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| Dr Hsu Dar Ren is a medical doctor and blogs on socio-economic issues; he believes that a fair and equitable society with good governance is the key to the future of this country. |
A doctor too many
MARCH 26 — Malaysia, a country with about 26 million inhabitants, boasts of 24 medical schools now.
Just a few years ago, the number was less than 10. In fact, when my eldest son entered medical school 10 years back, I could count the medical schools with my fingers. Now even with my toes and my fingers, I can no longer. Some of the names are so new that I, as a doctor, did not even know they existed until I did some research for this article.
The list is below:
Public universities:
* University of Malaya, Faculty of Medicine
* Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine
* Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Medical Sciences
* Universiti Putra Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
* Universiti Malaysia Sabah, School of Medicine
* Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
* International Islamic University Malaysia, Kulliyyah of Medicine
* Universiti Teknologi Mara, Faculty of Medicine
* Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences
* Universiti Darul Iman, Faculty of Medicine
Private Universities and Colleges
* UCSI University, Faculty of Medical Sciences — School of Medicine
* Monash University Malaysia, School of Medicine and Health Sciences
* International Medical University, Faculty of Medicine
* AIMST University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
* Allianze College Of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine
* Management and Science University, Faculty of Medicine
* Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine
* Royal College of Medicine Perak, School of Medicine
* Melaka Manipal Medical College, School of Medicine
* Penang Medical College, School of Medicine
* MAHSA University College, Faculty of Medicine
* Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NuMED)
* Taylor’s University College, School of Medicine
* Utar
These are the medical schools in Malaysia. These schools, when fully functional, will produce about 4,000 doctors a year. There will be thousands more Malaysian doctors being produced overseas, since many Malaysians are studying medicine in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Russia, Taiwan and even Ukraine.
The sudden mushrooming of medical schools is apparently due to shortages of doctors in the public sectors. This is because most doctors in government service resign after their compulsory services and opt for the supposedly greener pasture in the private sector.
In most other countries, the logical thing to do to counter this brain drain of doctors to the private sector is to find out why doctors are resigning from government service, and then try to address the woes of the doctors, and hopefully, keep them in service. I call this common logic.
The Malaysian solution, like in many other instances, does not take common logic into account but rather uses the sledgehammer approach. After all, we do have Malaysian logic, which is different from common logic practised in most other countries. For example, if we cannot have spacecraft of our own, we can still produce astronauts by sending Malaysians into space, hitchhiking on other countries’ spacecraft.
In most other countries, the common logic will be to try to improve the working conditions in public sector so that doctors will stay back. But Malaysian logic is sledgehammer logic, and is very different.
If the doctors do not want to stay in government service, then Malaysia shall flood the market with doctors, so goes the Malaysian logic. Never mind that setting up of medical schools and training doctors are expensive businesses. We have petroleum and huge amount of development funds.
By building more buildings and buying expensive medical equipment to equip these medical schools, billions will have to be spent and, of course, in the Malaysian context, everyone will be happy, down from the planners, the contractors, the parents and all others involved, since the perception is that projects in Malaysia inevitably will have some leakages and wastages, and many people are very happy with these leakages and wastages.
Never mind that we may have the hardware but we may not have enough qualified people to man these medical schools.
The Malaysian logic seems to be like this: If enough doctors are produced, the market will be saturated with doctors, and thus, doctors will have nowhere to go but to stay in government service.
Well, the people may be clapping hands and rejoicing that, with more doctors than are needed, medical costs will come down.
Unfortunately, things do not function like this in medical education. Experience in some countries tells us that some doctors in private practice, when faced with too few patients, will charge higher and do more investigations, some of which may not be needed. So instead of medical cost going down, it will go up.
In any advanced nation, the setting up of a medical school requires a lot of planning and is not done on an ad hoc basis. Planning must include where to source for experienced and qualified teachers; where to build new or source for existing teaching hospitals, which are big enough for the placement of these medical students to do training.
Planning such as facilities, equipment, classrooms, curriculum. In the west, it takes many years of training for a medical school to be set up; whereas in Malaysia, we see more than 10 in the last five years.
In Malaysia, due to the sudden “exponential” increase in medical schools, we have medical schools pinching staff from each other, even the mediocre ones. With that number of qualified teachers only, it is unavoidable that many teachers may not have the experience and qualification to be medical lecturers.
The early birds (medical schools) are more fortunate. Their students are placed in bigger hospitals like the General Hospitals of Kuala Lumpur or Penang. Now, some of the medical schools just opened have to send their students to smaller district hospitals to do their training. The smaller hospitals are often manned by more junior doctors who are not qualified to be medical teachers, and these hospitals have only very basic facilities and equipment.
This is just the beginning of the problems. For a doctor, graduating from a medical school is the beginning of a life long journey, and the basic medical degree is more like a license to start to really learn how to manage and treat patients.
The most important year after a doctor graduates is the houseman-ship. If a doctor does not have proper houseman training, then he would face a lot of problems later on. He or she may know all the medical knowledge in the world (just for argument’s sake, since knowledge of medicine is so vast that no one can know everything), but without the proper houseman training, he or she will not get the hand-on experience so crucial and important to doctors.
A doctor without proper houseman training is not unlike a person who has only ever raced in arcade games, suddenly being asked to race in a real life race. He would not have the hands on experience to do well. A doctor without proper houseman training would be like a person given a license to kill, and a disaster waiting to happen.
Now, with 4,000 doctors being produced in a year, where do we find so many houseman positions for these young doctors?
Even now, with some of the medical schools just starting and not yet producing doctors, and the number of doctors being produced is much less than the 4,000, the wards in some of the bigger hospitals are filled with so many housemen that, in some wards, there are not enough patients for these housemen to learn management skills.
About a year back, I was told, in HKL some of the units have more than 20 housemen. Recently one doctor told me that in some units, it may have even more than that. I was aghast. Since with that many housemen in a single unit, and so few senior officers to guide them and so few patients for them to learn from, how are they going to learn the skill of doctoring?
When there is not enough training for these housemen, what do you think our policy planners do? In the typical Malaysian style, they increase the length of houseman-ship from a year to 2, hoping that the longer time will help to give better exposure to these doctors.
Compared to Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom, houseman-ship is still one year only. By increasing the length of the houseman-ship, it is a tacit admission that our one-year houseman training is not as good as the above mentioned countries.
A poorly trained houseman will become a mediocre medical officer, and since now most of the specialists are trained internally, it will be a matter of time before future specialists may not be as well trained as presently.
Many parents do not know about the actual situation and still encourage their children to take up medicine. They are not told of the actual situation. The day will come when there are simply so many doctors that none are adequately trained. There will come a day when a doctor graduating from a medical school cannot even be placed in a houseman position.
And that day is actually very near.
* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.
Pagalavan's Avatar
i remember reading this post when i was still studying and told my friends… if they turn to other field to start working… don’t call me! LOL!
Jokes aside. Any advice fresh grads going for housemenships?
Dear doc,
I enjoy reading your articles and wished I knew this 6 years ago! My plan is to venture somewhere else, take up another course. But of course, financing it means I still have to work as a doctor. Can a houseman who has just completed training go work in a KK?
DearAnne,
Once you have completed housemanship, you can ask to be transferred to any KK.
Thank you for your excellent blog revealing the medical situation in Malaysia which we, the foreign medical students, are clueless about…… I have been hearing various rumours and news regarding the over-production of doctors and insufficient training in Malaysia but was unable to get any answers even from my sponsor…..=( Finally, I got an idea! Cheers!
CG, I am a SPM school leaver and planning to study medicine also, but because of financial problem it will be kinda hard for me to do, and I’ve been searching sponsor high and low for my study. Do you happen to know where could i find one?
hello,
i enjoyed read all your post about medic! really open my eyes about medical demand nowadays. Have u ever heard that many student involve in medical because of their parent willing. Medical is not an easy course. It required a lot of patient and works. I think, i`m not doing the wrong decision when my parent urged me to take medic course. It just because i`ve got straight A`s in SPM…
So, i wanna ask u what occupation that relly needed in 5 years later??
