Medical Protection Society (MPS) Application - for Medical Students

Many medical students have email and asked regarding the insurance for their medical electives (which is required by some of the countries) and many of them are unclear about how to purchase the MPS (Medical Protection Society) Insurance from the MMA.

ABOUT MPS:

MPS (Medical Protection Society) is the leading indemnifier of healthcare professional, and also one of the world largest medical defense organization.

Members commonly seek help with legal and ethical dilemmas arising from professional practice/clinical negligence claims / complaints / disciplinary procedures/ police investigations / medical council inquires and inquests.

Medical students posted for electives in certain countries like UK, Singapore requires MPS insurance. MPS will provide advisory services to the medical students during their clinical training.

They also publish a series of educational publications like Casebook, New Doctor Magazines and GP Registrar.

Subscription of MPS Insurance for all MMA Medical Student Member is FREE. This is one of the privileges that the members enjoy.

If you are intending to do electives in country which need MPS Insurance, you can apply for MPS Membership Application from MMA for free.

For more information, you can always email us on smmams1011@gmail.com or call up MMA office on 03-40411375 for more information.

I hope you find this information useful. Thank you.

MPS Malaysia Website: www.medicalprotection.org/malaysia/students

[Malaysia MPS Subscription Rate]

Regards,Vincent (SMMAMS Webmaster 2010-2011)

MMA Foundation Study Loan Application Guidelines

A few colleagues had email us on the Guides on MMA Foundation (MMAF) Study Loan Application. I hope that you find this article useful for the Loan application.

The requirements for the application are:

- Currently enrolled in a recognized medical colleges/ universities

- Good Academic Performance

- MMA Student Member

You need to write an Loan Application Letter to:

Chairman,

Student Loan Committee, MMA Foundation

The Letter should state the reason for the loan application. Together with your copy of your latest university's exam result and email them to: Ms. Linda on mmaf@streamyx.com , and cc copy to smmams1011@gmail.com.

The MMA Foundation Committee only gives out 20 study loan per year, and they prefer 4th or 5th year students, so that they can pay back as soon as they graduate. Although so, junior medical students are encouraged to try if you need the aid.

Thank you. [any info, please email us on smmams1011@gmail.com]

Introducing SMMAMS to your friends ONLINE and Add us at Facebook

Saturday Teach-In on "DERMATOLOGY" by College of Physicians, AMM

Dear fellow colleagues,

The College of Physician under the Academy of Medicine Malaysia, has been conducting "Saturday Teach-In" program regularly for MOs, HOs, GPs and also for senior medical students.

On January 2011, a one-day course on Haematology was conducted, and there were strong support from medical students (especially from Melaka-Manipal, Universiti Malaya, UKM etc). On the coming 12 March 2011, they will be conducting another Saturday Teach-In, with the topic on Dermatology.

Program:

0900 - 1000 hrs: Registration/ Coffee

1000 - 1100 hrs: Common Skin Disorders (Eczema, Psoriasis, Tinea etc)

1100 - 1200 hrs: Adverse Cutaneous Drug Reaction

1200 - 1300 hrs: Dermatological Emergencies (TEN/ Pemphigus/ Acute Erythroderma)

1300 - 1400 hrs: Lunch

1400 - 1430 hrs: Workshop on Topical Application of Creams

1430 - 1500 hrs: Workshop on Wet Dressing/ Soaks

1500 - 1530 hrs: Workshop on Scalp Treatment / Scabies Treatment

Course Fee for Medical Student: RM 20

As place are limited, for advance booking, please contact:

Secretariat, College of Physicians, AMM

G-1, Medical Academies of Malaysia,

210, Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: (603) 4023 4700 ; 4025 4700; 4025 3700

Fax: (603) 4023 8100 [Email: acadmed@po.jaring.my]

Website for Saturday Teach-In: http://www.acadmed.org.my/newsmaster.cfm?&action=news&menuid=80&parentid=39

AIMST University is Organizing a Pre-Clinical Medical Quiz on 8th and 9th April 2011

Dear fellow colleagues,

The Faculty of Medicine, AIMST University is organizing a Pre-clinical Medical Quiz on 8th and 9th April 2011. They are inviting medical students from other institutions to participate in this quiz.

Registration Fee is RM 200 per team. Each participating team will be composed of 4 regular members and 1 optional (staff/ spare member). Minimum of 2 students should be currently in preclinical phase of training. An early bird fee of RM150 if registration done before 14 March 2011.

Entries are accepted until the 28th March 2011.

For further information, you are welcome to contact AIMST Medical Student Association's President Mr. Naga on vostok_nbn@hotmail.com.

Updates on Perdana University - Berita MMA Interview with Dean, Prof Dr Charles M. Wiener MD - Part II

1) So, when are you ready to take on your first batch of students?

Prof Dr Charles: We're ready to take on our first batch of students in September 2011. We're hoping that students will take the MCAT in spring 2011. There's a board that runs the US MCAT, they have agreed to have additional tests in Kuala Lumpur. Before that we only had one offering then we met them personally and told them about our project, they were so excited about it, they have agreed to open up additional test dates.

2) How many students can the programme accommodate in Malaysia?

