For close to 3 weeks, I did not update my blog. I decided to keep silent as a mark of respect to the disappearance of Flight MH370 since 8/03/2014. It will remain as the greatest mystery in aviation for many more months/years to come, looking at the way it is unfolding. During these 3 weeks, the SPM and STPM results were announced. As usual, thousands of students are scoring straight As. Since our national exam results are under Official Secret Act ( the only country in the world probably), the only information we get is from the official announcement to the press. From what I gather from the report HERE, there were close to 14 000 students who scored straight As in all subjects with almost 400 students scoring straight A+. What a remarkable figure! It is either our students are getting smarter or our exam standards are dropping drastically. According to World Bank Senior economist, the poor quality of our education system is more worrying than the amount of household debt !! I still do not understand why the passing mark of our national exams are considered an official secret! For your info, the passing rate of MRCP exams worldwide since it’s inception has remained about 45-50%! In this Bolehland, everything can be adjusted to give the “feel good” factor! The same goes to our tertiary education. Ask any employer who interview job applicants and see what they say.
Now, with this “top scoring” rate of our students and the MMC’s minimum entry requirement , how many students do you think would be eligible to enter medical school ? We should be filled with doctors, walking on the road. As usual, around this month I will receive numerous emails and phone calls from potential medical students/parents asking what they should do. You will see numerous advertisement in newspapers and ASTRO , promoting medical education in countries like Russia, Indonesia, Egypt etc etc. It is a business out there! A good money making business indeed.
Firstly, as I had mentioned many times before, I do not consider SPM as an entry qualification to do medicine. It should be a standardised established Pre-U course. I will never agree using foundation programs to enter medical school. It is just a marketing tool for the universities to get students. Most of the time the medical seat has already been booked. Students being students and parents being parents, they will definitely choose the easiest and most guaranteed route.
As I have always said, NEVER do medicine for wrong reasons. I still get a lot of questions about future job prospect in medicine. Much has been written in this blog about the possibilities of oversupply of doctors and jobless scenario. If you have genuine passion and interest in doing medicine (after reading this blog on the reality of medicine), why worry about job prospect ? A person who does law, is he worried about whether he will get a job ? Same goes to the rest who does engineering, pilot, business admin, actuary etc etc. Do what you are interested and after knowing what is the demand of each job. Never jump into anything just because your results entitles you to do so. Many of our students nowadays do not understand the reality of the world out there.
Always remember ” A Grade students work for C grade students ” . That’s the reality. Most millionaire’s (if earning money is your intention) are not professionals. In fact, many of them do not even have a degree. They start to learn how to make money when they were late teenagers and become rich by the time they reach 40 years old. Warren Buffet started making money when he was 12 years old! While they are busy making money by investing in stocks, property etc, you are still slogging in the university! So, do medicine only if you have real passion in serving mankind.
Today, 50 top students were given scholarship to go overseas for their courses. The way it is portrayed in the newspaper sounds like, being trained overseas is superior than local graduates. Than why call yourself as an education hub? Frankly, you should only send students overseas if the course is not available in this country. WE can always sponsor students overseas for post-graduate studies rather than undergraduate.
I came across THIS interesting video about life as a Houseman. I must say, it was well done and does show the reality of a junior doctor. However, the scenario does not tell the actual hectic life of a doctor in a busy general hospital. It dwells more into the emotional aspect of a young graduate. Most of it has been written in this blog since 2010. For those who are interested in doing medicine, please read all the topics under ” For Future Doctors” page
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A parent just mentioned to me about his son getting a few As. “The A must be tipu punya” because she knows her son better.
Anyway I like your statement “Frankly, you should only send students overseas if the course is not available in this country.”
I agree. Being a doctor sounds nice. But if got another position is far better. To achieve to the level, where the doctor is at ease and earn some money more than usual, required about 10 yrs from graduation. Imagine 5 yrs studying medicine, while our friend already graduated earlier, and latter, we become ho as ‘coolley’ for another 2 yrs, while our friend already take phd or shatsoever according to their course, then, damn difficult to enter master programme, master another sacrifice, only can take leave 2 days in amonth with almost all weekend u have to cover the ward, even delivery only 2 weeks.. A constatnt pressure, while u finish all, u glued or stick with books, while ur friend matured, already have children, travellling.. Think carefully. When u finish all suddenly ur salary is equal with ur friend or pharmacy, dentist. With only mild decrepency . Haha… Think again. Some more our society isnt like teacher society, alot of things to protect, like leave or duty works or salary, dr didnt liek to complain, so bear with the systems forever.