Yes, it is a norm for every parents to ask their children to do medicine just because you scored straight As. Many of these parents are not from medical field themselves. You will notice that many doctors do not want their children to become a doctor unless their children insist. Please read my articles on ” For Future Dcotors” series under Education page and you will know what I am talking about. Surplus of doctors is a reality in few years time, especially for those who are planning to do medicine now, when you graduate in 5 years time, jobless is possible. So, try doing another field which has good future like accounting, dentistry, interior designing, biotechnology etc. If you were to do biotechnology, please do it in an internationally recognised universities. Our local degrees in biotechnology is hopeless. Biotechnology is a growing field in the future.
thanks for replying my comment. I feel proud that you have time to share something very useful facts to Malaysian. I will always read your post!
When you said “internationally recognised universities” for biotechnology, which unis are available in Malaysia.
is university of nottingham malaysia campus is one of the internationally recognised universities?
For?
really open my view about docs condition today…thanks for sharing… need to rethink again
I really wish I had come across this earlier. How is it that I never discovered this treasure trove with my endless surfing of internet for information? And now, having received an offer to do Medicine in Monash under the JPA Scholarship, what on earth do I do?
Why isn’t this information circulated to a greater extent in the media? So, the medical line is not a stable line as formerly perceived, and many parents if not more are still under the delusion. How do I explain to my parents about this situation and allowing them to understand this plight? I know they will throw the whole Everything-will get-better drama on me or even the Government-bonded-service is stable act on me.
So pursue medicine, and love it?
Or take it because with a JPA Scholarship will provide obvious job opportunities..or play ignorance is bliss and blissfully fall into delusion.
Any thoughts doc..stat?
Regards
The question you should ask yourself is the reason you want to do medicine! Are you willing to study for the next 10-15 years and sit for numerous exams before becoming a subspecialist or you want a better quality time with your family etc etc. As you know, MBBS does not mean anything anymore. It is not like 20 years ago where public look up upon a MBBS holder. Thus, your education do not stop at just getting MBBS.
Parents who are not from medical field will not understand the issues surrounding the field of medicine. Most doctors are not forcing their children to do medicine because they know the future prospect and the though life that they have to go through! Even for myself, I will not force my children to do medicine. I have even had JPA sponsored students (who are usually the cream of the country) who have enquired about how to quit medical school and housemanship. This is because they never realise what medicine is all about untill they stepped into the life of being a doctor in their 3rd or 4rd year medical school. Being a doctor is not sitting in a clinic and seeing cold cases like what most people assume! It is more than that. I have had students who refuse to enter the wards because they could not see sick people in the ward where nothing much can be done. They thought that being a doctor can save people’s life all the time!It is only sometime that you can save lifes.
I presume that you got Monash Malaysia. By the time you graduate in 5 years time ( 2016), there will be surpluss of doctors. However I feel that JPA/MARA and local university graduates may be given priority in getting a job. The rest will need to wait. Already from next year, all foreign medical graduates will have to sit for an entrance exam to get a job. There may come a time where all medical graduates will have to sit for an exam before the government gives you a housemanship post.
The other good thing is the fact that you got a place in Monash. Of course you will be bonded to government for 10 years but atleast, since your degree is recognised in Australia/NZealand, you can migrate there and con’t your postgraduate studies. Of course , it also depends on the availability of training post.
Biomedical science has many branches, including researh capabilities. You can even become a lecturer etc immediately after your degree which you can’t do for medicine(you need postgraduate degree). Of course in terms of quality of life, it is better. It is much easier to get a job in other countries compared to medicine where degree recognition is important. I just came across a Program Analyst who has settled down in Australia. He graduated from local university but could easily get a job in Australia and now travelling around the world and he is only 34 years old! I also know of a Biochemist who easily got a job in Australia. BUT it is not that easy for a doctor to get a job as there are many rules and regulation to follow! By the time you finish your subspeciality, you will be near 40 years old! So think about it and see what type of life do you want!
Hello doctor pagalavan,
Among bio technology, bio medical and bio chemistry. Which is the easiest to get job when 2018
No one knows for sure. Biotechnology is a growing field but not in Malaysia at the moment. Sometimes, I do not even understand the difference between these courses.
When I applied to med school, there were only 5 uni – UM, UKM, USM, UIA, UPM with the 2 latter being the ‘latest’ uni at that time. Now, it had quadrupled.
Still in the govt service, not only do I see marked deterioration in service, but a significant change in the attitude of the current crops. Being a radiologist, I am no longer suprised when a HO does not even know the case he/she is requesting, but dared to answer back telling me “if you don’t want to do speak to my boss”.
There had even cases when I had informed the accompanying HO that the case is urgent – suspected abruptio placenta, perforated viscus but they DID NOT UNDERSTAND the disease & its urgency. Just imagine the outcome. Besides, nowadays sometimes 2 or even 3 HO accompany just 1 patient!
I pray that I don’t fall sick and ‘fall’ into these peoples’ hands…
The same is happening everythere and when I point this facts, some people feel that I am pointing fingers,Wait till it happens to their own relatives!
Dear Dr.,
I am a student who has just received my A-Level result. I was previously bonded by JPA to study pharmacy at UCSI University but I intend to study medicine. In the mid of changing course process, I saw your article here. This really makes me uncertain of what I should do. Is it possible that I can secure my job as a doctor in the future if I really work hard and devote myself into the field despite the over-numbering of doctor? If i were to study medicine at UCSI University, do I have the chance to study post-graduate studies at oversea universities?
What about the course of pharmacy? Will there be too many pharmacist in the future too?
MBBS from UCSI is not recognised elsewhere! Thus you will not be able to get a job anywhere other than Malaysia! UCSI was one of the medical college that was given a warning by MMC for not having proper curicullum and teaching schedule for students(2010). Furthermore, almost all of their tutors are Burmese!! It is based in Kuala Terengganu.
By the time you graduate, it will be 2016. There is still a possibility that you may get a job. It does not matter whether you are hard working or not, getting an housemanship post depends on availability of post as it is a government service post! Please read my article on “ What if ………………..” in my Future doctors series. You can read it under my Education page.
Yes, what I heard is that there are already too many pharmacist nowadays. However, in terms of salary in civil service , there are not much difference compared to a doctor. Again, whether you get a job in civil service or not depends on the number of available vacant post. I was told that vacancy in Major hospitals has been filled. So, you may be sent to rural hospitals in Sabah and Sarawak later as how the doctors are being sent from this year onwards. As you must be aware by now that pharmacist also has to undergo compulsory service before you can resign and open your own pharmacy shop. However, pharmacist has a lot of scope in research and pharmaceutical field.
To me, the medical field that has good future at this moment is dentistry.
I came across this article by chance. Though I agree with your article 100%, with all due respect sir, I would just like to rectify certain points that have been mentioned in your comment. I happen to be a final year medical student in UCSI. Yes, we are a fairly new university, thus often my university’s credibility is questioned. My batch would be the 5th batch to graduate with ‘MD’ from UCSI, which is currently a WHO listed university.
Our campus is situated in Kuala Terengganu. And I would say it is one of our plus points. We do not share our teaching hospital with numerous other med schools (which is the norm for teaching hospitals situated in KL). We have ample of ‘hands-on-chances’ at the hospital. furthermore, the people of Terengganu, are so humble and polite, that even 10 medical students could clerk and examine the patient in a couple of days time, yet the patients are still extremely cooperative. (which is not the case in most hospitals in KL which the public universities are using as teaching hosps, i guess i do not need to elaborate more on this).
And yes, almost half of our lecturers are Burmese. But being Burmese, they have at least completed their MRCP, MRCS, MRCOG etc before qualifying to teach in our university. Most of them have experience teaching in UK, Australia and even local Public universities before teaching in our University. In fact, my previous Assoc Dean who was incharge of KT campus, Prof Win Kyi,was the clinical coordinator in USM for many many years before coming to our uni. Hence, many doctors who graduated from USM, now specialists in various fields, are teaching us part time.