Prof Dr Charles: We're planning to accommodate up to 100 students per year and there is only one intake per year which will start in Fall of 2011.

3) What are your plans in terms of faculty recruitment for the Perdana University?

Prof Dr Charles: Right from the start, we're expecting the faculty and students, in my terms, to be at Johns Hopkins standards, which are extremely high standards.

I am talking to a number of faculties in the region and trying to be very selective. I've alreadt preliminarily recruited a number of Johns Hopkins' faculty who want to come out here anywhere from six months to 2 years or even longer.

We will be utilising Hopkins' faculty to come out for 2-week periods of time to deliver specific parts of our curriculum that we don't have covered by instrinsic faculty. We've already started planning for all of these faculty positions.

Another aspect of our mission here which is also quite distinct is to establish a research presence of Johns Hopkins quality. Johns Hopkins research has a tripartite mission: patient care, teaching and research. We're planning on mimicking all three of these missions here at Perdana.

So, we're already recruiting research faculty and what we're trying to do now is establish our initial research initiatives that we're going to focus on. This will most certainly include Bio-informatics which is a strength of this region already and we're going to take advantage of that and also genomics, taking advantage of the unique aspect of South East Asia.

There is a lot of commitment from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore to support, collaborate and take advantage of some of the infrastructure that we've already created in Baltimore to make it easier for us to work over here.

4) What would be the criteria that you are looking for in your medical educators?

Prof Dr Charles: The key is medical educators who are experienced and are opened to a US-style of the "Genes to Society" perspective.

For instance, 3 years ago, the Johns Hopkins faculty didn't know what constitutes the "Genes to Society" perspective. It is important that people are keen to learn our curriculum; they have to be committed to student centric education and/or research that will help this country and this region.

The "Genes to Society" curriculum took us five to six years to plan and 2 years to implement. If you do a public search on my name, in a journal called Academic Medicine published in March 2010, there's an article that we wrote describing the logic and the whole process behind the whole "Genes to Society" curriculum.

5) Will Johns Hopkins or Perdana University be conferring the degree?

Prof Dr Charles: The Diploma will be conferred by the Perdana University. The logo of Perdana University has a line that reads "in collaboration with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine". Essentially, this is a Malaysian university that is meant to improve the health of Malaysia and the region. However, the curriculum and structure of the programme will be exactly the same.

6) Do you have any final words to our readers?

Prof Dr Charles: Everyone in Baltimore is tremendously excited about this project at many levels. There is great enthusiasm for this region and this country. This is a place that already vale education and excellence, and is ready to take on the challenge of having a truly integrated academic medical centre built here. We've seen nothing but positive feedback here and also in Baltimore on this project.

7) What are your channels for communication for doctors and potential students to get in touch with you regarding teaching and research prospects as well as enquiries about this programme?

Prof Dr Charles: I will be starting work in KL mid-January 2011. Enquiries can be addressed to this email (enquiries@acadmedc.com) or to The Academic Medical Centre Sdn Bhd, Suite 5.3, 5th Floor, Wisma Chase Perdana, Off Jalan Semantan, Damansara Heights, 50490 KL. You can also reach us at this telephone number 03-27183888 or fax number 03 20945984.

Updates on Perdana University - Berita MMA Interview with Dean, Prof Dr Charles M. Wiener MD - Part I

Someone had drop a message in the shoutout box, asking about the new medical school in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University. MMA Berita Editorial recently had the opportunity to interview Prof. Dr. Charles M. Wiener MD, Professor od Medicine & Physiology of JHU School od Medicine. John Hopkins is to establish the foundations of the new Perdana University, the first private graduate medical school and private teaching hospital to be setup in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The Interview with the Dean of Perdana University. [Following article is from January issue of Berita MMA]

1) Johns Hopkins has a number of facilities in this region like in China and Singapore, how are they different from the one in Malaysia?

Prof. Dr. Charles: Johns Hopkins has a clinical oncology unit and a small clinical research component. It does not have any medical education at all over in Singapore.

In China, it is mostly under graduate it's not a significant medical school. Again, this is the first Johns Hopkins' school of medicine International collaboration.......

2) What are your main objectives at this point in time in establishing the medical school in Malaysia?

Prof. Dr. Charles: The objectives right now are to finalise our application for approval from MQA and MMC; start interviewing and talking to faculty members who might be interested in coming to Perdana University; talking about where our temporary facility is going to be; setting up and administration and IT infrastructure, and planning to Master Plan the new campus.

3) What programmes are offered at the Perdana University and how different are they from what is currently offered in medical schools in Malaysia?

Prof Dr Charles:
The important distinction is that this is going to be graduate school of medicine. It is based on the American model where people first obtain their under graduate degree in whatever discipline - whether it is a BA or BSc- it doesn't have to be in science. But you have to complete a set of pre-requisities that are generally covered in the 1st 2 years of medical school e.g. physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics etc.

For instance, I was an economic major in college, not a science major. Within the course of my economic training, I took the basic science subjects that I was required to take for medical school.

4) In the traditional system, a graduate would have to clock in a number of years before one is qualified as a specialist. So, how is this programme different to the model at Johns Hopkins?

