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.

SMMAMS welcomes AIMST MedSA's Members

Recently, AIMST University MedSA together with MMA Kedah are running a membership drive in AIMST University. We have seen the passion and dedication in joining as MMA Student Members.

On behalf of the SMMAMS Committee and all MMA Student members, we welcome all of you to join our big family. Together we will strive for better future and make a difference in our medical education system.

Warmest regards,

Justin Lee,

SMMAMS Chairman 2010-2011

Inter Medical Schools Clinical Anatomy Workshops and Quiz, at IMU

AMSA of International Medical University (IMU) is organizing an Inter-Medical School Clinical Workshop and Quiz on 11 December 2010 (Saturday), from 7.30am - 5.30pm at IMU, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur

Guided by expert facilitators,

Dr Nilesh Kumar, Clinical Anatomist and Associate Professor, IMU and

Prof Yushak Wahab, Head and Professor, Division of Surgery, IMU,

it is a student driven workshop that will see students presenting on CLINICAL ANATOMY triggers which will be released 1 week before this event.

Other groups of delegates will also present other triggers, all of
which have a common theme, diseases or clinical conditions which have an anatomical basis either in managing it or the understanding the pathophysiology of it

Price: RM 20 including Souvenir, Certificate of Attendance or Presentation, Lunch and Tea

Instructions:

For non-AMSA University members:

Send email to kchiayew_133@hotmail.com including your name, university, HP No. so that we can send you the workshop booklet and registration form and further details.

For AMSA University members:

Contact your university Rep now!

Dateline for PRESENTER's REGISTRATION: 2nd DECEMBER 2010.

Download: 1. Workshops Booklet, 2. Registration Form

Click here to confirm your attendance at our Facebook Event Page.

3rd Asia Pacific Medical Student Symposium, National Taiwan University, Taipei

The 3rd Asia Pacific Medical Student Symposium will be held at National Taiwan University, Taipei on 9 -13 February 2011.

This is a can’t-miss opportunity for medical students from Asia-Pacific area to keep up with the latest medical advancement, to exchange ideas and to share values on pressing issues in various aspects of medicine.

　　The theme of the 3rd APMSS is “Challenges and Prospects in Modern Medicine”.

For further information and registration of the conference, you can log on to 3rd APMSS website.

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.

CME: Misunderstanding Eczema. What are the common problems in treatment?

Dear all colleagues,

LEO Pharma Malaysia is inviting our medical students to attend a CME talk organized by the company. The details of the CME are as follow:

Date : 18/11/2010 (Thursday)

Time : 1800 hrs - 2100 hrs

Venue: Hotel LE MERIDIAN

Speaker : Dr. Diamont Thaci (Germany)

Chairperson : Dr. Koh Chuan Keng

Topic :

"Misunderstanding Eczema. What are the common problems in treatment?"

Leo Pharma is a global leading company specializing in dermatology and critical care. For more than a century, their products have improved the quality of millions' of people life in the world.

For those who are intersted, please do not hesitate to contact our SMMAMS Secretary, LOO KAR YEE on +60124901648 or email to smmams1011@gmail.com.

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.

Evidence Based Complementary Medicine

Dear Medical Students,

In the recent Malaysian National Health and Morbidity Survey, it shows that around 40% of Malaysians will seek traditional or complementary medicine before seeking you, a practitioner of Allopathic (western) medicine. This means almost 4 out of 10 patients that you encounter in your future practice may be a believer of complementary medicine.

SMMAMS is dedicated to making you a better doctor. We are sponsoring 10 medical students (worth RM100 per seat) for a Seminar of Evidence Based Complementary Medicine, on the 30th of October, in Vistana Hotel, KL. Lunch provided.

In this Seminar, you will gain exposure on complementary medicine in Malaysia, as well as know which Complementary Medicines are Evidence Based, as patients may ask your opinion on complementary medicine.

Date : 30.10.10

Time : 8.30am to 4.30pm

Venue : Vistana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Criteria : MMA Medical Student members (if you are not a member, you can sign up now)

If you are interested to join, please email to president.smmams@gmail.com your details :

1) Name

2) IC Number

3) University

4) Year of study

5) HP number and email address.

Here are the uploaded flyers for the Seminar. Unfortunately, we were unable to upload a version with colours.

AHA New CPR Guidelines 2010- a change from ABC to CAB

The American Heart Association (AHA) has recently published the new CPR Guidelines 2010 on October 2010. A change from A-B-C to C-A-B (Compression, Airway and Breathing), which make CPR easier for public and save more life.

Fore more information, please visit American Heart Association (AHA) website.

SMMAMS T-shirt Design Contest

The Society of MMA Medical Students (SMMAMS) is looking for a brand new design for our official t-shirt. If you are talented in design and wish that all Malaysian medical students to wear your design, please do not wait anymore. Open your Adobe or drawing programs, start designing and send your creative product to us.

Click at our Facebook Event Page.

FAQ :
1) Is there a limit to the number of T-shirt designs that one person/university can submit?
Each person/ individual can send as many entries as possible to us. We are looking forward to receive your creative design. 