Entirely true. The requirement to continue professional development is a very big time sink and commitment.
Medical students: 5-6 years of study for the right to be an intern.
Interns: Dont really make decisions (1 to 2 years depending on country)
Residents: Make some decisions, but seriously all the major decisions are made by the reg or consultant. (1-2 years) This is when you figure out what you want to do with your life and register with a college of X or Y to become a registrar.
Junior Reg’s: Work closely with the senior reg’s or the consultants. Some autonomy, but not really. (1 – 2 years)
Senior Reg’s: Can handle *most* things confidently. (3 years)
Consultants: The final word in decision making.
Keep in mind you are working full time from internship onwards. And as a registrar, you are effectively an apprentice in whatever field you are in to. Requirements vary by college… but one thing is constant: YOu need alot of time/dedication to become a consultant. To be recognized as *the* final word in decision making for patients.
Im registered with ACEM, and… my god.. the primary syllabus is 5 years of medschool crammed into one exam but at a **much higher standard** set by the college (pass rate last feb was <50%). Then there's a research requirement and a fellowship exam (which is also incredibly tough).
Every college has their own set of hurdles.
It's not a walk in the park people.
But if you like medicine… and can nerd up a bit.
It's wonderfully rewarding.
Your friends in pharmacy or dentistry may be living more comfortable lives… But heck, you are a doctor. Dont let anyone put you down.
Bottom line: You need to like medicine to be able to nerd up and not feel depressed at work / study.
What if I am a straight A (10) and my friend got less than half the amount. (4). I didn’t choose medicine because of what I read in this blog but my friend went to Russia (self-sponsored). I end up doing Science or anything less ‘prestigious’ because my interest still lies in this field. Then both me and my friend graduated but he is my ‘superior’ and I have to do the things that he orders. He’ll probably earn more than me too being ‘higher-ranked’. Isn’t that unfair considering that I’m probably better academically than him? Therefore I have to do medicine by hook or by crook so since I don’t qualify for local universities I might go to Russia too otherwise it’s unfair. This scenario is slightly fictional but Malaysia will still recognize Russia in the next 10 years so my point is that, as a student why should I be the one not doing medicine??
This scenario has existed in Malaysia for a very long time, ever since Education is politicised and merit removed and the govt abdicate their responsibilities to money making private education. Different opportunities exist for our youths, depending on your skin and parents wallet. Sad but true.
If u r in Malaysia, It certainly wont happened? Why- because as a science graduate you can apply for a lot of government post as compared to medicine, and the higher ranking post in PSD (same entry grade 41) isn’t a doctor but PTD. U graduated earlier 1/ 2 years than your doctor’s friends. Furthermore “grade A students work grade C students” is really not a rhetoric but a reality. U can give all sort of scenario but after all it’s bear down to the realms. The only thing improved is as a doctor your grade is time-based i.e automatic turn to UD44 after 2 years of slavery. Good luck in making your choice though.
Actually, most profession in government service are time based promotion now.
You are the exact example of a person who do medicine for wrong reasons! No one can prevent you from doing medicine if you have real passion. FYI, why a science student should become a “lower rank” officer than a doctor? Do you know that most PTD officers who controls doctors and give them orders are science/arts degree graduates?
Are u referring to me? Is there an avenue that UD44 can becomes M44? I don’t say “a science graduate is of lower rank than a doctor indeed I said exactly what u mentioned PTD is the highest rank in PSD and gives order to all government servants including doctors.
Nope, I was referring to the person that you replied to
Take current KKM KSU for example. She was a science graduate and comparing to our honour DG if you look on the hierachy of KKM, KSU takes precedence. lol
The first thing that struck me watching the film was.
_The Matrix_
dat green filter.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-ranks-39-out-of-44-countries-in-problem-solving-test-for-15-year-o.
PISA must be biased. Cannot be right. After all, we have the highest number of Grade A students at SPM/O Level.
This is Malaysia, don’t argue. Our examination results are classified as Top Secret.
i like your sense of sarcasm.