We are also taught by most of the specialist from Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah from all departments, including the Head of Departments themselves. Training in a ‘small-town-hospital’, does have its perks .. Prof Dr. Zariah, who is the head Neurologist of the entire east Coast, Dato’ Dr. Shukri (Gastroenterologist) who also happens to be the physician for the Sultanate of Trg, Prof. Dato’, Dr. Surendranath Menon, Prof.Dato Dr Hashim, just to name a few extremely qualified personnels, under whom we are being personally trained.
Not all private universities produce half baked products Sir. In fact, my batch consist only of 50 students. Which means, only 10 of us will be posted to one dept.. which translates that we gain more experience and skills than other universities. we also get more personal attention from individual lecturers.
Again, this is not a reply to your original article, with which i agree whole heartedly, but only to rectify a few points brought fwd by your reply regarding UCSI School of Medicine. Thank you. Feel free to cross check all the information that i have put forth.
Best regards.
Thanks for the comment. Yes, I agree with what you have said as long as the number of students remain small. Once the number increases, that’s when the problem arises. Furthermore, I was informed that UCSI may not stay in KT for long.
BTW, WHO listing does not mean anything. It just allows you to be able to sit for other country’s entrance exam.
Only 2 lecturers have diploma which is considered at MRCP/MRCS or higher level – FCCP and FRCS/FRCOph. Furthermore, almost all lecturers are from Burma with so-called master of ….( postgraduate ) – a reply by A.R. Threasa is INcorrect – None of the Burmese lecturers have MRCS/MRCP
http://www.ucsiuniversity.edu.my/fomhs/staff/fomhs.aspx
Do these lecturers are also clinicians registered with MMC ?
How good is their Malaysian and English language capability ?
How good is a Burmese doctor with Master of … ( postgraduate ) ?
As far as I know, Masters in Med Sc is not a recognised clinical specialist degree in Malaysia.They can be registered with MMC as a doctor but not as a specialist. Only now, MMC will make specialist registration compulsory under the amended Medical Act 2012.
Oh, I forget to mention
Why doesn’t this med school employ Malaysian GP with MBBS from Canada, UK, and also with MRCGP, MRCP, MRCS ?
I see some Malaysian GP with MBBS from UK, Canada, Aus and or MRCS/MRCP
Are you assuming that ALL doctors are by default also academicians who can lecture?
MBBS holders without postgraduate degrees cannot work as medical lecturers. Some may be accepted to teach primary care topic and nothing else.
One of the reason why they rather employ burmese than locals: can pay them lower.
How much is the estimated salary of Burmese-educated medical lecturer at his medical school ?
How much is the estimated salary of newly-employed Burmese-educated doctor working at East Malaysia first year?
How about their Malaysian language ? How do they communicate ? Do they have to pass official Malay language ?
Different universities have different pay scale. It is confidential!
NO they do not need to take or pass the national language.
hallo sir, i just got to knw abut tis article from facebook. I am a straight A student spm 2010. since I was young my ambition is to be a doctor. I do work really hard to gt A+ in biology. I love biology. Now im looking 4 scholarship to enter foundtn in sc n MBBS. After i read ur article, i feel blur, don knw wat to do. I really cnt change it, i love my ambition until I sign in ma school magazine as DR.thilipkumar. hhhm i dn knw wat to say, ma mum keep on telling me to take any other courses wic is shorter n etc. do u have any advice
Please go to my homepage and read all the articles that I have written for future doctors, I had listed in my latest blog entry. After reading all the articles then ask me what you wantto know more.
Congrats, Thilip. If that is your calling, go for it.
It seems that now not only our country is plagued by a doctor too many but also suffered from A+ too many in the SPM results.
From theStar: A total of 9,239 candidates obtained distinction (A+, A, A-) in all subjects in the 2010 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination. A total of 363 candidates from government schools scored straight A+ or Super Distinction in the examination.
I never knew there are 3 categories of A. Ten years ago, there was only one type of A and perhaps odnly 200+ students with straight As.
Yes, as I said in my latest blog entry that we seem to have the smartest students in the world and it just keep getting better year by year!! It use to be about 2-10 students in each state scoring 8/9 As those days !
thanks
Dr Pagalavan,
He wants to be a Doctor by hook or by crook. He needs your words of wisdom, encouragments and etc. 🙂
Hi Dr,
Few months ago, i had meet an education consultant in my college for planning further study in India. There, there are 3 choices either want to choose Medic, Dentistry or Physiotherapy. Actually I’m really interested to do dentistry, but the consultant told me that there are to many already dentist n doctor in Malaysia. So, he told me to do Physiotherapy. Then, I said ok and filled up the application form. After I read your articles, I really confuse now n little upset being not choose dentist as my choice. So, is that the Physiotherapy is a good choice and can secure me a job in the future?
You had said in your article that “do the biotechnology internationally”. I had apply for biomedicine as my first choice and biotech as my 2nd choice in TPM college that provide Australian International certificated for biomedic while the biotech is graduated by USA certificated. I want to know if the biomedic can give a better future for me? Can sir explain both of this courses and which one is better…
I really need your advice in order to choose either choosing physiotherapy or biomedicine or biotechnology…
Actually, there is still a lot of vacancy for dentistry in this country and the job prospect is better in gov service. As for private, you need to open your own clinic as private hospitals rarely take dentist. Physiotherapy is a good field but I was told that there are a lot of physiotherapist being produced at diploma level by various private colleges in Malaysia and a lot of them are still loking for jobs. Are you doing degree or diploma in physiotherapy?
Biotechnology is a very broad field with various subgroups which may include biomedicine. Biomedicine basically deals with research and development in the field of medicine. The reason why I suggested an internationally recognised degree is that you can get jobs much easier in bigger pharmaceutical companies. Biotechnology is a new field in Malaysia and may expand in the future
Actually I’m foundation student. So, I was applying bachelor of degree in physiotherapy for my further study. Is that meaning degree certificated will get more chances than the diploma one?
At the same time I also applying degree for the biomedicine and biotechnology 1st and 2nd choice in the same college. If compare between physiotherapy and both of this courses, which one can secure me for job?
You can probably get a better propect for physiotherapy for the time being. Biotechnology is still at infant stage in Malaysia but will develop eventually
hi carlos,
i am a graduate biotechnology student from monash with honours year (research year). I do not agree with biotechnology having a lot of job opportunities in malaysia. Depending on what you plan to do, research or sales or education field? In the research field, you can only find jobs in universities as RAs (research assistants) in which your salary will be grant based and usually will be around 1200-1500 max. And you will not be considered as a full-time staff, meaning no medical benefits, no bonus, no increment and no promotion. In other words, you will be the one carrying out the entire research project with no help from anyone. Upon completion of your project, you are under the mercy of your supervisor if he/she still wants to extend your contract. So, no future there!! Second choice is sales. You will join a pharmaceutical sales company like merck, qiagen, gsk, cryocord etc and you will sell their products everyday, drive to universities or hospitals to promote your items and you will have to meet sales target every month. Essentially a scientific sales job, but this can earn a salary of 3000-5000 if you meet your sales target. Third choice is to become a science lecturer for pre-u courses. Starting salary is 2200-2500. And lastly you can join diagnostics company that does blood tests for the public. Starting pay is 1300-1500. These are all real numbers and i have friends in all these areas. Both biotech and biomed are sharing the same job fields. No difference in either one you pick. If i were you, physio or dentistry would be a better choice. At least you will be considered a professional.