Prof Dr Charles: Our system is definitely different, when you graduate from a medical school as MD after four years you immediately start your specialty training whether it is in paediatrics, internal medicine and graudates spend their 3 - 5 years immediately after medical school obtaining their specialty certificates and specialty training. After that they can further do training to sub-specialise in cardiology or an area of their interest.

In our programme, the students are more matured at the beginning. They generally come to an informed decision about what they want to spend their lives doing and allowed to go directly to do that ar our medical school.

In America, the 4th year of medical school is very much similar to the house officer training in the British system.

Another point of difference is our system is that in the "Genes to Society" curriculum, students start clinical exposure on day one of classes. So, interviewing, history note taking begins from day one. In this sense, it is a fairly matured curriculum.

5) Is there an opportunity for students in Malaysia to do practical cross training, say in America under this program?

Prof Dr Charles: The Perdana University will be in collaboration with Johns Hopkins and since Johns Hopkins knows this is a school of high comparable quality to Johns Hopkins, we anticipate no problems for students to do rotations in Johns Hopkins.

In fact, I have already had countless inquiries from Johns Hopkins students asking, can they come to Perdana University for rotations. This applies to Malaysian students as well in terms of rotations as well as postgraduate training in Johns Hopkins campus in Baltimore, America.

6) What are your criteria for student selection into this program?

Prof Dr Charles: The curriculum will be delivered in English and we're expecting all students to take the US Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), take the test of English (TOFEL), or the English language equivalent and have either an under graduate or its equivalent including all pre-medical requirements we expect. Essentially, the pre-medical requirements are the same as what we have for Johns Hopkins. Finally, there will be a personal interview.

Broadly speaking, there are a number of science requirements that are the same in most US medical schools. What we have done in Johns Hopkins, which we are going to mimic here, is that we're asking students that they show they are capable to communicating both in the oral and written form based on the curriculum that they have done and some kind of original research of some sort. Finally, they have to demonstrate they have the team work skills. So, our criteria highlight most of these characteristics.

A Gift of life in Emergency: An eBook - "Quick Management GUide in Emergency Medicine"

Dear fellow colleagues,

One of our friend, Mr. Chee Yong Chuan from Monash University Malaysia recently send me an email about an eBook on Emergency Medicine, authored by Dr. Lee Say Fat (Consultant Obsterician and Gynaecologist) and Dr. Wong Yin Onn (MUM Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine).

The eBook titled "Quick Management Guide in Emergency Medicine" can be downloaded here. The eBook can be saved into your PDA or handphone for easy and immediate access.

~Knowledge is best gained by sharing!~

Vincent Khor

SMMAMS Webmaster

The Voices of Strength

[SMMAMS Chairman message, in Facebook group : "Voices of our Hearts -Malaysian Medical Students"]

Dear all,

As we can see, through this short ongoing discussion in our Facebook group, there are disparities regarding the approach towards our current issue.

We have thoughts ranging from : "send in a memorandum or call for a press conference" to "isn't it kind of presumptuous of us to send suggestions to solve the problem to mma or moh, as if we know best?".

This is good, as having members who are conservatives and members who are liberals will help steer the direction of our approach to moderation, not to go too conservative, nor too liberal in our approach.

The ultimate goal of SMMAMS, is to be an advocate for medical students in Malaysia. At the same time, we are a part of MMA, and as medical students, we are the apprentice of our doctors, those who had gone before us, and hence, our actions shall not be against what our doctors, our teachers, belief.

In this situation, MMA and SMMAMS are in sync. MMA has articles in the Berita, and has tried to highlight this situation countless of times through annual dinners with some people with power. The SMMAMS EXCO has attended 2 of such dinners.

In our country, the level of support an association has is gauged simply by the number of members that the association has. An association who claims to be THE association for ALL the XYZ in Malaysia, will be challenged by the question "So, how many members do you have in your association?".

It is the same for SMMAMS. There are no university rules that forbid medical students to join the MMA, as far as I know.

In our 2009 student membership report, we have close to 2,000 members. 786 are from Melaka Manipal, and 630 are from Kursk State. This means that 70% of our student members are from just 2 universities. Out of the other 26 medical schools (in 2009), some with 2 intakes per year, others with close to 200 students per intake, we only have 584 members.

Do number of members matter for an association? Yes it does. It is the only solid prove an association has to be claiming what it claims.

SMMAMS claims to be the advocate for medical students, and SMMAMS base its claims on the fact that it is currently the only student medical association whose leadership is open to medical students from all universities. We are currently working on getting SMMAMS introduced to medical schools who have a low number of members inside MMA, as well as working on increasing the number of medical student members we have, which, on paper, will be the representation of the strength of our association.

We cannot achieve our goals and objectives without the help from YOU, which I presume to be have a strong spirit of leadership and activism, for the fact that you were introduced into this Facebook group by someone in the group.

SMMAMS is currently formulating a plan to directly link the core committee, with medical societies or student councils in each university. We need student leader volunteers for this project of ours, which may take up to several months, in view of the hectic schedule a medical student has.

In the mean time, I hope that YOU, encourage your fellow medical students, to have activism towards their future. Include discussions on the current health care situation in our country during your normal lunch / dinner with your friends. These will be our baby steps towards our ultimate goal.