Hi, doctor..
1. I’m STPM leavers and I have passion to the medic when I was Form 3. I heard many people say about there is a lots of doctors in Malaysia. My sister ( JPA scholarship ) who also study medic in Indonesia advise me to study at Indonesia or India, because in there you will have more practical training compare to the local and even more cheaper than some private universities like IMU. She said that sometimes she would help patient to give birth 2 times a day. So, it’s good for studying oversea like India or Indonesia?
Personally, I think practical training is very important if you want to be experienced doctor.
2. Is there any job demand if I’m further study for postgraduate? I’m interested in Immunology and I wish in future I can be a Immunologist. Is there any job demand for Immunologist in Malaysia or at overseas?
and what is difference between Medic and Biomedic?
1) Yes, definitely the practical training exposure will be better as they are underdeveloped compared to us. Training use to be good in Malaysia when there were only 3 universities. Unfortunately, due to mushrooming of medical colleges in Malaysia, there are too many students attached to a single government hospital. Furthermore, almost all the universities except UM/UKM and USM do not have their own teaching hospital.
2) Job demands will change with time.
Actually, at undergraduate level, the basic knowledges, the methods, and the applications of these knowledges are more important aspects than ‘practical training’. It is the foundation of sound competent practice in future.
Much has been said about poor training in many med schools. This ‘poor’ training’ does NOT refer to not knowing how to deliver a baby. It refers to poor knowledge, poor ability to take a history and perform a physical examination, inability to come to a sensible provisional diagnosis, and of course, without all these you cannot proceed to investigate or treat.
‘Practical training’ as in doing procedures should not be the basis of deciding where to go for medical education.
Well,I am a SPM leaver.I want to get into medicine field and become a surgeon.I just planning to get into MSU at shah alam.Is that university good or recognised by other countries if I want to work at overseas? I am in a very bad dilemma now and confused! I really don’t know which college that I want to choose.Any suggestions doctor?
MSU is not recognised elsewhere. If your intention is to work overseas, please go overseas to do medicine. That’s the only possible way to do that
Hi, I’m Kiret.. I’m a medical student and I’m with an agency, where we recruit any students with any course at any college. Not a single cent will be charged on you for our service. If you would like to enrol yourself at any college, do let us to assist you. Through us we could help you to get discount for your fees. Especially medical course.
For more info,
Kiret: 014 944 8606
What do you mean by ANY course ANY college? Malaysia? Russia?
Are the courses accredited?
Good medical courses do not usually come with a discount as far as i know, i am very doubtful about your programmes.
Thank you.
so after contacting u..in the end, u will say, there r terms n conditions…the syarat is u have to bla bla bla..am i right?n even hv to pay…
While most have been explained here im really sorry bud you are absolutely dream on. FYI, medicine from UKM/UM is only recognised by Singapore, PMC-Ireland, Monash-Australia? Numed-GMC? – ? stands for claim from respective universities but haven’t get accredited by the relevant body until they produce graduates. If you wanna work oversea do other course which do not required a meticulous licensing. Indeed my friends of others courses from IB world school are ubiquitous throughout the world while for medicine, Malaysia is our dreamland.
The information given is incomplete and incorrect.
PMC Irish degrees are recognised by the IMC, but the chance of getting a job is almost zero, due to lack of jobs and immigration rules. Monash Sunway is recognised by AMC, and in earlier batches, quite a few have found jobs in Australia. This may get more difficult in future as there is a shortage of Internship jobs in Australia. The NUMED will NOT be recognised by GMC for the purpose of FY jobs in UK.
MSU degrees are not recognised anywhere else in the world.
Almost zero? There always a few of PMC graduates getting internship in Ireland each year and likewise Monash Sunway, an internship in the respective countries is no longer guaranteed due to reason you highlighted. While a bit harsh of labeling incorrect I’m concur that my info was incomplete. Thanks for complementing though.
PMC ireland is recognised in Ireland.
