Just a week ago, I wrote on the same topic quoting an article written by a philanthropist, Mr Koon on why he refuse to provide scholarship to those who wants to do medicine. Unfortunately, similar to what I had experienced before, multiple nasty comments were made against him in various blogs and newsportal where his article was posted. Readers can check for themselves. People still do not understand what we are trying to say. It is not about passion we are talking about but the economics. If you are doing medicine purely for economic reasons, than medicine is not the field you should choose at the moment, worst still by taking huge loans. I saw comments like ” there are no such thing as jobless doctors“, ” doctors never get retrenched” , ” doctors will always earn money no matter what the economic situation is ” etc
Today, there were 2 articles that caught my attention. The first was a letter in The Star written by a GP (see below). I have been talking about how opening a GP clinic is not as easy as it used to be. I know quite a number who had closed shop and gone back to work as employee of franchise clinics. Most GPs survive on panels. The letter today clearly illustrates how companies and panels demand what they want from the doctors. Either you take it or leave it. If you don’t want to take, someone else will! That is their motto and since many doctors are also struggling in their business, they do not mind taking the offer. It is interesting that the institution had requested the doctors to pay a fee for the contract renewal and further limit the consultation fee. I know some insurance companies which even controls what medicines that can be given etc. I had written about these issues before. The letter again tells people the actual income of GPs nowadays and not to assume that all GPs are rich with big cars! He quoted 1-2% of GPs of being succesfull which is lower than 10% of doctors that I quoted in my last article.
Another interesting article was published in Malaysian Insider on the issue of patient load in private clinics and hospitals. As I had written before, private healthcare is almost 70-80% supported by insurance and corporate panels. Thus, it is not right for anyone to say that doctors will earn no matter what’s the economic situation is. No doubt you may be able to earn to survive but to say that you will still earn handsomely is not right. The general public still do not understand the economics. The private healthcare cost is simply too high for any middle-income group. Once economic slow down occurs, people will tighten their pockets which in turn reduces the visits to private healthcare. Some will treat themselves with medications bought from pharmacy or cheap medication sold by traditional healers which suppose to cure everything under the sun. Some will default their insurance payment which makes their medical card invalid. Majority will turn to public hospitals and clinics. That is the reality. Income of many doctors especially GPs will decline considerably. Even hospitals can close shop due to high overhead maintenance cost. Insurance companies have already started to control what we do and what we are not supposed to do. They simply refuse to pay if they don’t agree what you had done. And the patient will also not pay! BTW, please read the comments in Malaysian Insider. Just see how many give sarcastic remarks about private doctors!
A GP friend of mine had refuse to sign with most panels due to their unfavourable contracts. He only has one insurance panel. He got this to say “I’m lucky that people around here earns S$… Otherwise I’d be full time Uber driver.. …. ”
So, please listen to Mr Koon! He is a businessman and he knows what he is talking about.
To make matters worst, it is reported that the government has SUSPENDED JPA and MOE bursary scholarship with immediate effect ( see below)!!
Panel doctors feeling the squeeze
I AM writing to highlight the underhand methods which some corporations are using to squeeze doctors and general practitioners (GPs) in this country.
Recently, an established and well-known institution of higher learning sent an official communication to all of its existing panel GP clinics, informing them that they were being offered an extension of their panel status with the said institution.
After decades of providing quality primary healthcare services to the institution, these GPs now have to renew their commitments. This is a common exercise, as times are changing and the terms of the contract will need to be reviewed from time to time.
However, what is shocking is the manner it is being done and a new condition which has been introduced. This institution has now decreed that, in order to continue providing services to the institution, the GP clinics would need to pay a processing fee of RM2,500 for the two-year contract period. This means each GP clinic has to pay RM2,500 in order to be eligible to provide services to their employees.
To us, in the medical profession, we feel this is an attack on the integrity of doctors. Through the Hippocratic Oath, we are bound to provide our services to any and all, regardless of race or religion.
Now we have an institution of higher learning, which incidentally also has a medical faculty, that has single-handedly turned this most noble of oaths completely on its head. They are sending a message to the world that doctors now have to pay before they can render medical help to mankind!
