I received an interesting info today from both the FMT News and the Star. In May 2012, I wrote this. When our great, previous Health Minister announced that 16 medical institutions will conduct MQE exams, which include few private medical schools, I did not agree. I felt that a standardised MQE exams conducted by MMC will be a better option, like GMC. Furthermore, allowing private medical schools to conduct this exam is not acceptable, as far as I am concerned, as these are profit orientated organisations and MMC will not be able to monitor the exam standards. As I wrote before, every of this universities have different curriculum and different format of exams. Monash do not even have a final year exam!
Both the article above (attached below) says that MMC has withdrawn MQE exams in private institution. However, nothing is mentioned on MMC’s website. If it is true, I feel that our current DG, Dato Hisham is doing a good job. I just hope he will continue to bring good standards of medical education and practice to this country. I also feel that Dato Subra’s comment is a valid comment as this decision is MMC’s decision and nothing to do with MOH. MMC should be an independent body to monitor the standards of medical graduates. It should never be influenced by politics.
Now, coming to the parents and students who complain about this. Firstly, it is not the MMC’s or MOH’s fault when you do your MBBS in an unrecognised university. The list is available on MMC’s website (last updated 11/06/2013) for everyone to see. If you graduate from an unrecognised university, you must sit and pass the MQE exams. It is the law under Medical Act 1971 (amended 2012). It is the same for any other country. In fact, for some countries, as long as you graduate outside their country, you need to sit for an entrance exam (UK, Australia, US etc). Unfortunately, our society is an ignorant society. I still have queries in this blog asking about recognition of their medical schools when it is easily available on the net. I still have parents and students who feel that no matter where they do medicine, they can work anywhere in this world ! Some get cheated in broad daylight by agents and medical schools when WHO/Avicenna/IMEI listing is used as a form of “international” recognition of the medical school ! I am also amused when they say that their degree is recognised by EU but not Malaysia. I wonder whether they can use their degree to get a job in any of the EU countries including Ireland and UK?
Day by day I am hearing horror stories about our increasing number of new doctors. Some do not even know basic medicine for which you spend 5 years in a medical school. The shift system is only making the situation worst. I just hope our new DG would do something about it. Forget about foreign medical schools, our very own 36 medical schools also need proper accreditation to be done. If they do not comply to MMC’s standard, they should not be recognised. I have written many times in this blog about all the hanky panky things that goes on in some of the medical colleges in this Bolehland.
Finally, we definitely do not want doctors who do this :
Medical grads in limbo, want govt help
| June 21, 2013
With the Malaysian Qualifying Examination at private institutions cancelled, hundreds of doctors from unscheduled universities are in limbo.
GEORGE TOWN: There are some 450 jobless but qualified medical doctors in Malaysia from unrecognised universities abroad.
Last year they were given a lifeline when the Malaysian Medical Council allowed them to sit for the Medical Qualifying Examination (MQE) at private medical universities.
As a result more of these unscheduled doctors managed to pass MQE last year than previous years.
But their respite was short-lived when MMC suddenly cancelled this year’s MQE intake in private universities without any explanation.
Now the qualified doctors are in limbo.
Led by Penang Consumers Protection Association (PCPA) K Koris Atan, some of these unscheduled doctors sought the help of new Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam.
They met Dr Subramaniam on June 10 in Putrajaya, hoping that the MIC strongman would somehow end their predicament. But, they returned home dismayed by his indifferent ministerial response.
After listening to them for only eight minutes, the minister finally told them that “I can’t do much on this matter.”
Koris said the medical doctors were terribly upset with Subramaniam’s tepid response.
“He just washed his hands off the issue,” said Koris. Also present with Koris were Hindraf advisor N Ganesan and seven affected doctors, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Recognised elsewhere
The doctors graduated from unrecognised medical universities in Romania and Ukraine.
They have also passed the European Union examination for medical graduates to obtain practising licences.
But these medical graduates from unrecognised universities need to pass the MQE in order to start their housemanship and be registered as medical doctors in Malaysia.
Previously unscheduled medical graduates from unrecognised foreign universities could only sit for the MQE at three local universities – Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
But the number of those unscheduled doctors who managed to pass the examinations was extremely low.
Last year however, many unscheduled doctors managed to pass MQE when MMC expanded the examination to private medical institutions AIMST University, Melaka-Manipal Medical College and Monash University Sunway Campus.
Now that too had stopped for reasons best know to MMC and the Health Ministry.
“Until today no one knows why MQE was suddenly stopped this year.
“The doctors and their families are in dilemma,” said Ganesan.