Regards,
Justin Lee
Chairman,
Society of MMA Medical Students

A Future of Too Many Doctors - A Grave Concern for Medical Students

[Source:http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/notes/lutfi-fadil-lokman/a-future-of-too-many-doctors-a-grave-concern-for-medical-students/178889192122594]

This note is partly a message to all medical students, SMMAMS members or not, and partly a reply to Jawing’s note: Too many medical graduates - whose fault is it (http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=474619314547&id=756058326) which I think is very sincere and brilliant. We are all in the same situation. I believe we have the same concerns about our future. I guess all of you have been aware of the issue now. For those who are not, you can read the front story of the STAR on November 27th: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2010%2F11%2F27%2Fnation%2F7509809&sec=nation

Many have proposed that we gather all the medical student representatives in our country in an open discussion. It was such a disappointment that we (SMMAMS) actually thought out that exact idea during our last meeting, but in the end we never got the idea across to MMA anyway. I guess ideas are ideas. Anyone can come up with great ideas on a long drive home, but little come out of their cars and actually do something about it.

I don’t usually fall to the noose of pessimism, but let’s start with a reality check. Not to dampen down our spirits, no, not at all. But at least to know what we are dealing with. So let’s face it: It would be a tough ride for us, medical students to change the policy of the government regarding the issue of ‘too much medical graduates’. If you have been reading Berita MMA, MMA’s stance towards this issue is clear. As written in one of the issues, they have ‘grave’ concerns over this matter. The current President, Dr. David Quek clearly states that that the government is producing ‘too much, too fast and too soon’. Berita MMA is the voice of MMA. Obviously it has the momentum to at least catch the attention of policy makers. Someone in the MMA must have at least talked about this issue to the policy makers. But why are they (the policy makers) not listening?

Now that’s the MMA. Now let’s get our attention to another organization, or more appropriately, council, which should have more influence than the MMA: The Malaysian Medical Council (MMC). Someone I know very well is in the Malaysian Medical Council. From my talks with him, MMC has been concerned over this issue for a long, long time. The have predicted that this would happen (Duh, what’s too predict anyway? It’s so easy to see that the way things are going, we’re producing doctors like clone armies in Star Wars. At least clone armies just have to learn how to shoot, not to SAVE LIVES). Surely someone in the MMC is involved with the Ministry of Health, or Ministry of Higher Education. But why have not things changed?


I would like to quote from Jawing’s note:

“Even then, the problem persists. Who is to blame? Why are there not enough groups and individuals giving the government the proper advice?”

I’m sorry but there are enough groups and individuals giving the government proper advice. Not just any groups, but the 2 MOST prominent groups in Malaysia when it comes to healthcare. Still, they are not listening, and nothing has changed.



So why are they not listening?

That’s the question we want to answer. If we were to start out on a campaign that’s the question we must first answer. Before starting on a campaign, we must first seek a strategy that works. A good start is by abandoning strategies that DOESN’T work. As we have seen, using the name of MMA or MMC, getting their influence won’t work. They have been trying, and yet failed. We must be presented as MEDICAL STUDENTS OF ALL MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIA. The strength of SMMAMS is not in it's affiliation with the MMA, its strength lies in its ability to represent all medical students of Malaysia. But for now, we don't really have that strength. We still need support from many more medical schools that have not affiliated with SMMAMS

SMMAMS needs to represent all medical students of Malaysia if we were to embark on a journey of change. Getting more support from medical student bodies will help us gain momentum. How do we go about it? Gathering of medical student leaders? Create groups? Spread newsletters? Direct talks? That’s what we need to discuss. We can discuss in the SMMAMS FB (http://www.facebook.com/mma.medicalstudents ) or the group Voices of Our Heart (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_172952779395318 ). We need to know our direction. I can’t give you the idea of solving this problem, my idea is from a single mind. But with the gathering of all your creative minds, I believe we will come to a solution. Everything starts with ideas. The gathering of ideas, when fully formed, fully understood, will show us the path we should head to. It doesn’t matter if you are a leader of your medical school’s student organization or you’re without a title, come join in our discussion. Let’s make a change. We may just be medical students in white coats, but with our efforts together, we will be sharper than the scalpel knife. We can stop this disaster and start saving lives.


Mohd Lutfi Fadil bin Lokman
Vice Chairman, SMMAMS

Too many medical graduates, whose fault is it?

[Source:http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/notes/jawing-chunggat/too-many-medical-graduates-whose-fault-is-it/474619314547 ]

''PETALING JAYA: The number of medical housemen undergoing clinical training in most government hospitals has increased and this has given rise to concern that they may not get sufficient experience.

With new medical schools opening up locally and lower fees being offered at new institutions abroad, around 4,000 Malaysian medical students are expected to graduate annually from 350 universities all over the world in the coming years.

Senior Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) consultant physician Datuk Dr S. Jeyaindran said each specialist was supervising four times as many housemen compared to a decade ago.

“Five years ago, one houseman looked after 10 patients in hospital wards at any one time but now it is one to four patients,” said Dr Jeyaindran, who is HKL department of medicine head and national head for medicine at the Health Ministry.