Monash is recognised in Australia
but that does not mean you will get an internship post in these countries.
i feel sorry for the “budak baru”..in reality even sorrier..
isnt it our job as a society/humanity to support those who come from a lesser position(knowledge, training,etc).
is it allright for seniors to treat their juniors in such a condescending manner? is it even professionally right?
this “budak baru” came forward in an eager and keen spirited manner only to be doused with such discouraging and demotivational response by their seniors..
i think there may be a fundamental flaw in the way knowledge and practical training is imparted to juniors..it may explain the deteriorating level of skills of current doctors..
it may have been the scenario in the past locally, i’m not sure about overseas houseofficer life, it be interesting to do a comparison among developed and developing countries and looking at variables such as quality of health care..
The scenario is still the same locally. The problem is the healthcare structure in this country. BUT many including the government feels that it is due to shortage of doctors. Unfortunately, the situation is only getting worst with more doctors (??quality) and shift duties!
so if there some way a change could happen for the better, how to start that change? does sit begin from bottom up or top down?
Hi doc,is it good enough to do foundation in science if I want to get into medicine?
As I have said many times in this blog, foundation in science is just a way for the college to make money! period!
So in order to become a surgeon what type of program or course that I have to take?
Step 1. Read this blog’s “education” section. Lengthy and will take a few days if you read and comprehend quickly, but hey, what’s that compared with years of medical school and many more years of specialisation training eh?
please spend some time reading this blog under For Future Doctors page!
Hi Dr Paga,I have a question or two that bothers me somewhat that needs yr expert clarification if u don’t mind.Concerning JPA scholars position in relation to their govt service as a HO,is it true that they r required to be in bond for 10 years?.secondly,what happens to the bond should one decides to continue to do a Masters degree?.Will that bond be extended?.Very appreciate your comment.tq
All these has been written in this blog!! Yes, you will be bonded for 10 years. master’s will have another 7 years additional bond.
Helo. Im shafiq. I am MBBS graduated from zhengzhou university. Basicaly i am pakistan origin. I am married to malaysian medical student too dat studying in sarawak. I just wana know if there is any possibility for me doing my houseman in malaysia near to my wife location? I wil b really grateful if u can reply me
If your degree is recognised and you are officially married to a Malaysian, you can apply for a job
Dr. Paga……thanks for sharing the awesome film…….. but what is shown is only 60% of the reality….wish they could come to HKL and make a film here………..hahaha….. they also should put the macam macam perangai HO yg MIA etc………..hehehe
Dr. Paga, thanks for sharing the awesome film………………….they should add the ‘macam macam perangai HO and the ones that MIA’…….hahaha……… really dedicate this film to 1st poster………….
It seems the person who wrote the script was a houseman before, who quit to go into filming and writing books.
“AUCMS will acquire a former campus of Middlesex University in Trent Park in North London. This acquisition would enable AUCMS to set up their own campus in UK and to arrange for a twinning programme with their home campus in Kepala Batas. The UK branch of AUCMS is expected to be operational by March 2014 and the student intake at the campus in the next three years is expected to reach 3,500 students”.
“However, there are still so many of our young students who go abroad to study medicine. This indicates that there is a demand for medical education and that we are still unable to fully cater to our own domestic needs. I think we can only say that we have enough medical schools in the country once there is nobody goes abroad to study in other countries anymore, at least that is how I look at it,” states Prof Zainuddin. (Berita MMA April Issue, pg. 41-43)
From his statement above, I won’t be surprise that both the SPM and STPM top scorers (as well as other mediocre students) will opt for Medicine. Is reducing the intake to medical schools, raising entry requirement, having a moratorium, implementing shift system and MMLE (that have been discussed in this blog ages and ages ago) going to help solving the mess (oversupply of doctors)? I dare not say anything.
But for sure, Malaysian students (with their kiasu mindset) don’t seem to accept the fact that we are producing too many doctors. We shall never ever use the 1:400 ratio as a justification/excuse to establish more colleges or more medical programmes! God save Malaysia (and MH 370)!
This guy only knows how to talk. He is a businessman!! Do you think GMC will give accreditation to this so called medical school?
His own 6 medical programmes in AUCMS is In a mess
They used to have twinning programmes with 2 irish Universities. I just checked their website today and I can’t see anything mentioned about the said programmes. However, in one of the comments, when asked by someone else, the person-in-charge answering queries said that ”application is closed”. Indeed puzzling as it is quite early to have applications closed as the intake is usually in September.