Biotechnology actually do have a good prospect BUT unfortunately the universities are producing too many graduates when the field itself just begining to set foot in Malaysia. Biotechnology industry is just begining to start in Malaysia and it will take another 5-10 years before it is developed. At the same time the government is not investing enough in basic research in this field.
hi, DOC
tq 4 the reply, i gt read some of the article
cn u gve me ur email add or u facebook.
i need to ask u some questn wic i feel its a bit private
i really nid ur help. pls gve ur email add. tq
pagal72@gmail.com
tq
Dear doc,
after read your articles,I’m afraid to futher my studies in medicine.To be frank,I heard that medicine is a highly-demand career to be explored.If I become one of the JPA scholars,am I possible to get my post easily as the HO,after graduated? Secondly,can you tell me about the basic income as a HO?thank you doctor.;)
please go my homepage and see my latest entry. I have linked all my articles that I have written for future doctors. After reading all the articles, then ask me what more you want to know.
Hello doctor. I am really interested in doing dentistry. But, i prefer to do it locally in private institution. I found that there is one being offered by Mahsa University College. But the problem is, since it started in 2007, yet to see graduates (next year), they have not receive the MQA accredition. It seems that they will only get the accredition when their 1st batch graduates.
I would be the 5th batch then. Need to make up my mind soon. Any suggestion? IS it ok to study there while waiting for the course to be accredited? Do help. Thanx alot doc.
But doctor, penang medical college is not offering dentistry program.
sorry, it is the Penang International Dental college, does a twinning programme with a college from india.
even IMU has dentistry
Doc, the problem is i want do it locally only. and imu is highly unaffordable. its 450k just for the tuition fees. is it ok to study while waiting for it to be accredited (mahsa).
Risky but you must understand that it is still better to study in a more established and recognised dental school. Quality does matter!
thanx alot doctor.
Doc, can i know the significance of having mqa accredition? if the course is not accredited why do they offering those courses? would the students face any difficulties in securing a job as a dentist later on? confused. do help doc.
All private colleges suppose to get MQA accreditation. If I am not mistaken, securing a job depends on whether the degree is recognised by Malaysian Dental Councill. Dentist need to do compulsory service in government sector for 3 years.
To dentistry,
Hi. I am Dr Guek. I would like to give you some advice.
Studying medicine or dentistry is very expensive and it may cost a lot of burden to your family if they are not well-to-do. If you are studying STPM, how about re-sit the paper? My best friend successfully passed with flying colour on his second attempt and managed to become a doctor now. Yes, you may be slower for a year, but you can potentially save half a million. Frankly this is what I would have do if I fumbled in exam.
The return of this profession may not worth so much money.
Dr. Guek. Hello doctor. Thanx alot for your advice. Yes i sat for my STPM last year. However, its not a 4flat score. That is why I am looking for private colleges, not public universities as I know public unis are hard to enter for medicine and dentistry if you are not a 4 flat scorer. Not hard, u really CANT. So that’s the reason doctor. And to resit STPM, its a bit risky though. I will consider it anyway. Thank you. Appreciate it alot.
Hello sir,
I’m searching for physiotherapy, it ended up here 😀
Carlos’s posts and replies from you did solve some of my questions.
Any recommended local or oversea universities for doing physiotherapy degree?
Study abroad is better or there is not much difference for doing it local?
I found some local uni which offer this course, just concern the university quality and the facility/teachers of the uni to conduct this course.
Thanks.
Thumbs up for the post (A doctor too many)!
Make sure you do a physiotherapy degree, and not just a diploma. Overseas in a western country would probably be better if it’s affordable.
try doing a degree programme raher than diploma. There is already too many diploma holders in the market who are jobless at the moment. If you are planning to work in Malaysia, I don’t think it matters where you do your degree.
hello sir….
i juz finish my foundation in science n plan to do medicine…
but i cannot make a decision between medicine n pharmacy…
medicine is my dream…. but i dont wan to be a jobless doctor one day…..there are to many pharmacies who are also studying overseas n locally…do u have any idea if pharmacies being unemployed? whats ur opinion of doing medicine in segi n do u have any idea of cyberjaya university college for pharmacy ?
I was informed that pharmacy will also get saturated soon but at the moment there are still vacancies in government sector and the 4 years compulsory service is still on. Remember, the compulsory service was only introduced in 2003 due to shortage of pharmacist, thus it is possible that the government may lift this compulsory service if there is no more vacancy. Pharmacist has many choices from setting up your own pharmacy, joining private hospitals, joining pharmaceutical companies and being a lecturer. These are not possible for medical doctors without completing housemanship and doing speciality.
SEGI college is very new and not recognised by MMC yet. I would not recommend them. Cyberjaya university medical degree has been dercognised by MMC as of Dec 2010, not sure about their pharmacy course.
thanks alot for ur reply sir. i think it better for me to find out about other courses related to medical also.
Hi Dr,
Your blog is the best.It really gave me different perspective towards medical line courses.I m still in dilemma.I have two choices right now.Accountancy and dentistry.Both are good field.Both courses can lead us to better lifestyle.Most of my friends or anyone i knew asking me to go for your interest.I m crazy about dentistry but financial will be always an issue.I m also looking at job prospect of both courses.Does interest play an important role in life?I always wanted to become President of America when i was small,but it is quite absurd when i ponder about it now.I used this concept to think about the course i opt to do.Accountancy tuition fees is much lesser than dentistry.But my interest is not in accountancy.Many can progress in that field.Some will become very rich.I need your advice in this.I need to know more about dentistry job outlook in malaysia.Many of my friends are going for dentistry in indon and india.Recently,we got to know there are 11000 doctors and dentists in egypt.It was a shock to all malaysians as we will be having excess doctors in malaysia very soon.Even i want to have a private firm,there will be high competition between dentists.Looking forward for your reply.Thanks.
It is always better to choose a filed where you have an interest. At the moment, dentistry seem to have a better outlook than medicine but I am also hearing that thousands are doing dentistry in Egypt, Russia, India and Indonesia. Local private colleges have also started offering dentistry courses like IMU, Melaka-Manipal, AIMST etc. Since I am not a dentist I can’t really say how the future prospect going to be for dentistry.
Hi dr,
I am going to pursue dentistry course in indonesia.Do you know anyone who works as a dentist?Maybe i can have their opinion regarding this field!!!Thanks for your reply,Dr
Most of the dentist I know are doing well. Less restriction and less investment. Of course, buying equipments will be expensive to start off the clinic but the income is greater. Almost all the charges are yours. Medications are minimal. However I must warn you that there are also many students doing dentistry in Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia currently. However, the private market is still not saturated. YOu can pursue your degree in oromaxillo-facial surgeon etc
Houseman working in shift is already official on today, as our DG announced to press that houseman will work in 54hours per week. No more on call allowances, 50% cut on critical allowance. Nett income may be just reaching RM3000 after EPF and tax..
Pity those who spends half to a million for their medical study. They could have be a successful businessman by using that sum of money for their business.
50% cut of critical allowance is just the begining. When all post are filled, the entire critical allowance will be taken of!
Not really true, Sherkhan. Businessmen may go bankrupt and this is the greatest rik you have to undertake. Unlike professionals, doing business is very risky and uncertain. What can you do with half a million in business nowadays. Opening a franchised coffeeshop in shopping centre would cost you a fortune of few hundred thousands. Even opening a 24-hour mamakshop (not the illegal type at roadside store) would require you an investment of not less than 100K. The competition is very intense every where and bear in mind, you have to compete with someone who are more established than you. Many factors like skill, knowledge, experience, brandname, market network, finance, cashflow, labour shortage, deteriorating econimic conditions, new products, etc are sometimes cause that downfalls your business. Statistics show than 90% of all newly business setups would not survive in their first 5 years of operation and the worse part is you never know how long your business can compete and sustain in everyday’s new competition. If fails, not only you lose all your money, you’ll also lose everything in terms of your credibility, reputation, possible bankruptcy, future employment etc. etc. Of course, there are successful cases but they are just a handful of them. Many of my graduate friends who failed in their business and eventually went bankrupt couldn’t get jobs for years. Some have ended up as hawyers and petty traders in pasar malam, barely surviving in their living.
At least, I hardly heard doctors go bankrupt in practice. Worse still, they can always work for other doctors.