They will argue that there is a cost to manage and process the clinics and doctors who provide this care to their employees. They will say that the costs to manage and administer this is rising due to many factors.
But yet, they have the gall to fix consultation rates at RM15 per visit, as opposed to the prescribed rates of between RM35 and RM50 by the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) through the Fee Schedule.
They have also the nerve to fix medications at unfair rates. For example, upper respiratory tract infection has been fixed at RM21. One pays more for a cup of coffee at certain places these days!
Does this institution, which is also a breeding ground for new doctors, realise that the healthcare industry has also not been spared the increasing costs of doing business?
GPs are subject to increasing costs through higher rentals, utility charges, consumable and disposable charges, equipment costs, etc. This is mainly due to the introduction of the GST, which healthcare has been exempt and therefore cannot transfer the costs to patients. To these people I ask: Who is looking at the welfare of doctors?
The public may have the perception that doctors are wealthy and live the high life. I implore those who have this perception to stand outside any GP clinic and observe what car these GPs drive.
I agree that just like any profession, there would be the top 1% to 2% who have made it. But just because there are high-flying GPs who jet-set across the world, it doesn’t mean all GPs have the same life.
The average income of GPs these days is between RM7,000 and RM10,000 per month, and this is after 15 years of working. Most other professions provide better and greater opportunities to earn much more than that.
In the end, it is the poor GP who suffers. More and more organisations are taking advantage of the market forces to push doctors into a small, pitiful corner.
Additionally, I would like to highlight one important fact. This institution has now also introduced a kickback system into the market. Pay them in order to be allowed to eke some living out of their employees. Pay them before being eligible to provide services and send bills to them. Doctors now need to pay before being allowed to have patients.
What message are they sending to the medical students in their own faculty. This is against the Private Healthcare and Services Act 1998, which outlaws such practices of kickbacks.
Doctors have stood by and just allowed this entire thing to get to this stage. But as a member of this profession, I cannot just stand by and watch anymore.
I am imploring, even begging, for the Health Ministry and the Government to tackle this issue with utmost urgency and importance. Please, help the GPs.
A CORNERED GP
Kuala Lumpur
Private healthcare patients feel pain of weak ringgit, higher cost of living
BY MELATI A. JALIL AND DEBORAH LOH
Published: 20 January 2016 7:00 AM
Private healthcare, the preferred option for those who can afford it, is reportedly seeing a drop in patients with practitioners attributing the trend to the effects of increased cost of living and the ringgit’s depreciation against the US dollar which has made certain treatments more expensive.
Tan Sri Dr Ridzwan Bakar, consultant cardiologist at a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur, said some of his patients have transferred to public hospitals.
He noticed a 10% drop in number of admissions to private hospitals since April last year, when the goods and services tax (GST) was first implemented.
“I think this is the general finding of almost all doctors working at private hospitals in the Klang Valley,” the cardiologist with more than 30 years of experience in private healthcare told The Malaysian Insider.
“The drop has remained persistent towards the end of last year,” added the former president of Association of Private Hospitals.
“People have less disposable income,” said another industry professional, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Ashok Philip.
“We have GST, the economy is not so buoyant, the ringgit has depreciated, and times are uncertain.”
Correspondingly, the number of people seeking treatment at public hospitals appears to have risen. Public healthcare in Malaysia is almost free or certain treatments are heavily subsidised although patients have to endure a longer waiting period for procedures compared with private healthcare.
“My colleagues at public hospitals have noticed a 25% rise in the number of admission in public hospitals, maybe there has been a drifting of patients from the private sector to the public sector,” Dr Ridzwan said.
Dr Ashok concurred.
“Anecdotally, the outpatient load in private clinics and hospitals has declined. This is because the outpatient treatment at government clinics is almost free,” he said.
It’s a sign of the times when even cancer patients are opting to cut back on essential chemotherapy at private facilities in order to trim expenses.
Dr Ridzwan said oncology was a good example of one area in private healthcare affected by the exchange rate because of the nature of the treatment.
“The drugs can easily run into five figures per month and there is no replacement. (Patients) have to be given those drugs.”
Private hospitals which have more patients with insurance might not be as badly affected, but given that about a quarter of patients at most facilities pay out of their own pockets, the impact on the hospitals’ bottom line is of concern.