“The concern is that these interns are seeing fewer patients and hence, have fewer opportunities to carry out adequate procedures. In some hospitals, there are more housemen than patients.”'' -THE STAR

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2010%2F11%2F27%2Fnation%2F7509809&sec=nation

This issue has been alarming the medical profession in the recent years now and the realisation towards its potential damage towards medical graduates in the future has slowly gained traction.

By now, many of us has understood that this is a crisis. Medical students, Housemans, Medical Officers, Specialists, Medical Practitioners, and the Health Ministry are all aware that this may come as a problem in the future. Thousands of medical graduates are produced each year, and the number is exponentially increasing. The domino effect of which will lead to a decline in the quality of future doctors due to insufficient training. All this has been established from various newspaper reports, articles and blogs.

However, the bigger issue is - who is at fault and what are we doing to mitigate this potential disaster?

The Health Ministry apparently is aware of the problem and are still approving more and more medical schools to be set up in Malaysia, the recent one would be the Perdana University. Read here-->

http://nst.com.my/nst/articles/JohnHopkins_RCSItohelpmedicaluniversity/Article

And the Government has also resorted to an attempt to mitigate the lack of specialists to train the large hoarde of freshly graduated doctors by employing more foreign medical officers. Read here-->

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2010%2F11%2F21%2Fnation%2F20101121142351&sec=nation

So we can see that despite acknowledging the issue, the government persists on producing more medical graduates per year without taking into account whether this might jeopardise the quality and standard of care that a medical doctor can provide for our fellow rakyat.

Even then, the problem persists. Who is to blame? Why are there not enough groups and individuals giving the goverment the proper advice?

Society of Malaysian Medical Association Medical Students (SMMAMS) seem to think that it is the medical student's fault for being ignorant and apathetic,

'What do Malaysian medical students feel about this issue? Are you worried? If yes, are you trying or thinking to do something? Or simply post link in Facebook and complain over Facebook? Many of us are still in the delusion that medical doctors are guaranteed a job in the MOH hospital once we graduate. Yes, the guarantee might still apply for graduates till 2015, but this might not apply for graduates after 2015,''

http://mma-medicalstudents.blogspot.com/2010/11/housemen-glut-in-malaysia-when-quantity.html

As a medical student, allow me to respond to SMMAMS and allow me to speak on behalf of all other medical students in Malaysia that echoes my views.

I believe SMMAMS represent the medical student body of the entire nation, or at least that is what they claim to be. If this is the case, then how is it possible that the student body responsible of being the voice of the medical students nationwide, pointing fingers at the students for being ignorant of this problem?

It has been evident in various newspaper reports and articles that the overflow of medical graduates will cause a problem. The medical students already know this and they understand the problem. Thus, why is it that SMMAMS not issuing an official statement to admit that they recognise the problem and subsequently forwarding suggestions to the Ministry of Health on what measures can be taken to counter this possible crisis?

What is the role of SMMAMS in this entire charade?

I implore SMMAMS to take the appropriate steps to improve on this issue and perhaps stop pointing fingers. The power is with SMMAMS. An individual medical student like myself cannot change the system. However an organisation like SMMAMS, a student body and sister affiliate to Malaysian Medical Association(MMA), can. SMMAMS is the collective voice of medical students nationwide. The power is with them, and many of us believe that SMMAMS must speak up!!! We support you and the ball is now in your court.

Jawing Ak. Chunggat
4th Year Medical Student

Housemen Glut in Malaysia: When Quantity dilutes Quality

" PETALING JAYA: The number of medical housemen undergoing clinical training in most government hospitals has increased and this has given rise to concern that they may not get sufficient experience.

With new medical schools opening up locally and lower fees being offered at new institutions abroad, around 4,000 Malaysian medical students are expected to graduate annually from 350 universities all over the world in the coming years. " ~ The Stars 27/11/2010

The most violent element in the society is IGNORANCE. Despite of the noises made by various parties (MMA, Hospital staffs, public etc.), but the "infection" doesn't seems to stop, yet becoming more unstoppable. More and more schools are established; more twinning programs become available, and thus more students are being accepted into medical schools.

Our country is very desperate in achieving the Doctor:Population ratio of developed country in the shortest period possible. In 5 years time, we have about 200% increase in the number of medical students each year.

What do Malaysian medical students feel about this issue? Are you worried? If yes, are you trying or thinking to do something? Or simply post link in Facebook and complain over Facebook? Many of us are still in the delusion that medical doctors are guaranteed a job in the MOH hospital once we graduate. Yes, the guarantee might still apply for graduates till 2015, but this might not apply for graduates after 2015.

Currently, with about 6,500 housemen flooding into the MOH training hospitals, one houseman takes care 4 patients compared to 10 patients last time. This mean that the opportunities each houseman can gain during their internship are significantly reduced. Try to imagine where 40 housemen need to compete for appendicectomy cases in the 4 months posting!!! Eventually, many doctors will pass their posting, without adequately exposed to what they should have learnt, or some being incompetent.

