without releasing these figures.
i’m a malaysian and i’m studying mbbs in a recognised university.i would like to know what happens after i graduate?when can i do my postgraduate?can i do my internship overseas?
Depends on the policies of the country where your medical school is located.
Please read the rest of my post for more info regarding postgraduate education. Whether you can do internship overseas depends on your degree recognition on other countries.