I don’t think you are getting the point. Every job has a risk including medicine. I am talking about “becoming rich”! No one is going to become rich with a salaried job including doctors. As for business, it is not just about opening makan shops etc. it is a very diversified field and in business, you need to diversify your business. You can’t be holding on to the same type of business for years. This is where you intelligence plays a role. Nowadays, people do business over the Internet etc and have become millionaires at young age.
You need new ideas and business model. Don’t expect to do the same old type of business and make money. It will fail. Same goes to medicine. After investing so much in your undergraduate and post graduate, no guarantee that you will do well and earn enough money. At the moment, of course as you said, doctors get employed someway or rather. BUT the situation is not going to be the same in another 3-4 years. Soon, you will see bankrupt doctors.
Hi doctor, i have doubt in my head, i need you opinion
below is question i posted on lowyat.net,
hope can hear your thought
Diploma in pharmacy,
is it easy to secure job as pharmacist assistant in government
hi everyone,
i just wonder to know, is it easy to secure job as pharmacist assistant in government (hospital/ health clink ) with diploma in pharmacy from IPTA affiliate collage, diploma is awarded by UiTM.
even some SPA student also been sent there to do diploma, but they are sponsored students and after grad, guaranteed to be send to hospital or clinic
or can i call spa to get information about securing this kind of job ,
i afraid when i graduated, it is hard to get work with government, as they already have their sponsored student,
same thing happen to nurse student currently
First of all I think you should get out of the mentality of getting only government job. You must understand that the government would not be able to give everyone a job, especially now when we have a bloated civil service, the highest per population ratio in the world. The gov will not be able to sustain this in long run. So, you must get out of that mind set and be ready to face the challenges in globalised world.
I am not sure how many pharmacy dispensers the gov need. I was told that junior pharmacist are doing these jobs in general hospitals as part of their postgraduation training. You must start looking for a job in private sectors and just don’t depend on gov sector. YOu can already see many nurses without a job and soon even doctors.
Hi Doc,
I have to say that i am really surprise to see the highly honoured profession-doctor soon to be worthless with so many graduates are coming out soon. But i think it would really be a waste as a lot of my excellent friends are studying medicine all over the countries and the world ( UM, UKM, IMU, Manipal, India, Poland, Indonesia, etc) They are really smart and good indeed with high ambition of being a specialist and save the world. It will really upset me if they are going to fail in job seeking not because of their talent and potential, but because of the government faulty policy.
I was once into medicine field also but fate has put me into the health sciences field which is great either as the number of people are little and the quality can be controlled. After reading numerous article written by dr, i think i have made a right choice 3 years back for entering local uni to study the blessing-in-disguise course and not using my dad epf money to study medicine in private uni. i will be regretting by now if i made the decision otherwise. Anyway, just a reminder to all students who are going to choose a course to pursue, even if you enter courses that sound less professional than doctor in Malaysia (not the case in oversea) , never thought that it is easy as i heard from my friends saying that his friends who are studying in physiotherapy and other health sciences are forced to leave the course due to the incapability of performing up to expectation. GOOD LUCK TO ALL! we might meet one day in future.
Steven
I think it’s going to be left up to each individual’s merit and capabilities to determine his/her worth in any industry whereby supply exceeds demand. A good doctor is a good doctor regardless of the country or university in which he/she graduated from.
As Paga noted repeatedly: Quantity does not denote quality…
Despite the system set up with little meritocracy, in an abundance of doctors, the good ones who genuinely care and work hard will stand out…regardless of their circumstance.
I suppose the same could be said for Allied Health (OT, physio, speech path, neuro psych). There are genuinely good AH personel but some just dont give a damn so to speak. You could tell who the interested ones are quite easily… from the moment their pen hits the patient’s notes or they open their mouth. In an age where everyone aims for monetary gain it’s still easy to tell who genuinely cares about their clients.
Despite the system set up with little meritocracy, in an abundance of doctors, the good ones who genuinely care and work hard will stand out…regardless of their circumstance.
Yes, it is true that they will always stand out. But without meritocracy, transparency and accountability, there is no guarantee that these are the ones who will be given the opportunity for career advancement. In Bolehland, the ones with the cables are the ones who get the chances.
I would temper your idealistic beliefs about “care and hard work”, even if in an ideal world, that should be all that is required for career advancement in medicine/surgery.
These are important qualities, but “hard work” means a lot of different things and you have to do the right blend of “hard work” to get far in western style specialist training. If all one does is turn up early, go home late and do the best possible job one can for his/her patients, then that is excellent in itself but not always enough to be competitive for postgraduate training.
So the “hard work” has to include afterhours research/audit as well as hitting the presentations and publications trail. Entry to specialist training is ferociously competitive and the one with the best CV is going to get the job. There are not enough places for everyone who applies.
Does your number of publications and presentations necessarily mean a thing to how well you care for your patients? No. You could have not one of those and still be loved and respected for the fine clinical work you do for your patients.
But if you want to ensure success in specialist career advancement, you need much more than just “care and hard work”. That is the harsh reality.
Yup, totally agree. A once highly regarded profession has gone down the drain due to political influence!
Hi, I’d like to know what you think of Medical Biotechnology. I plan to pursue a degree in it but my mom does not think highly of it. She thinks it’ll be hard to get a job here in Malaysia when I graduate in 2015. Your replies on this subject matter however contradicts her opinions so I’d like to know more. Thanks
No job is going to be secured in near future including medicine. Medical biotechnology is a good field as you can go into many field to work: lab, research, pharma rep, teaching etc etc. However, you will need to fight for a job and go up the ladder slowly.All field will be the same unless you choose a field that is rare and has many job vacancy like actuarist, psychology, network engineer etc.
Thank you for your reply. Actually, from Medical Biotech I plan to go into Genetics eg Pharmacogenomics and the likes. I believe that this field is more developed overseas especially the research department. I was supposed to go into Medicine before this but personally, I’m not quite interested in the syllabus compared to what I need to learn in Genetics.
Yes, you are right. You may not be able to find a job in Malaysia but you may be able to find in other countries. It is an interesting field.
Dr, I’m a STPM student who’s planning to study medicine. The only problem is that I scored a C for my Mathematics so I have to sit for my Foundation in Science to be eligible to study the medicine that is if I qualify. At the moment, I’m considering AIMST or UCSI but I’m not quite sure which to choose.
I heard that AIMST gives priority to their students who’re taking foundation but it’s not the same with UCSI. What would you advise Dr. ?
Based on the current criteria set by MMC: http://mmc.gov.my/v1/docs/MINIMUM%20CRITERIA%20V2.pdf, you must have atleast a B in Maths to qualify to do medicine irrespective of what you get in your foundation studies, assuming these criteria is strictly enforced. You may get into trouble later when we have limited number of jobs.
Thanks for the info Dr.
In terms of quality, which of these two universities provide a better quality of education – AIMST or UCSI ? I’m fine with either as I believe it is up to the student himself to determine how good a doctor he turns out to be. If his hardworking and ever ready to gain knowledge to improve himself I think he will go far compared to a student who does not take the initiative to learn.
However I kind of prefer AIMST as the tuition fees are less than UCSI and I don’t want to burden my parents. I’m also adamant and determined to study medicine as it has always been my ambition and dream to be a doctor , not for the money but to help the sick.
AIMST is more established. Can’t say much about UCSI as IF I am not mistaken, they have only produced 1 bacth of graduates so far
In my opinion, education should be sought after and persued only if the person is truly interested and dedicated towards his or her field of interest.
It’s no use if it’s done just because his or her neighbours child is doing it…or for prestige sake.
One should be practical and wise when dishing out so much money ..just for
education…being very ‘kiasu’ I suppose.
I know of a brilliant student who got a science degree from India done at a govt. college by paying only Rupees 500 [1993].Initially, he went to India to do medicine, but, then, something made him decide not to spend such hefty amount for a medical degree..and so he studied Biochemistry instead. In his opinion, he said that he would like to be a lecturer and teach medical students instead. He put his money approx. RM200.000 [reserved for the fees if he took MBBS] into a fixed deposit acc.and put some in share market.