In Australia, medical graduates are facing difficulty in getting a place for their internship training. [Medical Internship Shortage Fears]

If the trends continue in our country, one day we will be facing the same problem as what Australia is facing. Perhaps one day, medical graduates will have to work at the petrol station or taxi driver?

Let us read about MMR's response to Houseman Glut.

A MORNING WITH DR. PATCH ADAMS, for Medical Profession In Malaysia

Dear fellow colleagues,

We are honored to be invited to spend a morning with Dr. Patch Adams, at MAP KL, on 26 November 2010 (Friday), from 9.00am - 12.30pm.

About Dr Patch Adams

Dr Patch Adams, of the Gesundheit Institute, will be in Kuala Lumpur November 26, 2010 and is having a talk exclusively for the medical industry.


Patch Adams is best known for his work as a medical doctor and a clown, and a social activist who has devoted 30 years to changing America's health care system. He believes that laughter, joy and creativity are an integral part of the healing process. His work was brought to light from the 1999 movie, where Robin Williams played Dr. Patch Adams.

Graduating from medical school with a loving heart full of play, Patch Adams began the Gesundheit Institute with a group of twenty friends, including three doctors, who moved into a six‐bedroom home in West Virginia and opened it as a free hospital.

Patch says,
“ We can’t promise to cure, but we can promise to care!”

The Gesundheit! Institute is now a not‐for‐profit health care organization chartered under the Nonprofit Corporation Act of the District of Columbia, is a project in holistic medical care based on the belief that one cannot separate the health of the individual from the health of the family, the community, the world, and the health care system itself. Members of the Institute are health practitioners and health educators. Gesundheit’s intention is to model creative problem solving and to spark each medical facility to design their own ideal ‐ to deliver health care in a context that is our ideal design, and educate other health care practitioners to design their ideal models for care. In its 40‐year history, Gesundheit has offered care to tens of thousands, given workshops and lectures in over 65 countries, built and supported clinics, schools, and orphanages from El Salvador to Cambodia, and brought the joy of clowning to parts of the world damaged by violence and injustice.

http://www.patchdams.org/

Details :

Day/Date : Friday, November 26th 2010,

Venue : MAP, Level G2‐01,
Block A5, Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1,
Off Jalan Duta
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Time : 9am to 1230pm

Fee : RM300

Attendees : Medical professionals and associates only

For those who are interested to attend this morning session, you can download the Invitation Letter and Registration form. Please drop us a message or email us if you are attending as a medical student. We would like know who is attending as this session is upon invitation only.

P/S: You will have to register under the Society of MMA Medical Students.

For further information, please do not hesitate to sms or contact me on 010-3785380.

Please drop us a message at FACEBOOK or email us at smmams1011@gmail.com, if you are interested to attend this function. Please kindly register before Wednesday. Thank you.

In case some might not know who this great physician is, you can watch the below video clips about Dr. Patch Adams, played by Robin Williams.

Warmest regards,

Vincent Khor

SMMAMS Webmaster

The Gathering of Great Minds

We have been invited by Mr. Krish Ravindran, a volunteer for Live and Inspire/ Friends to Mankinds, 2 organizations with the mission to contribute to the transformation and bettermind of humanity.

Dear Sir/Madam
Society of Malaysian Medical Association of Medical Students

On the 26th of November 2010, we are organizing an event called The Gathering of Great Minds (www.gatheringofgreatminds.com),a conference party with global speakers and artists (poster on this email)

Our keynote speaker for the event is Dr Patch Adams,who is best known for bringing humor and compassion into his treatment modalities, immortalized in a hit Hollywood movie staring Robin Williams.

On the 26th morning,Dr Patch has agreed to spend his time, talking and interacting with healthcare professionals about his story,his institute and his services in USA and globally.

We would like to invite you and members of your hospital, from all walks of services to attend the event.

Please feel free to ask any further information you may require. We do believe Dr Patch Adams would be able to bring further value to the work you are already doing and a new,humanitarian and global perspective on healthcare to the Malaysian scene.

For more information, please log on to The Gathering of Great Minds.

IF you are interested, please kindly drop us a message on Facebook or email us at smmams1011@gmail.com

Thank you.

MMA Foundation Student Loan

For students who are not lucky to secure a seat in local medical university, financial issue is a major issue when one choose to venture into the medical field. Today, I am going to write some of the loan options available for medical undergraduate. I hope this is helpful for those who are seeking for financial aid, especially 1st and 2nd year students.

Options available currently which I know of are:

1. PTPTN Loan

2. Oversea Undergraduate Loan by JPA

3. MMA Foundation Undergraduate Loan

I will not touch on PTPTN Loan. I am sure PTPTN loan is well known to all Malaysian students and there are officers in each university dealing with PTPTN. I am going to write something about MMA Foundation which many are not aware of.

One of the main objectives of Malaysian Medical Association Foundation (MMAF) is to receive and administer funds for education, scientific and charitable purposes. The charitable work commenced in the year 1977 exactly 2 years after MMAF was formed on 24 November 1975.

The loans to medical undergraduates were given from year 1980 onwards and for medical postgraduate studies in 1993.

The loan given to 219 medical students from 1980 to 2010 is RM1,881,610.00. This loan was given to 89 local and 130 students on twinning or overseas courses who excelled well in Year 1 and Year 2 medical exams.