In a lurch
Although qualified as doctors recognised by European and Commonwealth countries, he said they were left in a lurch in Malaysia because their degrees were not recognised by the government.
Currently MMC recognises 375 universities in over 30 countries.
Each medical graduate spends about RM200,000 to 300,000 to complete a six-year medical degree course in unscheduled universities abroad.
It’s cheaper than the over RM500,000 needed to pursue a medical course in Malaysia.
Ganesan said some unscheduled doctors were forced to sit at home unable to get employment, while some have taken up jobs unrelated to their medical degrees.
Some are working in pharmaceutical warehouses, as car salesman and insurance agents, and some had resorted to selling different products to make a living.
Several others have left Malaysia to earn a livelihood as medical doctor in foreign land.
“We are qualified professionals, and yet we are unrecognised by our very own government when others recognise us.
“The MQE path too had been closed now.
“We want to serve the country but we are denied the chance,” said the disappointed doctors.
Hindraf will refer the issue to Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister Department, Senator P Waythamoorthy.
“The government should end its flip-flop and step in immediately to address this issue,” said Ganesan.
– See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/21/medical-grads-in-limbo-want-govt-intervention/#sthash.Om5N7viF.dpuf
Govt should help medical grads in limbo, says Hindraf
He said the MMC had stopped private universities, which had earlier conducted the exam, from doing so.
Only public universities are allowed to do so now.
“It is unfair for the MMC to take such a move without considering the impact on medical graduates from the unscheduled universities.
“It is baffling that their qualifications are recognised by the European Union (EU) but not the MMC,” he said, adding that most of the graduates were from universities in Romania and Russia.
One of the affected graduates, who was present at the press conference with her parents, said it was tough for her and her friends to become full-fledged doctors without passing the MQE.
“Right now, I have no choice but to find other medical-related jobs.
“But this is not easy as each job requires me to hold a practising licence, which can only be obtained if I pass the MQE,” said the 32-year-old who wished to remain anonymous.
Pagalavan's Avatar 
Gosh, I wasn’t aware that MQE was abolished in private institutions this year. This is definitely good news and I must congratulate the current DG for taking a firm stand in this matter and for the Health Minister for not intervening.
What I find amusing in the article is that it was mentioned twice in the FMT article that these graduates had passed the European Union examination for medical graduates to obtain practising licences. If they can pass these EU examination, then passing MQE in public universities shouldn’t be a problem isn’t it?
I wonder which foreign lands they are earning a livelihood in as mentioned in the FMT article. I doubt any countries in EU although they have ‘passed European Union examination and obtained practising licenses’ as EU has currently strict employment rules from employing non-EU.
One step to bringing back the glory of the Malaysian medical profession.
Now I hope
Re the photo, should the canula be positioned the other way? Am not in the medical profession but would like to know, just in case.
Yes, which is why paga posted the picture. However, i must say, i quite admire the doctor who managed to do that. It is NOT easy to site a canula in that position.
YES, EXACTLY!
A photo tells a million words. As a layman, I wouldn’t know & trust the doctor completely. Scary!
Perhaps the patient’s blood flow in opposite direction. Or rather the dr who set the branula has his/her brain on the bottom and the buttock in the top
It could still be a canulation for a fistulogram ( a method to image a fistula). Im sure u have seen one.
Malaysian way of saying it’s okay to handle life without required knowledge so long as my ”failed-spm-but-manage-to-be-a-doctor-from-university-of-colombo” son can get a 4 figure job and I can tell my friends about my doctor son.
The NHS was first introduced after the war ”to provide jobs to save lives”.
In Malaysia it’s okay to kill people to provide jobs.
Otherwise some radical racial faction will use this issue of jobless youngsters to become a minister.
I believe one of the northern private medical uni had nearly 100% passing rate for their recent MQE exams. Probably one of the reason for the withdrawal and a point of concern to MMC..not sure if this is true though
That is correct. When the pass rate is 15-20% for years (UM/UKM/USM) (and is the same in the other IPTA tasked with the exam), when a new private exam venue in the first tranche of exam produce a 90% pass rate, something is VERY wrong.
Which is not surprising, considering the kind of students that uni is taking in for their own medical programmes.
That is what I expected when it was announced last year !
Mqe exam in public uni. have 6 week of training but in private uni they provide 6mth training (this is what i understand), this affect the passing rate too, correct me if i am wrong…Even that, i understand that some Mqe student that fail their exam can take exam with final year student and pass together in specific private uni. , anyone have some idea or heard about this?