“Between 30% and 40% of patients at private hospitals are self-funded. We can safely assume that many of them have to tighten their expenses, they have to go to public hospitals,” Dr Ridzwan said.
The weak ringgit has impacted on medical fields requiring expensive chronic therapy, a pharmaceutical industry player said.
“Healthcare involving babies, children and pregnant mothers is less affected,” said the sales representative of a drug firm, who declined to be named.
“The drop in patients also varies greatly between different therapeutic areas.”
Some private clinics are seeing a drop of more than 50% while others seem to have smaller decline of 15% to 20%.
“A large private hospital closed one of its wards due to the lack of patients,” he said, adding that he expected 2016 to be a difficult year for private healthcare, especially those requiring costly and chronic therapies.
“The use of generic medication may increase while health supplements may be affected negatively,” he said.
The Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia did not respond to The Malaysian Insider’s queries on these matters.
Expanding public healthcare
Director-general of the Health Ministry Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a reply to The Malaysian Insider said government facilities have seen a steady increase in demand for services but he did not have data from the private sector to compare with.
“The current economic situation has caused a surge in the demand for our services but with the current strategies we have implemented, we are well prepared to face this surge.”
Figures from the ministry show an increase in total admissions at government hospitals by 13.9%, from 2.16 million patients in 2013 to 2.46 million last year.
The number of hospital outpatients also increased by 2.7 million or 5% from 54.2 million in 2013 to 56.9 million in 2014.
To cope with the numbers, Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry has increased the number of public healthcare facilities, especially Klinik 1Malaysia (K1M), employed more staff by an average of 9% annually and expanded the scope of primary healthcare services.
“For example, in our K1M, from the original treatment of minor ailments, the services have extended to include maternal and child health services, doctor services as well as treatment of chronic diseases.”
Operating hours have also been extended, as well as moves to increase the number of beds throughout the country by building new hospitals, upgrading facilities and using day care services to reduce inpatient demand. – January 20, 2016.
Putrajaya suspends JPA scholarships amid falling revenue
Published Today 9:13 pm Updated Today 9:25 pm
Putrajaya has suspended the Public Service Department (JPA) Scholarships for degree courses and the Education Ministry’s bursary for pre-university programmes amid falling national revenue.
According to Sin Chew Daily, this was confirmed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Wee Ka Siong who raised the issue at the cabinet meeting today following several complaints from high-achieving students.
Wee said he had asked the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to rethink and reinstate the scholarship.
“The prime minister understands that the economy is not good at the moment and the people are facing heavy burden so he has instructed the chief secretary to the government and JPA to come up with a new solution.
“I can’t say for certain if there will be a change of decision but we (MCA) have tried our best to appeal the matter because we don’t know how the economic situation will develop,” Wee was quoted as saying by the Chinese language daily.
The suspension applies to both overseas and local scholarships and affects some 700 placements this year.
Urgent resolution
Wee urged for an urgent resolution to the matter as some university commence their intake as early as Feb 1.
He added that Najib had asked the chief secretary and JPA to submit a report to the cabinet next week with their proposal.
The Sin Chew report also pointed out that some students have questioned why the JPA scholarships were suspended, but not Mara scholarships.
However, Wee declined to respond to this claims, citing that he had not heard them personally.
Asked if the suspension of the JPA scholarships was linked to the planned budget revision on Jan 28, Wee said he did not know.
A check with JPA’s website found the “bursary e-filing system” link which is used by students to apply for the scholarships, have also been removed.
Putrajaya is struggling with shrinking revenue as the Brent crude oil price has fallen to a 12-year low, settling at US$27.78 per barrel.
This is in contrast to a high of US$114.81 per barrel in 2014.
Najib has announced that the 2016 budget will be revised to adust for falling revenue and will see government expenditures optimised.
Pagalavan's Avatar 
It’s expected given the state of the economy we are in.sad big time!
For those of you who are supporters of UMNOPutras and their running dogs MCA and MIC you deserve this. In the name of preserving ketuanan melayu you have allowed an incompetent, redundant political party to run Malaysia for too long.