Details of Undergraduate Loans:

A sum of RM 10,000 is given annually to students study overseas and RM5000 to local students.

Overseas Universities:

1. Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia - 13 students

2. Universitas Udayana, Bali, Indonesia - 5 students

3. Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta - 1 student

4. Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia - 1 student

5. Universitas Sumatra Utara, Medan Indonesia - 18 students

6. Kursk State Medical University, Russia - 27 students

7. Nizhniy Novgorod State Medical Academy, Russia - 4 students

8. Volgograd State Medical Academy, Russia - 1 student

9. Moscow Medical Academy, Russia - 2 students

10. Crimea State Medical University, Ukraine - 48 students

11. Kasturba Medical College, Manipal - 10 students

Local Universities:

1. Melaka-Manipal Medical College - 47 students

2. International Medical University (IMU) - 8 students

3. AIMST University - 2 students

4. USM - 10 students

5. UKM - 20 students

6. Penang Medical College (PMC) 1 student

7. UPM - 1 student

For those who are interested to apply for the loan, you can write an application letter to Student Loan Committee, MMA Foundation. If you would like to know further details, you can email us at smmams1011@gmail.com . We will be happy to assist you.

Public Service Department (JPA) also offers undergraduate loan for medical students studying at overseas. You can log on to Skim Pinjaman Yuran Pengajian di Luar Negara. JPA can offers up to RM250k.

Vincent Khor

SMMAMS Webmaster

Malaysian Medical students killed in Chennai Road Mishap

CHENNAI, Nov 13 (Bernama) -- Muhammad Akmal Shahiran Marzukhi''s dream to become a doctor was cut short after he was killed in a road accident in south India on Thursday.

Akmal, a first year student at the JJM Medical College in Davangere in the state of Karnataka, was riding pillion on a motorcycle ridden by another student when the accident happened.

His friend had tried to avoid an auto rickshaw (three-wheeler) but lost control of the motorcycle, which skidded off the road and fell into a ditch.

Akmal suffered multiple skull fractures and died on the same day in a local hospital. His friend survived.

The 19-year-old Mara-sponsored student arrived in India to pursue his medical course last September.

Malaysia''s Consul-General Anuar Kasman said the body was flown out of Bangalore to KL International Airport early this morning.

His funeral would be held in Kuala Kedah.

-- BERNAMA

[News from The Star Online, MalaysiaKini.com]

To Muhammad Akmal's family members,

Our sincere and deepest condolences of your lost.

May the peace which comes from the memories of love shared, comfort you now and in the days ahead.

Sincerely from,

SMMAMS and every Malaysian medical students

"Doctor in the Pocket" aim to reduce obesity in youth!

November 11, 2010 (Washington, DC) — An innovative mobile technology program called KNOWME Networks that shows promise in combating childhood obesity is being tested by Donna Spruijt-Metz, MFA, PhD, from the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles.

Her revolution involves technology, specifically mobile technology, and includes a set of wearable wireless sensors that measure physical activity, stress, location in time and space, body fat, and a number of other factors. Data are transmitted in real time to a secure server for storage and analyses. The focus of the technology — called KNOWME because it really knows the child — for these first studies is to develop a Mobile Body Area network that monitors obesity indicators in minority youth.

In the study, kids wear the equipment for most of the day. If they are sitting for too long, they get a tailored and specific message to get up and engage in physical activity. A pilot study of the device showed that kids could handle wearing it for 11waking hours. Now, the device will go into to a randomized trial in which control subjects will wear the same device but won't get any messages about behavioral changes.

[Source: Medscape for Medical Student News]

More Information on KNOWME Networks.

John Hopkins Medicine International and RCS Ireland help establish Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine

PUTRAJAYA: Johns Hopkins Medicine International and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland will help provide courses at a RM2 billion medical university that will be built outside Kuala Lumpur, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

Perdana University will be built as a public-private partnership on a 130-acre site in Serdang, near Putrajaya, with two medical schools and a 600-bed teaching hospital, Muhyiddin said. There will also be research and a life science research center.

“The savings to the government alone is estimated to be millions of ringgit annually as medical students need no longer be sent overseas for their education,” he told reporters in Putrajaya today. “The university is also expecting a significant inflow of foreign students.”

Malaysia hopes the initiative can help reverse its brain drain by attracting physicians, specialists and researchers, including some of its own citizens currently working abroad. The government is establishing a “Talent Corporation” to help convince its 700,000 nationals living abroad to return home and contribute to the Southeast Asian country’s growth story.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today witnessed the signing of an agreement in Putrajaya with Johns Hopkins. Perdana will offer a four-year graduate program based on the U.S. medical university school’s curriculum, Muhyiddin said.

The second school will offer conventional five-year graduate program in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, or RCSI, he said Perdana University will be funded by two Malaysian companies, Turiya Bhd. and Chase Perdana Sdn Bhd., according to today’s agreement.

Source: New Strait Times, Business Times Malaysia, John Hopkins Medicine News, BERNAMA

Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Mohan Swami of Chase Perdana and Edward D. Miller of Johns Hopkins shake hands while Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin bin Mohd Yassin, deputy prime minister of Malaysia, and Hillary Clinton, U.S. secretary of state, look on.