Also, in one of the comments by the above, when queried about tuition fees, there would be nearly a RM100,000 jump in the tuition fees this year as the lucky student get to go to UK in the brand new campus for ”6 months clinical exposure”.
Actually the twinning programme has been discontinued by the Irish uni as there was some financial problem caused by AUCMS. It was really a mess at first because there were 60 extra students for each batch (thank god, there were only 2 batches) making the academic process and hospital rotations in chaos.
Money money money
I would really love to see how this pans out, if at all.
AUCMS is really a scam, the twinning programmes with Ireland’s universities have been discontinued, until today, AUCMS never give out any statement regarding the discontinuations of the programme, i’ve heard from my friends that AUCMS used the student tuition fee money to buy building in London.
Didn’t I say this few years ago! Hmmmmm…………
I see a lot of medical students in M’sian Unis on twitter, facebook and whatnot all the time. Is the curriculum that easy or are they all really smart? I contrast this to my American or Singapore friends, I can’t even see them outside. I also learn that 20% of the overall grades in an M’sian Medical Degree come from attendance. Can these people be competent doctors? A batch of them even got their MBBS degrees last week. Is there a ranking of schools? But the ones who came in for the money and then spend so much time online. Do they even deserve to be call doctors?
I don’t refer to all the hard working doctors out there who are doing it for the passion, to save lives, stop illnesses and I sincerely believe they deserve more pay.
Yes, it is strange. In the IT arena, my son was observing that his friends studying IT are all so free, and I recall my time studying IT in an oversea country, where I barely have enough time to sleep for 4 years!!!
That’s why when you interview a IT grad, he does not know anything!!
Greetings folks,
To me, the show does not highlight any negativity, but insteead, shows up the challenges that must be faced. Coming from a computer scientist background, the situation is all too familiar. The thing is to get into a good school, slog it out with passion and do your job with passion, that is all that matters. To make big bucks, get into business or sales. 🙂
Dear Dr Paga
I’ve been a loyal fan of your blog. Thanks for your interesting articles.
In my opinion, the video ‘budak baru’ is indeed quite true of the local situation. However, I’m quite disappointed when the potentially good houseman who initially had passion for the job actually changed so much after one posting. I don’t agree with the way she treated the family members of a patient at the end of the video. She had no time to talk to the family members but she had so much of free time to talk to her fellow colleagues. I personally think that it’s not right. Our attitude towards our job and patients should not change. I’m still a HO, and I’m telling this in a senior HO’s point of view.
Dr Paga, I would also like to ask for your advice. I’m currently in my 6th posting and I’m interested in O&G. I’ve passed my MRCOG Part 1 recently. For my Part 2 Exam training, I will need to be trained in a recognised O&G dept for 4 years. I need to apply for my MO placement soon. Do you know of any hospital in Malaysia which is good for MRCOG Training?
Thank you 🙂
Actually, what the video portrays is exactly what happens to many of the junior doctors. Eventually, they will consider medicine as just another job to earn a living. Passion disappears. That is what the video is trying to say. The reality is different compared to what you expect. In fact the scrip writer of this video is a medical graduate who quit medicine to go into filming and story writing.
Most GH have busy O&G department. Thus, it does not matter where you do your training. The problem is whether you will get into a GH for your MOship. You will likely need to do at least 6months to 1 year of district posting.
For your information, you could inform MOH during your request for MO placement that you already passed Part I MRCOG so that they could place you in at least minor specialist hospital with O&G specialist service, not KK or district hospital without specialist. You need to inform the JKN people too that you already pass your Part I so that they can assist you. This applies to all other HOs & MOs with part I or II from various specialty…they have a special form to fill at hospital level too..Hope that helps.
Thanks for the advice.
Dear sharingan, what special form is that? How do i get that special form? Thanks again.
Chlamydia,
You can ask your Hospital Director or Timbalan Pengarah (Perubatan). They should be able to assist.
Hi Dr.Paga. I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now and I’d like to ask you a few questions that are rather personal. Can I reach you on any other avenue? Email perhaps?
pagal72@gmail.com
Thank you sir for such useful suggestions! However can I know is the Bachelor of Physiotherapy in Malaysian Universities accepted internationally such as Singapore or Australia (As I know the MBBS cert in Malaysia is not widely accepted in other country.) As physiotherapy is again soon to be oversupplied in Malaysia, what should I do if I do not prefer studying abroad? And also, chiropractic is new in Malaysia ( if not mistaken) is there any brighter future for this career compare to physiotherapy? Thanks sir for your time.