For those of you who supported the opposition sorry tough luck you are born in a country where the majority are politically speaking idiots.
For god sake can we have a election voting on issues of health care, education, the economy rather then having people vote base on race.
But when the BERSIH rally asking for clean governance the umnoputras came up with with the red shirt rally making it once again a racial issue.
And look at fat boy najib and his obese wife, not only unscathed, but the whole of UMNO applauding them for a job well done.
I cry for ye malaysia. So much promise. But squandered by a group of monkeys.
When i was a offered a scholarship by jpa to do medivine i was ecstatic. My parents did not have to pay and certainly it was an ego boost- i am the creme de la creme.
I went to a pre u college eith fellow mara and jpa students planning to go abroad. I realized we were in no way the creme de la creme. Many sponsored students were lagging in english, and were strughling to keep up with grades in internationally established pre u courses like a levels.
The majority of malaysian sponsored students in universities abroad are mediocre. It is off course ok to be mediocre but not at the exspanse of tax payers. Be mediocre in a local uni under Fama funding is ok but not when a million ringgit is spent on you.
While i count my lucky stars for a jpa scholarship many moons ago, i think it is a flawed system and does not get rrturns of its investment. What is it that can be learnt in a british university at primary degree level that cannot be learnt equally well locally.
Perhaps an overhaul is needed. Sponsor post grad students who have proven their worth.
With your typed response, I could see how mediocre JPA scholars claimed to be scholars are.
I also have problem understanding what you are trying to say above.
vet student I dunno what you trying to convey. Are you a sponsored student?
It is a well know fact that msian gov scholars, both jpa and mara, have a tendency to fail (or not excel in) exams, be it international pre-U or in good quality Universities.
I was an Australia-JPA sponsored student a few years ago. Currently i m a MO working in a busy government hospital. I think your written English is pathetic. How on earth did you qualify for the scholarship?. You certainly give a bad name to us, scholars. Sometimes you need to realise that scholarship is not a right, it is a privilege. So don’t make a fuss about it. If i couldn’t get one, i wouldn’t be doing medicine. I would have worked for 2 years, saved up and then consider if i really want to medicine. I would not choose to lament like you did. Grow up, ‘scholar’.
Mindpandit
So what is wrong with criticizing a system that i think is flawed. Do you honestly think that all jpa /mara students are deserving of their 1 million ringgit scholarship? Do you not think that many students are sent abroad to have a good time, learning nothing more then what they could have learnt locally,
So you think you are the best thing since white bread just because you are a busy mo in a local hospital and jpa sponsored? For your info thats the same thing many jpa sponsored students are doing.
And if you read my post i did say i am grateful for what i was given. I just think the system needs to be revised to select the truly deserving students. And for your info my brothers did stpm and made it to medical school locally on their own hardwork, which was the path i would have chosen if not for jpa.
Perhaps i hit a raw nerve in you bcos you derive your sense of self worth from being jpa sponsored? If that is the case perhaps you are the one who requires some growing up.
As for your low ball argument of my pathetic english, i made sure to write better this time so as to be comprehensible by that simple mind of yours.
SPM results is never the appropriate platform for selection of students for scholarships. Unfortunately, this practice was set in place NOT for the purpose of identifying the best students, but as an alternate pathway to groom “suitable” bumiputras for potential further studies overseas, which was the original remit of the JPA scholarship. When the scholarship became open to non-bumis, they follow the same selection process.
Hence, purely based on the SPM results, the JPA system does NOT necessarily select the best students, just the best in answering SPM exam questions, and of course, the better bumi students as 80% of places are reserved for them.
Also, many JPA students adopted an attitude after gaining the scholarship, mistaken that they are the creme de la creme. Many did not realised that there are higher mountains to climb, and think they have reached the peak in their SPM results. Hence, either through complacency, or merely because they are NOT the best anyway, many falter. They failed to achieve top results in their internationa Pre-U, failed to gain entry into the university/course in spite of a ready scholarship promised, and/or fail exams in their courses.
Hence what I said above: JPA/Mara scholars have a tendency to fail exams, inordinate over other students. Which somewhat makes a mockery of the the term “scholarship”. In Malaysia, “scholarship” does NOT have the same meaning as those in a meritocratic system.