Today, the genius is a Prof. in Biochemistry at a local Medical School. He has written quite a number of articles in high impact journals, travels around the globe giving lecturers and invited as visiting Prof. by numerous universities around the world.
It took him 3 years to do his BScin Biochemistry in India, 1 year to finish his masters [M.Med Sc].in Biochemistry at UM and 2 years to finish his PhD in Medical Biochemistry at USM.
All these for less than 30,000 Ringgit.!!!!!…So guys and gals…be your own judge, think of the money, pressure, trouble you can save and don’t let the ‘Kiasu’ get to you. Do your parents a favour..they will really appreciate it.
Yup, this is what I am trying to say all these while!!
Good and helpfull posts.Keep up the good work.May God bless you.
Good Morning DR
my daughter after SPM she planning to take diploma in Biotech & after diploma 2 n half years she will do a biomedical science . Is it easy to get job in Malaysia or she must work in overseas
please give me your suggestion.
Thank you
I am not sure but the options are many. You can go into teaching, research, lab work etc etc
Hello Doctor,I’m a STPM leaver and currently choosing doing Physiotherapy degree at UTAR or Medical Information Technology and Bioinformatic in MMU,which course will have a broader future? Degree in Physiotherapy at Utar still not yet recognise by MQA and JPA but Medical IT and Bio-info at MMU have fully accredit by MQA and JPA. Thanks for the reply!!
I will probably go for Med information Tech. There are so many physiotherapy diploma holders running around without a job. So, I don’t think degree holders going to make any difference.
Thankyou so much for your reply Doctor,can you give further explanation on why you will probably go for Med Information tech? Because i did google this job,and the result are mainly IT not med IT. Thanks again for your time and have a nice day doc!!
Yes, it is essentially IT which deals with medical information. Developing software for hospitals etc.
Greeting Doctor !! I gt an offer in Bio Medical science instead of physio from UTAR today,so right now between Bio Medical science and Medical IT in MMU,which you think had better future ? Really appreciate your advice and i’m enjoy reading your blog too! Thanks for the reply Doc and have a nice day!!
Depends on your interest. Both has relatively good prospect but there are also so many biomedical graduates currently.
dr,
would like to us whether medicine in utar or perdana university is better?
None of these
ask*
Hi doc,
which field do u recommend..pharmacy or biotech,if i plan to work in the pharmaceutical field developing drugs in the future..tq =)
biotech. Pharmacists work in retail and hospitals.
Noted! tqvm for your opinion =)
Biotech is better but get a well recognised degree from an established uni.
Thx doc for your piece of advice =)
i am studying biotech in university of nottingham malaysia campus. does the university offer a recognised degree?
Should be, as they are offering the same degree as in UK.
dr,
why not utar and perdana university?? i’m really interested in pursuing medicine. utar is the only place i can afford. for perdana uni, jpa will offer scholarship.
UTAR have not even produced a graduate yet. Just go to their website and see how many full time lecturers they have! I know they are the cheapest medical school but cheapest means that they will not be able to get lecturers as they can’t provide high salary. As far as I am concerned, Perdana uni is a big scam. the government is supporting the uni via backdoor by providing scholarship to all students. RM 800K for a degree which is not recognised elsewhere!
thanks doctor 🙂
Dear Dr,
I was told by a staff from Perdana U that the government is giving 50 JPA scholarship to the university for its September 2012 graduate intake. Is it a common practice or government policy to have prior agreement with U on the allocation of scholarship even before they get the right candidates ? Not sure about how many places for undergraduate.
NOPE. The whole Perdana Uni thingy is a BIG scam!!! Gov supporting someone’s pocket!
HELLO..!!
I GOT 7A’S AND 2B+ IN MY SPM 2011.CURRENTLY I DOING FOUNDATION IN SCIENCE IN MELAKA MANIPAL MEDICAL COLLEGE AND I WANNA PURSUE DENTISTRY AS WELL…SO IS MY DECISION IS GOOD?DENTISTRY WILL GIVE ME A GOOD FUTURE?PLZ ADVICE ME..WAITING FOR THE REPLY…:)
THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON IS LOCATED LEFT OF THE “A” KEY ON MOST KEYBOARDS.
yeah i knew..:)
At the moment dentistry seem to be a better option but I am not sure what will happen in the future.
thanks alot doctor..but is it good option to study in melaka manipal as it does twinning programme with manipal university,india?:)
Melaka Manipal is OK BUT the degree is not even recognised in India as the clinical years are done in Malaysia.
owh ok doctor…thanks for the info..:)so is it safe do complete my degree in manipal for dentistry?
but the bachelor of dental surgery(BDS) is recognised by malaysia dental council right doctor?correct me if i wrong..:)
Yes
thanks alot for the info doctor..:)
Hello Doctor,what your point of view about Bio-informatic future? My teacher think Bio Medic is more on lab work and suggest me to pursue Bio-informatic which will have more job opportunity,is that true ? Thanks first.
Depends on what Bioinformatics do
How about taking up Nutrition & Dietetics? Is it easy to get job in Malaysia?
At the moment yes.
HI Doctor,
I am an STPM leaver with 4 flat intending to pursue course in medicine. I applied to Masterskill, Johor. There is a full scholarship being offered. Should I go if i do get a place and scholarship offer there? I am still awiting reply from USM and UKM? Which should i choose among the three?
Thank you.
Forget about Masterskills. They don’t even have enough lecturers. It is a twinning programme.
sorry *awaiting*
hi dr..i’d like to pursue my mbbs in msu uni..since it has a twinning programme with another uni in india..will i be able to work in india after graduating?
Nope. It is an offshore campus by MSU. The degree is still MSU degree.
im confused between doing accounting and mbbs..which one do u suggest? which one has a higher starting pay? coz im in dire need for finance..lets say i do my housemanship, how much will i get paid?
Forget about pay as it changes with time. HO starting pay is about Rm 4K but it will only increase about RM 100/per year after that. Accounting is a good field and the country is still short of accountants. Starting pay may be lower but it can increase faster and subsequently can open own firm. BUT as I said, things can change in 5 years time. The value of money also decreases with inflation
Hi, dr. Recently, i got an offer letter to do biotechnology in UMS (Universiti Malaysia Sabah) but actually it’s my second last choice in the upu application. I’m still wondering the job market of this field in the future. And it takes me 3 years to complete the degree. I heard from others that actually I can find jobs in Singapore in the future but can I? Just getting a UMS cert?
other then medicine, it is much easier to get a job in any other countries with degrees from any university. However, biotechnology is a broad field which is at it’s infancy in Malaysia
And actually dr. I scored a 9A+ in my SPM 2010 but failed in getting JPA scholarship, then pursuing M’sian Matriculation, getting a 4 flat too….but I failed to get medicine in any of the local U, a biotech instead….=(
welcome to Malaysia
dear dr,how is pharmacy future like?what will most of the Pharmacy degree holders do in the next few years?
Once the 1care system is introduced, a lot more pharmacist may be needed
Hello Dr,
Recently,the UPU results were released.My top choices were UKM and UM’s medic.Unfortunately neither was offered. Instead I secured USM medic. What is your personal opinion on USM’s medic programme? Is USM’s degree accepted in Singapore? And being in public Uni shd I still opt for a jpa scholarship or just get myself ptptn loan? Do they allow us to take loans for med prog?
Thank you for your time and response.
USM is OK. However it is not recognized in Singapore at the moment. Usually all medical students will be offered JPA scholarship.
Dear Dr,
I’ve been reading your blog alot recently and I learnt alot of things about life as a doctor. I recently finished the government matriculation program and managed to score 4 flat. I applied for local public universities and managed to get into UM for Medic. At the same time I’ve also managed to get a place at Perdana U as well, I am now torn between the two. I noticed that there is alot of speculation going around about the whole PU thing, most of it negative. What are your thoughts on this?