My consultant told me, on average a doctor in Britain earns about 4 million pounds in his lifetime.
How about in Malaysia?
Wow!!
Nothing to wow actually
That’s nothing much. If you work for 40 years, the average will be less than 8K pounds/month. In Malaysia, it depends on which sector you are working in, private or public. Figure to figure, it will be the same for public sector over here
I think a consultant take home about £5000/month (after tax and pension deductions – ie 40% income tax). Please correct me if I am wrong.
But because the inflation rate is low in Britain, the buying power is much greater. With £50 you can get food grocery for a week for a family of 4. Hence you cannot compare figure to figure to ringgit.
An average family income in Britain is about £26,000 a year (before tax) and many families cope with that happily.
Yup, that is what I am saying. Figure to figure is the same but the value of ringgit is low.
how abt FY1 and FY2? that’s a pittance for a consultant.
FY1 and FY2 earns about 2k to 2.5k a month.
It looks small, because we are used to ringgit, but it is actually quite a lot.
I just heard from my friend who is coming to Britain for holiday. The exchange rate from ringgit to pounds is now 5.6!
my 2cents worth,
Just came back from London, the char siew mee (roast pork mee) in Bayswater costs 9.50 pound per plate (9.50 x 5.60 based on your exchange rate = Rgt53.20) while a plate of same char siew mee in KL cost around $6.00 in kopi shop and around Rgt 20.00 in ‘posh’ restaruants, so, the value of rgt is not that low if you earn it and spend it in Malaysia,
Eating out is expensive, particularly in London. But even in London you can have the same dish for less than half the price. We used to go to Wong Kei to get insulted and scolded in Cantonese. But now, they are less snobbish, and if they scold you, it is likely to be in Mandarin. And yes, it will cost a lot cheaper, a place for reasonably cheap average Chinese food. 🙂
F1 with Banding 1 or 2 will get about GBP2.8K gross, and take home about 2.3K.
Was in Wong Kei a couple of times last month, got shouted just once. 😀 Lots of mainlanders working there now, still an “establishment” no doubt.
I read with interest all the questions, comments and opinions from readers on this blog. Dr. Pagal has done a wonderful job creating and maintaining this blog, sharing his vast experience and knowledge. May I suggest that students intending to do medicine (MBBS program) consider seeing their school counselor for career advisory. I am sure your counselor would be able to help you make the best career choice perhaps by giving you an aptitude test to see if medicine is really suitable for you.
Medicine is not just about glamour and money as some people perceive. Furthermore, it is not good enough to be a doctor; rather be a doctor who makes a difference in peoples’ lives. It takes passion and commitment in patient care to be able to elevate the lives of the people you touch.
For readers who are already doing medicine, I wish you the very best and may you have the determination to navigate through your training.
Nope, a counselor at school doesn’t know anything. I approached mine I remembered he said, a doctor always have a comfortable working place with air-cond and all while for engineer you need to be working under the hot sun. For the aptitude test, Malaysians always at best of con job. So if you ask me, if you wanna be a doctor, do hospital attachment and approached a house officer ask his/her permission to follow night call for a week.
excellent advise about shadowing before you make a final decision on what to study at college/uni. and, yes, i would not trust the average school counselor either, i got an incredible response from mine when i told her i wanted to be a nurse, “jururawat tak payah belajar science stream”…. factually correct, but you gotta understand the implications of such a mentality… and the consequences that result… go figure.
The problem is, I don’t think even the school counselors have any idea about medicine !!
sir, comparing medical education between ukm,um,usm,etc to studying medicine in india, which would u lean to? and can u give me a reason for so?
which system produce a better doctor?
please.