The system is not flawed. I went to Australia for my MBBS.
Not every top scorer will find medicine interesting. This is fact.
I can only speak from my experience. The JPA/MARA cohort of scholars had an equivalent dropout rate compared to the locals, who were all 99th percentile within the selection process. I can only think of one who dropped out (of 25’ish of us total). This is similar to the dropout rate of the Medicine cohort for that year (~300 people).
The local OZ students were also the cream of the academic crop.
More importantly in medicine is the need for ongoing learning and study. For the first five years (intern-HMO-Junior Reg) or so, medicine really is an apprenticeship.
If you dont find medicine interesting, you will suffer…and drop out.
That’s life.
Now with that said, other fields of study have higher dropout rates. The percentage of engineers working jobs that actually require engineering expertise is far far smaller. The same can be said for other sub specialized fields.
On the whole, medicine isnt bad – you just need to be into it…
Not everyone is into it.
I am referring to the practice of selecting scholarship students from SPM. Not about people who got into Australian Med schools. The Australian selection process is rigorous, including for Internationals.
You will likely have gone through either A Levels or AUSMAT probably at INTEC. How many of your fellow scholars managed to get into Australian Med schools, in spite of a ready scholarship should they get in?
Unlike other courses and professions, the aim of training doctors is to make ALL of them competent, and to minimise the number of drop outs, be it at med school, or as doctors. It consumes considerable resources to train doctors, and it CANNOT be like other courses where the profession allows a big percentage to not use their training.
In these respects, Malaysia fails badly. As in many other aspects.
jkl,
Ah, the ol appendectomy debate again.
Once upon a time, every tom, dick, harry, abu and ali (sorry no girls because they were sexist like that) who came in with RLQ pain received an appendectomy.
Then someone realized: Hey, there’s a shockingly high false positive rate here resulting in unnecessary appendectomies.
Hence hospitals around the world started trying to make policies to ensure only suitable candidates will get an appendectomy. Some discharge kids home with instructions to represent etc.
The ones with 100% correct diagnoses missed many milder cases of appendicitis, that went on to require emergency surgery.
The ones with 50-70% correct diagnoses ended up having too many unnecessary appendectomies.
In the end, it’s a clinical call… You cannot have a 100% pass rate in medicine (it would mean some subpar students are making it through). At the same time, having a low pass rate would either your intake has gone to shit (ie. low standards for intake).
A good medical school has a good selection of candidates for intake, and a sub100% pass rate. It’s expected. That is the point of medical school, and why some are more respected than others.
Errata: “At the same time, having a low pass rate would suggest your intake has gone to shit (ie. low standards for intake).”
You missed the Malaysia Boleh system. Everybody passes, no matter what standard of intake.
Ex-JPA ->
your comment shows the quality of of SPA scholars.
It is both obnoxious and degrading.
You cannot say its alright to be mediocre if you are sponsored by your parents.
My parents paid for my education in International Medical University not because I was mediocre but because I did not have the proper ‘kulit’-fications if you catch my drift.
Every day I told myself I needed to be more then ‘mediocre’ because I did not want to be complacent and fail my parents.
So you do not have the right to say its ‘ok’ to be mediocre in a local university when our parents are funding us.
p.s. you might want to brush up on your grammar and spelling. It’s appalling for a JPA scholar to have terrible English. Remember you’re not ‘mediocre’, in fact you are supposed to represent the ‘best’ of us
thescalpel
Uh ok I understand how I’ve offended now.
Apologies for coming across that way.
I was trying to make a point of the tidak apa attitude I observed amongst jpa and mara students when I attended a pre u college. At the back of my mind was the fact that I had many friends who were more deserving (perhaps like yourself) but did not make it to a jpa scholarship
I am angry that many sponsored students do not think it is their obligation to make the best out of their scholarships. my point is mediocrity is not an option when receiving an expansive scholarship. My personal view is that mediocrity should not be allowed in any aspects of our lives, sponsored or not. However If you spent a day in the pre u college I went to you will see that the prevalent culture is to the contrary, hence my comment that you find unpalatable.
So once again do accept my apologies and if could I humbly ask you to see the point I was trying to convey.