Question is, they claimed to be competent well trained doctors recognised by ‘Europeans’, so why do they need further training, be they 6 weeks or 6 months? Just go sit the exam and pass lah. It’s only final year Medical School level only, not postgraduate.
The truth is, many are weak students, and many are poorly trained, that is the reason why they have a problem passing the exams. In the private uni course, they are extensively coached how to answers the questions. ie, they are NOT trained to be doctors, but trained to answer exam questions so they can pass exams.
But nobody wants the acknowledge the truth. Because that uncomfortable truth extends to many local medical schools too.
i am not surprised at all
To be fair to all and reduce all the bickering I still think that we should have 1 common examination for all. Those who pass get to serve and those did not can try until they pass. There are many graduates from recognised universities perform poorly at their work too.. We should all work towards something like USMLE..
..they must be a limit for exam to be taken.. afraid by age of 55 then suddenly candidate past after 30th attempt..
There is no limit. The former Health Minister is on record to say that there is no more limit in tries ‘so that all can pass’.
Yes, the ex-DG Tan Sri Ismail Merican did propose a common exam not very long ago but it was shot down by the politicians. It would expose the standards of our own private (and some public) medical schools so would not go down well with all those connected businessmen who own these schools.
anyone knows who is maxcy filer???
dear drs,i need your help in answering a question,iam libyan doctor,want to specialize in malaysia,am i eligible or i need to do some exam?what is my chances to get clinical training to be specialist in malaysia?anaesthesia surgery or emergnecy medicine,in general do you advice me to train in malaysia?thanx
likely your basic degree is not recognised by Malaysian Medical Council. Some of our universities do offer Master’s program for foreigners. You need to apply directly to the respective universities. Otherwise, there is no other way for you to become a specialist. Furthermore, the Master’s program they offer may not be recognised in your country.
Dr.Subra should ban advertisements of medical students placement agencies in the newspapers.They are seeking for people to look be agents to bring in medical students paying them exorbitant commissions. What the heck is all this?
advertisement in actually under Lembaga Pengiklanan Malaysia.
i just dont get it. if they call themselves competent doctors RECOGNISED by the EUROPEAN UNION, surely it would be a breeze passing MQE exams be it in a public or private university. I’m sure the exams are only at final year meds level and not PACES or any other postgraduate exam level.
so whats with all this commotion wanting the exams to be done in private universities? go and take the exam anywhere laa.
nationa universtiy of singapore offerring master in emergnecy medicine with the MCEM exam,and they accept training in malysian hositals,plz dr correct me if iam wrong?and can i do this trainin while my mbbs from libya?and what mcem and master of emergnecy medicine from nu of singapore equal in world?isit recognized certificate in canada and australia?thanks dr
Your basic degree from Libya must be recognised in malaysia or Singapore inorder for you to undergo training in both this countries. As far as I know, this masters degree is not recognised elsewhere.
Being the father of three, all this while, I always wanted my kids to become like me. But after years of service, faced up and down in life, met many people in our fraternity…I learnt one most important fact..’To be a good doctor, you must become a good person first’.
Hi Dr.Pagalavan,
I am an indian citizen and married to malaysian and unfortunately i am also an EU medic graduate and not recognised by MMC.I wanna settle back in malaysia and would like to know about public university MQE mainly the dates and number of attempts.Currenlty i am doing specialisation in paeds and what are my options in malaysia? I believe I have to start as HO eventhough I passed the MQE in india and done my internship.Pls guide me with ur vision..
Hi Dr,
Now days medical student are often taking everything for granted from their effort and also their passion. Those universities that’s churns out such doctors who are not incompetent enough even to be doctors are projecting a bad image about this profession t the society. From my experience i’ve seen many medical students doesn’t prepare for their final years and only want luck in their exam. Some medical student’s able to blame the patients if they can’t remember their medical history. Such disgusting attitude of today’s medical students and future doctor’s are such a disgrace. Most of the young doctor’s are not passionate and only give wrong diagnoses and also being very careless. Such universities that produce such doctors are AIMST where students depend on lecturer’s help for their final exam and want to have easy cases for their final long and short case exam. What is happening to the standard of the medicine education in Malaysia ? They can voice out their dissatisfaction about other universities that prepares a much more easier papers and also cases for their final exam. What a disgrace! Everyone is concern about the pay but the important fact is blurred amidst this financial problem. I have seen many talented doctors who are passionate about their profession and they studied hard and tend to use their expertise for the good reason but for this generation everything is about the money and the status.
Something which I have been saying for a long time
Interesting