Forget about Perdana. UM will be a better choice for sure
Dear Dr,
I applied for dentistry at UM and UKM,same as many friends of mine. But we got medic at UNIMAS and UMS. It is so weird that there are too many doctor at this moment, medic are still offered to us. Actually we felt frustrated at the beginning for not getting the course we want,but then after we knew some people they didnt get any offer, we began to feel that we are the lucky one and started to accept it. Then we did research on this field, and found lots of post which discourage people to pursue medic. Then we lost our confidence again, but we do not have other choice, my family is not rich enough to let me study at private universities. Dr, is the situation really that bad as described? Any hope to let us gain our confidence to be a doctor and serve the people? (sorry for my bad english)
Interesting, welcome to Malaysia. UPU decides what you need to do! I know many students from MARA etc who have the same dilemma. They apply for something else but receive offer for medicine. Many end up regretting doing medicine after that.
It is likely that due to 36 medical schools in this country fighthing for students, some of these universities may not have enough students in medic and thus offered to people like you. Dentistry is very much limited as very few uni offers it at this moment.
Choose what you are really interested in. Wait for my latest post on the future situation of doctors today/tomorrow. However, doing medicine in local public university may still have confirmed job after graduation since it is government subsidised course.
Hello doctor.I am currently waiting for my A-levels results which will be released in this coming August.My forecast results are BBC.Initially I was planning to pursue my medical course in IMU.Lets say my A-levels results doesn’t meet the entry requirements which is BBC,that means I have to resit for few more papers on Jan 2013 to achieve desirable results.I do have another choice which is to take Foundation In Science either in Manipal Medical College or MSU.But with this foundation I can’t pursue to IMU.Now I am in a confusion whether I should just resit my A-levels papers or do FIS & MBBS in Manipal or do FIS & MBBS in MSU?The thing is I dont know which is better in wise of future employment and recognition in Malaysia and worldwide?MMC or MSU?Your suggestion would be widely appreciated.Thank you. 🙂
If you have already done A level, why bother doing Foundation studies? I would rather resit the A level paper.
Whether you do local IMU program, MMC or MSU, it does not make any difference in terms of employment in Malaysia. All these degrees are also not recognized elsewhere for you to be able to work elsewhere. IMU twinning program will be a better choice if you want a better recognized degree.
Hi doctor.. knowing you once worked there, I received a JPA scholarship to Monash Malaysia for MBBS.. Any ideo on the quality of the Medical course there?
They are generally OK but they do lack lecturers ( same as any other private medical schools in Malaysia). I also would not say that the standards are equal to Monash Australia.
Hello doctor.I am currently waiting for my A-levels results which will be released in this coming August.My forecast results are BBC.Initially I was planning to pursue my medical course in IMU.Lets say my A-levels results doesn’t meet the entry requirements which is BBC,that means I have to resit for few more papers on Jan 2013 to achieve desirable results.I do have another choice which is to take Foundation In Science either in Manipal Medical College or MSU.But with this foundation I can’t pursue to IMU.Now I am in a confusion whether I should just resit my A-levels papers or do FIS & MBBS in Manipal or do FIS & MBBS in MSU?The thing is I dont know which is better in wise of future employment and recognition in Malaysia and worldwide?MMC or MSU?Your suggestion would be widely appreciated.Thank you.
f you have already done A level, why bother doing Foundation studies? I would rather resit the A level paper.
Whether you do local IMU program, MMC or MSU, it does not make any difference in terms of employment in Malaysia. All these degrees are also not recognized elsewhere for you to be able to work elsewhere. IMU twinning program will be a better choice if you want a better recognized degree.
Hi doc, I have one question to ask.
Degree in Physiotherapy -good or bad choice nowadays?
Thanks.
There are already too many diploma holders who are jobless at the moment. Having a Master’s may give you a better opportunity but unfortunately most private hospitals may not want to pay higher salary for Master’s holders. However, you may have better job prospects in universities and sports centres
Thank you for your reply doc.Lets say if I change my mind,and planning on to do dentistry which likely to be less saturated in the future like you have said (correct me if I’m wrong).Is Penang Dental College would be a good choice to pursue dentistry?Is there any better dental colleges in Malaysia?
Penang Dental college is OK. IMU is also OK.
Dear doc,
from this sept intake onwards public uni medical students are given a choice whether to apply for JPA or PTPTN. We are not automatically given a scholarship like the previous batches. Now that we are given a choice…should we still apply for jpa (and get bonded) or opt for ptptn (pay it all back)? Is there a difference in terms of security of a job in the future between these?
thank you.
It looks like JPA probably knows that they can’t provide job to everyone soon! I would suggest to take JPA if you want to have a secure job. Taking PTPTN does not mean the government must give you a job. JPA scholars will be given preference. The 10 years bond does not matter unless you are planning to open a GP clinic after 4 years.
hello doctor
i am doing A levels under kpm ‘ s bursary and will be sponsored by jpa for my degree.
but i cannot make a decision between medicine n pharmacy…
medicine is my dream…. but i dont want to be a jobless doctor one day…. Since chemistry is my favourite subject, I am thinking about pharmacy now. Do you think pharmacy will face the same situation as doctor in future and is that as hectic as medicine during the working period? Thanks in advance.
JPA scholars are bonded which means the government must provide you with a job.
Hello Dr..could we still go for specialisation even though bonded under JPA for 10 years? or do we have to complete the 10 years to do masters which i understood from your blog..is extended to another 7 years
You can go for your master’s during the 10 years undergraduate bond but the additional 7 years bond will start after the 10 years undergraduate bond
So we still have to work for 17 years with the government even after specialising. Do you think its better to be bonded under JPA or just apply for PTPTN where there are no bonds but then there’ll be unemployment? I mean …after finishing housemanship for 2 years..what if I decided to go overseas to do my postgraduate?
Looking at the future scenario, it is better to take JPA. If your degree is NOT recognized overseas(which is the likely scenario), you can’t go overseas to do postgraduate degrees! Other countries also do not give training post to foreigners unless in non popular fields
Hello Doctor.
How would i check and know, if my Biomed degree is internationally recognized? I am about to further Biomed in local IPTA.
Besides, can i just con’t to Master, when i’ve done my degree, or better to work first, (as the job prospect of Biomed is quite low in this country) ? Thanks for all the information u’ve shared, Doctor.
I am not very sure about that but generally for courses like biomed, it is much easier to work in other countries. Please ask your seniors or lecturers in boomed. Yes, you can con’t with Master’s.
These Biomed type of courses are not professional courses, and thus are not subjected to registration processes, hence there is no restriction in working in any country, just whether the relevant employers want to recognise your qualification or not and whether you can get a work visa.
Hello Doctor.
How about the job prospect of Dietitians in both Malaysia and Singapore? I have just finished my A-level and planning to do my degree in Dietetics & Nutrition at IMU. Thank you.
In Malaysia, the demand is not great but you have various options like hotels, factories, hospitals, universities and even sales representatives. Dietitian are more needed in developed countries then developing countries. I know a few who are working in Singapore
For dietitian planning to work in other countries, do we have to make sure that our degree is recognized if we are doing our Bachelor of Nutrition & Dietetics in Malaysia? For example students who are studying Pharmacy in Malaysia except USM pharmacy students are not recognized by Singapore Pharmacy Council. I actually planned to study my Bachelor of Pharmacy at Monash or IMU since my parents can’t afford to let me studying in Australia. So now i have to consider studying other courses. Thank you.
Not that I know of
Hi Dr. Pagalavan
Dentistry are going to be saturated very very soon. I’m unable to count how many dental schools in Malaysia (private and public). I’m doubt how the conditions would be when the newly enrolled students or the future student(who wish to do dentistry) when they graduate later.
Yes, I know it’s going to happen soon but there are still a lot of need for dentist in smaller towns.