It depends on which uni you are going to in India. India do have very good universities.
im now studying at JJMMC, Davangere, Karnataka
have u ever heard of it?
we have jpa, mara,and private students
basically, first malaysian medical batch just finished their graduation 2 months back
i do have friends taking medical course in ukm, upm and usm. when i compared the 2, i found tat there r alot of differences between us
like, in india,
a)we only have essays question, no multiple choice questions
i tried to make up such differences buying multiple choice questions book and solve it myself
b) our clinical rotation start in second year and it is 3 hours only compared to malaysian uni which is whole day posting start in final year
c) we have provisional medical license after we pass our final exams and we have to do internship one year in india after passing to be eligible for graduation
d) my friends bragged that they were posted to different hospitals of different states in malaysia, while we were only attached to our hospital
e) sometimes i do think did i make d wrong choice accepting JPA offer to study in india
f) we do a level before coming to india, which take 1.5 years, my friend sat for matrix which is 1 year course.
d medical education in india is 5.5yrs, malaysia is 5 year
in all, i graduated later than my same age friend by a 1 whole year
g) the thing most bugging me is before i came here , all the people around me said india is a good place to learn medicine. ya, i dun think is bad either but when i asked my friends how they doin in their studies. they told me they have done different per vagina, per rectum examinaions which i hav not yet done so, as in india those things are only required if u doin postgrads
h) a friend of mine also told me he passed his exams based solely on oxford handbook of clinical medicine, while us in india have to read the standard thick books, if we write those in exams, we might fail as our asnwers is too simplified
thus, this troubles me, is india really a good place to do medicine? here we focus more on theory during the first 4.5 years, practical is after u pass ur final exams for the 1 year internship here
i dun wanna be a incompetent dr. and i dun wanna suffer the culture shock when i hav graduated and started to work at hospital in malaysia.
i fear the things i learn here might not be the same as my counterpart in malaysia.
do we learn more, equal or less than than them?
sorry for my long blurt
Every country have their own medical education system tailored to their healthcare system . So, it will never be the same. Of course, the best will be to do it in Malaysia.
It does not matter if there are too many houseman nowadays because ho nowadays are so calculative that they would not help out other hos when the workload increases. Many will leave work ‘on time’ and leaving other hos who might currently be managing 2 collapsed patient at the same time just because they claim that that is not their patient. This is the attitude nowadays among hos. Hence we will always feel that there is a shortage of ho and there will still be burnout house officers. – frustrated ho
This is what I said when the shift duty was implemented !
That short clip has clearly explained why majority of MARA sponsored students would prefer to come back and serve the nation at the RIGHT time after they got their post grad/sub specialist qualification in overseas.
By doing so, they escaped from working from the bottom of the chart.
JPA scholars however have no choice as they MUST return to the country.
Reason being JPA scholarships are open to ALL Malaysians…though the quota is another potential subject of debate.
If both allow students to continue study in overseas, who would return to serve as Budak Baru?
No matter where you work, you can’t escape working from the bottom of the chart!
Hi Dr.Paga. I’ve recently been qualified as a cadet officer to study medicine at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia. Do you think that the medical program there is good enough and do you think that working as a doctor in the army is better? I am very passionate about being a doctor but at the same time joining the military has never crossed my mind. My parents are pushing me to join because everything will be paid for by the Ministry Of Defence if I study there. Also, I was also offered a place at Kolej Matrikulasi Johor and I’m prepared to study very hard to achieve 4 flat but my parents said that my best chance of becoming a doctor is through UPNM as I’m still not guaranteed to be admitted in a medical program in most good IPTA’s even if I get that 4 flat. My parents definitely can’t afford to send me to private universities. What is your advice Dr. Paga?
Troubled One
If your family can’t afford to send you to IPTS or overseas, then IPTA Asasi is your the best way to continue and study your medicine locally. If I’m not mistaken, you must be getting the offer from UPNM Asasi Perubatan. Basically there’re two type of students in this program i.e. civilian and cadet. If you join as a civilian student, you”re still sponsored by KPM as an IPTA Asasi student and you’ll get some monthly allowance or pocket money but of course as a cadet officer, you’ll get more. Your chance of getting into UPNM medicine program later is guaranted if you score a perfect 4 flat because Asasi students are ALWAYS given preference. However, it’s NOT easy to cope up with your study load at the same time serving as a military officer. All weekends and holidays will be filled up with all sort of military field trainings not to mention your study routine and daily military program. Sometimes you’ll get too exhauted and that’s why many are NOT doing well in their study.