2) For the colours of the t-shirt: are there any specified blue for it? (e.g. light blue, dark blue, marine blue, etc.)
For the colour of the T-Shirt, the BLUE is NOT specified. You can select any blue from the whole range of blue.


3) Is the type of shirt fixed as in like round neck, no collar, short sleeve?
The T-shirt design will be printed out on a Polo type T-Shirt.


4) How about the T-shirt design template?
You can create your own template, or you can choose to use our ready made template :

INTERVARSITY SPORTS MEDIC 2010 - Gathered almost 300 medical students at UPM

On the 26th September 2010 (Sunday), at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), the very first INTERVARSITY SPORTS MEDIC 2010 organized by Putra Medic Club (UPM) in collaboration with SMMAMS, was successfully organized, which had gather almost 300 medial students from all over Malaysia, including USM team who travelled far from Kelantan, to participate in this event.

The participating universities and medical colleges include: International Medical University (IMU), Melaka-Manipal Medical College (MMMC), Monash University Malaysia, AIMST University, Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), UIAM and the host, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

Good job UPM organizing committee! Thank you for all participating medical schools for their support towards this event. We sincerely hope that you will keep supporting SMMAMS activities and movements. We were so sorry for any inconvenience and misunderstandings that have occured during the event. We are looking forward to see you again in the next year Sports Medic 2011 and here we promise you that there will be more games in the coming sports medic. See you!

2nd Annual Health Conference by USIM

25 - 26 February 2011 at Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

This conference is organized by Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), in collaboration with Federal of Complementary and Natural Medical Association. Students who are interested in traditional and complementary medicine are encouraged to attend.

Undergraduate Student - RM 300

Please click here for more information and registration. Thank you.

Oxford University Press - Research Into Medical Resources

Oxford University Press (OUP) medical book team, which produce key texts like Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine for undergraduate and postgraduate, approaches us to help them to conduct a small survey for all medical students in Malaysia.

They are currently attempting to increase their base of contacts for editorial research. Periodically, OUP undertakes research that aims to refine or improve the resources that they provide.

Please kindly take 5 minutes of your time, click the link and complete the survey.

FOR JUNIOR DOCTORS: They are looking for junior doctors to be the new junior author for the Ninth Edition (9th) Oxford Handbook of clinical medicine. Deadline for application is 15th October 2010. Please click here for futher details.

"Malaysia Med School Hyperplasia Syndrome"

"MBBS = Manatau Begitu Banyak School" - quoted by a 4th year medical student.

"MBBS in University XXX; Accreditation from Malaysian Medical Council, MQA, Ministry of Higher Education...; with highest quality of education in undergraduate, postgraduate, continuing medical education, required credits and B4 in SPM and A Levels Equivalent; ONLY RM100k for 5 years course...."

Guess what? I have came across 3 advertisements in local newspaper, especially NST, about the new intakes on October by the newly budding medical schools in Malaysia, IN JUST ONE MONTH ONLY!

They are the follow:

1. Masterskill University College - Sri Alam Campus, Johor,

Pre-clinical in Malaysia and Clinical in India. [Click here to read].

2. SEGi University College - First intake on October 2010.
[Click here to read]

3. Kolej Insaniah, Kedah - Kulliyah of Medicine - First 2 years pre-clinical in Malaysia and 3 years clinical at Yemen (I read this advertisement in NST today)
[Click here to read]

"The aim of the faculty of medicine is to produce quality doctors to meet the increasing demands for more doctor in Malaysia...." - this is a typical message the new dean will speak to the media. Do they see what is the situation now in Malaysia? According to Healthfact 2009 produced by MOH, the doctor:population ratio is 1:927, which is very near to the 1:600 optimum by WHO. With more than 4000 Housemen flowed into the market this year, the ratio will be changing again, more doctors to a single population.

I was posted to one of the district hospital this few days. What I can see is the building is very nice and hospital is well equipped. However, there are not much patients. MOH is going to send HOs to these hospitals for housemanship. This will seriously compromise the quality of housemanship training, and after all, they are given the license to kill.

All the current Nursing College will provide MBBS course. It is just a matter of time where you will see MBBS holders working at the petrol stations? Or like some UM professor always says, be a taxi driver.

Who should regulates the license to start a medical program? As far as I am concerned, Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) is the one who issues license for a college/ university to operate MBBS program. They will be inspected in quality by MQA and finally when the first batch graduates, they will be assessed by Malaysian Medical Council (MMC). The point is, is MOHE in a suitable position to issue the license to operate medical program? Or this authority lies independently in the hand of Medical Council or may be Ministry of Health?

Any more medical schools going to bud out next??? Is your situation being threatened? What do you think about the "med school hyperplasia syndrome"? Where do you stand in your future?

This is now a very serious "malignancy" which is metastasizing to more chronic stage. Are we just going to sit down, and wait for the time to "certify" - when doctors in Malaysia are no longer trusted by the people due to poor qualities? We need your voice; your opinions; your suggestions on how we should act?

You are welcome to write in articles about this issues and email to us. [smmams1011@gmail.com] - when sending your email, please kindly include some personal information.

Opinions by,

SMMAMS Webmaster