As for my embarrassing English it is work in progress. I managed good grades in a reputable English medium medical school, write case reports and research papers frequently in English, and certainly got a 1a in the language ( the GCSE one) . However because I do not belief in mediocrity I will continue to improve my English by arguing my views on blogs like this with esteemed colleagues like yourself. Perhaps the impeccable English of yours will rub off on me.
Guys, i think scholar does not mean anything especially if you are in the flaw and blemish system in Malaysia because bumi take priority and i have already swallow that bitter reality earlier on. Yes i was never a top dean list scholar but is that mean i am not successful and bright? when will we stop being condescending toward others and judge who is better based solely on academic result? i have seen dean list scholar who is a consultant now but still single living alone in a gloomy town and also mara scholar that failed miserably in a prestigious medical school. Look at Dr P, a top scholar in Johor but only afford a holiday after many years of working, but i am not even a JPA or Mara scholar, can afford yearly trip to malaysia or world just because i earn overseas currency? is that mean that i am less successful? guys, we need to have a balanced view. In the West, and especially if you are a doctor, when you earn your fellowship it only means you are qualified in YOUR field only and achieve a certain standard but by no way it means you are the top, all in all you need continuous medical education THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE!! . yes I do not make into dean list or even considered for JPA scholar, but i have a few houses, healthy parents migrated with me, lovely wife and go to holiday when i feel like it or feel lousy, regular exercise, is that mean i am more inferior to others? when will we discard the asian mentality of those who make the best grade win, but in reality it doesn’t matter as long as you pass:)
Nope you are by no means unseccessful nd i certainly agree career is only one aspect of a fulfilled life. However that is beyond the point.
When a million ringgit is at stake, and competition for scholarships are steep, then the best should be selected.
This is especially so when tax payers are footing the damn bill.
It is a waste of the nations resources when people go abroad for two years or three and fail. Foreign universities unfortunately do not lower standards to let undeserving people pass.
Why do you think the government debt is so high? I m no economist but i would suspect a yearly bill from british, irish, australian and us unis tip the balance towards deficit
For the future of the nation if money is going to be spent it has to be worth the investment. Otherwise malaysia is going to end up another Greece
oh mi god seirouli i iz rpelynig tu yu in teh lngag of dulan bceasu yu obivouli cnat spak porpre englsh so y tri so hrad i’tz bter tu go ful retart.
tont get ccki yu sund liek an argnt pirk golatnig abut teh hgih pai and fregn hloidyaz and fmal bbai mker wtih a rnig on it.
http://dolantranslator.com/
The england is fails! You talk like someone with an inferiority complex now gloating about his success.
I guess that now all jobs are hard to get for all new graduates. Well it gonna be really disappointing if I end up having no job, medical school sure isnt easy. Should I quit medical school since I am still in first year? I am a public uni students though, fee does not really cost much. I started to think medical school is not worth it, maybe it’s better if I just switch to easier course, if I get first class result, I wouldnt have to bother paying back ptptn. It is undeniably hard to get first class for medic course.
As far as I know, in the UK, medics can graduate with “Honours”, and there’s no “first” etc.
Are there first class honours for local MD and MBBS degrees in public units here?
If you are in a public uni, just stay on. Your financial outlay is minimal, only about RM3500 a year. Generally, medical degrees are never stratified into honours bands, for the simple reason that medical schools are NOT in the business of creating prima donnas, but to create safe competent doctors. ALL of them. Banding them would imply some doctors are “better” than others. A potentially dangerous concept.
It is entirely up to you. Do what you are interested and not what your results entitles you to do. There is no such thing as 1st class for medical courses as far as I know.
Well I havent in really been interested in any field really….I dont really sure what inspired me to choose medicine though I am aware of the upcoming challenges in my own choice of path.(and the working hours and stuff) Anyway, since now I am already in med school, I am unhappy.. I have always been a top scorer before but now I am an average student in med school. It is disappointing when I already did my best but never managed to score A in my exams like few of my friends.( I always score average though) My question is, will average student make a good doctor?
Don’t worry much of what you are scoring. The important thing is whether you are interested in medicine. If not, that you will never enjoy medicine.