The John Hopkins Medicine International will be assisting Malaysia in establishing the FIRST PRIVATE GRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOL and FIRST PRIVATE TEACHING HOSPITAL. John Hopkins International has signed agreement with Academic Medical Centre and an associate company of Turiya to help Malaysia develop its first fully integrated private four-year graduate medical school and teaching hospital.

The school, to be called Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine, will open in fall 2011. “For more than a century, Johns Hopkins has been recognized as a national and global leader in patient care, research and education,” Miller said. “We are honored to have an opportunity to share our innovations and best practices with the people of Malaysia. We firmly believe that this project will help us to continue our historic and vital mission of helping to raise the standards of health care around the world.”

Under the agreement, Johns Hopkins will assist with the development of every major aspect of the new medical enterprise, including medical education programs, campus design and facilities planning, and clinical affairs. Johns Hopkins also will guide academic development in alignment with the breakthroughs of its new Genes to Society curriculum and will consult on other important components, including the teaching environment and infrastructure, pedagogy, administration and student affairs.

And, in a third major component of the agreement, Johns Hopkins will advise Malaysian colleagues on the development and integration of research programs across the entire medical enterprise.

Operationally, all education, patient care and research functions and programs will be managed in accordance with the Johns Hopkins Medicine organizational and operational model.
“It is a great privilege to be able to assist Malaysia with the establishment of its first private graduate medical school and teaching hospital,” Nichols said. “Not only will this collaboration have a transformational impact on the quality of medical education, research and health care delivery for Malaysia and the region, but it also will bring a wide range of benefits to the university, departments, faculty and staff here in Baltimore.”

Johns Hopkins will provide a leadership team for the new school that includes vice deans as well as a founding dean and CEO; advise and consult with its Malaysian partners on faculty and student recruitment; recruit and supply founding core faculty and staff, who will administer the Genes to Society curriculum and advance the new school’s research mission; provide training in the Genes to Society curriculum and educational program development for non–Johns Hopkins faculty; and advise and consult in campus design, research program development and hospital operations.

Johns Hopkins faculty will have opportunities to take temporary or potentially permanent assignments of six months to two years at Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine or Perdana University Hospital; participate as curriculum trainers for Malaysian and other international faculty, or in specific research collaborations, during their stays in Baltimore; or visit Kuala Lumpur as guest faculty for one to two weeks. JHM staff will also be eligible for some temporary or permanent positions.

“This is a remarkable opportunity to transform the medical educational system and introduce a new thematic medical paradigm to Southeast Asia,” said Wiener, who will take up residence in Malaysia in January. “The people there are enthusiastic about medical education reform and establishing an academic medical center with Hopkins values.

“I hope that the Johns Hopkins community will share this excitement and participate in the groundbreaking effort,” he said. “We are looking for teachers and role models who are looking to live in this exciting environment. Johns Hopkins is deeply invested in the success of this collaboration. I welcome people who want to be part of it.”

The curriculum, Wiener said, will be in English, and applicants will be required to complete the MCAT in English.

The school is projected to open with up to 100 “highly qualified” students, Wiener said. David Trabilsy, former director of admissions at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, will be interim director for medical student admissions. In preparation for the 2011–2012 academic year, faculty and staff from Johns Hopkins are expected to be in place in Malaysia in July.

Academic Medical Centre’s primary focus is to develop Perdana University, a public-private partnership. Chase Perdana holds an 80 percent equity interest in Academic Medical Centre, while Turiya Berhad owns the remaining 20 percent. A premier construction company in Malaysia and the Middle East, Chase Perdana was the main contractor to design and build the University Malaysia Sabah, one of the premier universities in Malaysia.

What is Gene to Society Curriculum?:

The curriculum development process addressed a variety of forces advocating for change in the way we prepare physicians in the 21st century, which makes it hard to give a simple answer to this question, but a good place to start is in the title, Genes to Society. The new curriculum begins with a grounding in what we’ve learned from the Human Genome Project about human variability, risk and the ability to modulate disease presentation and outcomes. We have also brought in a wealth of knowledge in the social and behavioral sciences, as well as public health and policy content, with an aim toward improving societal health outcomes. Students will experience an integrative approach to health from the first week of medical school. Other innovations include a strong career preparation course with a scholarly project, a longitudinal clerkship, translational science intersessions, transition courses at milestones in the curriculum, and improved assessment and evaluation.

[Source from John Hopkins Medicine]

According to Dr. Mohan Swami the University of both schools will commence their first student intake in September 2011. The respective Dean has been appointed and will be expected to start working on January 2011.

Free Medical Journals

Dear colleagues,

One of our colleague is looking for Free Journal on Internal Medicine. Here are some of online sites which provide FREE journals on different specialties:

1. BioMed Central - recommended
2. Annals of Internal Medicine
3. Medscape

Knowledge is best gained by sharing. If you have any good journal to be recommended, please kindly share with us. We really appreciate that. Thank you.

SMMAMS

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

"I Run for Life" a meaningful and inspiring video for those touched by Breast malignancy. Stay strong, survive and live a quality life.