Don’t choose Matrikulasi if you’ve got your IPTA Asasi. A friend of mine from Matrikulasi who got 4-flat and 9-point koko mark last year was only offered UKM Biotechnology which is NOT her choice of selected courses. Nowaday, all IPTA medicine programs are mostly offered to their own Asasi students as well as those students from UM PASUM and UiTM Palam. Both are only reserved for bumiputra and considered as an Open program by UPU. Pre-medical students from these programs are eligible and given priority for all other IPTA besides their own IPTA.
UPNM is new, thus can’t comment much on quality. You will be bonded with MINDEF and have to work for them. Some may like it some don’t. If you are not interested to work with military, than no point. However, the perks are usually better in MINDEF
Hi Dr paga. Mind to give any feedback if one would like to continue study in medicine in UiTM? What makes it pretty interesting is that it has this one year as if you did great in your pre clinical year and you may off for 1 year and bounded to research for that 1 year. My friend from MRSM get a scholar from Mara did that ‘research year’ in Harvard. Maybe you can give some feedback about the education system and after the MBBS (ho in sg buloh and rural posting in teluk Intan)
UiTm is only for Bumiputera. It is against my principle of equal justice and humanity. Thus, I usually doc’t bother about UiTm, the only race based university in the world. As for the break to do research, many universities do that but it is optional.
UiTM is not only the largest university in Malaysia, it’s also the largest in the world with a student population of about 175,000 as they proudly claimed.
And the only raced based university in the world
i actually hated the clip..the doc is rude to the patient..and the way he mounted on the patient like that..its like a porno..lol
Welcome to the real world.
Hi Dr. I’m currently doing South Australian Matriculation .I’m planning to do medicine at oversea. but the problem is I got C for chemistry in Spm . If I meet the requirements of SAM , do I need to retake the spm chemistry? Will they see my spm result after I do SAM?
Based on the MMC guideline over here, SAM can supersede SPM
Greetings Doctor.
What would you suggest to someone with spm 8a’s and 1 C+(chemistry) that’s interested to do medicine? Can his Good Cambridge a-level results supersede his spm req/and allow him to do his medical degree locally?
Yes, A level and STPM supercedes SPM.
Hey dr. Just completed my diploma in medical science which is long term pre-med u can say that,same syllabus,and my cgpa is 3.96 but if my spm does not meet the requirements as in c+ can I still take up medicine ?cz I’m keen about it ?:(can u help me ?
The requirement says you need Bs with CGPA of more than 3.5, for diploma holders
What can I do to continue medicine then ?
Get a basic degree and go for graduate medical school
The guideline for diploma actually is different from that of foundation studies. You just need 2Bs in 2 of Chemistry/Biology/Physics and credits in English, Math/Add Math and one other subject at SPM. Diploma minimum CGPA is 3.5, so you achieved that.
hi dr pagalavan,
thank you for taking your time replying all the questions been asked to you.
Im interested to take DFM and continue with FRACGP. My question are:
1. Will the student be given the chance of training in KK under KKM or district hospital.
2. After completing FRACGP, gazzettment for 18months in govt hospital is compulsory, what about the compulsory service after becoming a specialist if the person already working in private health care centre.
3. Is it possible outside malaysia that a FM specialist pursuing subspecialization in dermatology?
Im sorry if these questions had been asked before doctor pagalavan, Thank you very much.
1) you need yo apply for attachment
2) you only need to work for your gazettement
3) FMS sub specialisation does not make you a Dermatologist. It is known as special interest.
Hi Dr, i find your blog very interesting and helpful. I sat for my SPM in 2014 and my ambition has always been to become a doctor. people keep telling me that the journey may be rough. plus, what with all i read about housemanship in malaysia and all that.
what i want to ask you is, at this time, would you still recommend taking medicine or should i start considering other courses/options? the thing is, i am a national scholar and it says i will be bonded for 10 years after degree. plus, i actually aspire to be a specialist (if possible) so i wonder how it would be with the 10 year bond to the government.
Please spend some time reading all the information in this blog. The answers are all there. What you want to do is up to you. If after reading everything in this blog, you are still determined to become a doctor, than go ahead. BUT never do medicine for wrong reasons.
You can do your specialisation during the 10 year bond but your bond will further extend.
Im spm student for 2015, can i ask what should i score to get in Medical Collage?
please read this blog including the MMC criteria