If I’m not mistaken, there are a few Monash Msia students who graduate with first class honour every year but the number is small because so far only one student who get exempted from paying back ptptn loan with his/her result. They have even changed their course title to MBBS (Honors) from this year onward. I believe that this change is initiated by the Clayton campus because the course has now been recognised as an honours level course in Aus.
That is a common experience. In good med schools, only the best are taken in, and hence the overall standards are much higher than secondary school. So a top student in a school, amongst all other top students from other schools, easily finds himself very average and “normal”! It can be a shocking and unnerving experience. Especially when you realise suddenly for the first time in your life, failing has become a real possibility!
Of course, you can choose one of the “easier” med schools, and “fly” through the course without any sweat.
The changing of Australian quaifications has nothing to do with awarding excellent students. In the Australian context, the honours qualification is not an award for good results, but is awarded for an extra year of study/research, the so called honours year.
The changing of Australian medical qualifications is more to claim higher AQF(http://www.aqf.edu.au/aqf/in-detail/aqf-levels/) levels, and potential salary banding that comes from that.
The standard “double degree” MBBS, whether 5 or 6 years or postgraduate (7 years), is pitched at AQF level 7, together with many other 3 years Bachelor degree courses. That obviously is nonsense. Monash added the “honours” to move it to Level 8. Graduate entry programmes, as well as the “new” 6 year UNSW undergraduate programme have been/will be awarding the MD qualification, which is equivalent to a Master degree and placed al AQF Level 9.
I reckon it is not easy for graduates to get any job nowadays. It is a competitive world! Why not continue with your Med education. At the end of the day, it is the good values like hard working, good interpersonal skill etc. that determine whether you will be successful later in life. You will find that a decent Med School is a good place to develop those qualities. As for your result in Med School, don’t worry too much about it. I was only an average MBBS student but that didn’t stop me from passing MRad and two fellowship exams. After all “life is a box of chocolate…”
Hi Pagavalan, do you have photos of your UM days? Don’t remember I have seen you in UM but you may have different hair colour then :-). I am in Ravee’s batch.
Which Ravee? The Rheumatologist?
Yes Ravee the Rheumatologist, from the class of 90/95.
I was first year when Ravee was 3rd year. Graduate of 1997.
i got into medical field bcoz of my parents. it’s not that scary. i assume whatever career u might be in, u will face the same pressure if u wanna be on the top. In d medical field though, u would easily be pissed off at d end of d day as people expect u to perform 24/7…..
My friend went to a well known hospital chain to remove a plant torn in his thumb which has turned septic. The doctor did a minor surgery to remove the torn and sew it back all in 15 minutes. He was billed RM900. And when he went back to have the stitches removed a few days later which was done in 5 minutes, he was charged an additional RM200.
No wonder so many are interested to become doctors!!
You think the whole sum goes to the doctor? lol
I would think the bulk of it is fees as it was all over in 15 minutes. No admission, so unlikely to have a lot of miscellaneous.
Yes, agreed that for other cases, doctor’s fees is about 20 to 30%.
You obviously have no idea about hospital charges then, on consumables. Admission only add room charges, which isn’t that high.
Firstly, are these doctor’s charges or hospital’s charges? Doctor’s charges are limited by the government. It is usually only 20% of the total bill.
Kindly please ask for the receipt from your friend. You will find that only a small portion of the money go into the doctor’s pocket- the rest of it to other costs, e.g., nurses, paramedics, administration, sutures, equipment, drugs, dressings, IV lines, needles, and of course, the bulk of it goes to the hospital shareholders- which most of them, ironically, are government-linked companies!
Average australian ED. Guy presents with a sprained ankle. Sent home with painkillers. XR nad. 30 mins. AUD$550 + some cost for the XR. The doctor that saw him earnt less than 5% of that service charge in 30 minutes, and saw 2 patients in 30 minutes time working the fast track ED unit.
True story bra. Happened, like..today…to me.. the doctor.
Im currently doing my foundation in science programme. I would like to know which is better since my parents are considering among mbbs in mahsa, quest, rmcp or mbbs course at dhaka bangladesh. Thank you.
I am not sure of Dhaka but any of the local ones are OK but Quest is yet to getMMC accreditation