Job opportunity for dentists is much much brighter than doctor. Public health sector still got so many vacancies throughout malaysia for dentist. As for private sector, the future is equally good as we don’t really have enough dentist even in Klang Valley. One of the reasons could be dentist require a lot more capital to start their own private practice.
Hey doc.
Let’s say I m 17 this year. Next year I will be taking foundation in MMC. After that, should I take up medicine or dentistry because I m afraid that i will be jobless with a MBBS degree the next 6 years . Will this happen? What’s ur advice? But I m interested to become a doctor. Or should I choose other career?
nothing is guaranteed in the future. always do what you are interested in and hope for the best.
I m afraid that i have wasted my parent’s money but get no job in return…. By the way thx
Doctor,once finished 5 years of Bachelor of dental surgery in melaka manipal how long will the internship will be?after that where can i get work?is it possible for me to get work in private sector or overseas?thanks ..:)
your internship is 1 year and the compulsory service has been shorthened to 2 years, if I am not mistaken. After that, you can either stay on in government service or open your dental clinic. As for overseas, your degree must be recognised in that particular country.
thanks doctor..if in government service can earn good money..?is it encouraged to take specialist in order to earn more and work in overseas doctor?
Are you talking about dentistry? In government sector the salary is almost the same as medical doctor. It depends what you mean by ‘good money’. There is no such thing as good money in medicine or dentistry anymore. If your basic degree or your specialist degree is NOT recognized elsewhere, you can’t go and work anywhere else.
Doctor, lets say after I’ve completed my MBBS in aimst and im planning to do specialisation to become a cardiologist. What should i do after graduating from aimst?
I think you should spend more time reading this blog. Pls read ‘step by step approach in subspecialisation’ post . You can find iit under ‘for Future doctors” page
Put in short sentece, for you to become an experience cardiologist emplyable by reputable private hospital, the journey may take the shortest 15 years after MBBS or up to 20 years.
ok doctor..yeah im talking bout dentistry..thanks for the info.can i know what is the starting salary for dentistry?
About RM4K with annual increment about RM70-100.
Hi dr, is it good to take medicine/dentistry in russia or india or indonesia?
For Russia, the national programmes in native Russian are excellent. But the English programmes sold to foreigners are not. India does have some excellent medical schools and there are also reasonable ones in Indonesia.
It is not hard to pick the top medical schools of any country as they will tend to have high entry requirements. It is notable that if the entry requirements are below average, then that university medical programme is likely to be below average as well. Adam Smith’s principles apply. If the medical school has a good reputation, then there is demand and entry requirements rise. If the medical school has a bum rep, then entry requirements are slackened to enable recruitment.
Choose wisely.
(And the direct answer to your question. Russia – yes, if it is the native Russian programme. India – yes, if is is an excellent institution like Grant Medical, Mumbai. Indonesia – no thank you. Personally, I would put any of our local public university medical degrees of UM/UKM/USM over any of those three countries.)
Nice to meet you!
I am a fresh spm leaver and currently waiting for my result.
I love biology and hence I intend to work in this area. I thought that the only job making big money in this field are doctors and dentist, so I drew up an ambition that is to become a doctor, and more, neurosurgeon ( I searched a few websites and they said neurosurgeons are the most highly paid job and plus I do really need money).
So I was living in this fat dream until I come across your blog. Before these, I wanted to become a biotechnologist, and genetic engineer to work in the research field. But then people told me that these jobs does not make good money and are very not on demand, my friend’s sis studied her biotech degree in University of California but end up in a low-paid research job. That was when I changed my mind to becoming a surgeon.
My parents, like others, also think medicines make good money. However they do not really support my dream of becoming a doctor as the duration of study is too long, five years in degree and two years of housemanship, not to mention specialist courses. And the tuition fee alone is a super huge burden to my family, so I must get a scholarship or PTPTN loan. If I do not get scholarship and goes for PTPTN loan, who knows how many years it will take to pay back. Then how am I going to enjoy life?They also do not want me to choose the research field because god knows how many years till I succeed and make a name for myself, noted that the Nobel Prize winners aren’t very young.
So they ask me to do law or accounting, another path to get rich, much shorter duration of study and affordable fees, furthermore brickfields offer me a good scholarship to study my A-level there and they think I shouldn’t waste it. I am really uncertain if law is for me. I am excellent in sciences but never touch any arts subject before. People said law isn’t for everyone so I am very much worried that I will struggle in law. In addition I read an article saying lawyers are so many now. And it seems to me that everyone is studying account. I have no idea if I will excel in the arts field, or just end up becoming the average or below average student.
So, what should I do now??? I have been haunted by these questions for a very long time. Even though if I study sciences in my pre-u I can always switch to arts for my degree, but I still have no way of knowing if I can excel in them and isnt it that I will most probably struggle in my degree if I really do arts?
What should I do now??? Please enlighten me.
Best regards,
Jacqueline
Sorry to say, it is your type of students who end up being referred to psychiatrist when they start working. Never do medicine for wrong reasons such as good money and good life. You will end up regretting!
If your only intention is to make good money, then do business and come up with something new and revolutionary. Have you heard of Groupon Malaysia? The guy who started it was a 28 year old engineering graduate from Monash Malaysia. He is now the CEO and sitting at home earning money! The amount of money that you invest in doing “basic” medical degree is sufficient to start up a business! That is what I use to tell the students. Most of the time you will never get back the investment that you put in medicine and you can never retire in medicine. The day you stop practising, your income is ZERO.So, if you are thinking of retiring by the age of 40, forget it! I am sure you would have seen many senior citizen consultants still working 24hrs a day!
If you want a good life, do accountancy, work in a firm for a while and open up your own firm.If you are good and have a good PR, you will become successfull by the age of 40. Law is a bit more difficult to excel unless you have family members who are has a firm.
Hmmm… is there really something wrong with working long hours if one enjoys it?
I don’t know about you, Paga-dude. But I love my work so much that I intend to work until I’m in the ground. I must have been the only one amongst my peers who visibly cheered at the news that NHS retirement age is going to be moved up from 65 to 68yrs!
Must be my traditional oriental work ethic stuck in an occidental system…
Haha, of course we all work long hours. I still work 24hrs a day. Unfortunately. Many of the youngsters feel that they are going to earn tones of money by just sitting in a room for 8 hours!! That’s why I keep saying about working long hours. Some of them complaining of long working hours as houseman but want tto earn big money!!
BTW, about neurosurgeon: pls wait for my next post! People really do not know the skills needed and the amount of work they do, working 24hrs a day!
Suggest doing one on Plastic Surgery, too. I meet so many high school students and undergrads who tell me they want to be a Plastic Surgeon. Their perception is all Hollywood (boobjobs, facelifts and nosejobs). Little to they realise the full spectrum of reconstructive skills that have to be mastered and the immense scope of the work of a Plastic Surgeon.
As said by *insert any other specialty here* Surgeon to Plastic Surgeon:
“I’ve got this hole I can’t close (gestures to horrific open wound), can you please reconstruct.”!!
HI dr, I would like to seek advice whether is it recommended to do MBBS prog in India for the entire 5 years? as what has been advertised by the agents. Tq.
Depends on which university
Please note that most of the good med schools do not advertise. The quality of a med school goes side by side with the competition for places in the med school. Hence, the good ones do not need agents to advertise their programs to get enough admission.
Dear Dr Paga,
I just finished my degree in Chem Eng, though i applied for medicine after STPM. I obtained CGPA 3.92 but was nt given course of my choice. Due to financial constraints i took up the given engineering course . but i’m a girl and i find it difficult to work in a plant as an engineer. i have been thinking abt pursuing medicine but i dont knw where to start or hw to finance it. pls advice, Dr Paga
thanks
I don’t see why a girl cannot work in a plant? Whatt is difference than working as a doctor with the hospital environment and all sorts of patients?
One option is to apply to Perdana UNiversity Graduate medical school. YOu will get JPA scholarship if accepted. This school is open for those with a basic degree of whatever course.
Im currently working in a plant and finding it hard to cope. even if i get into medicine, by the time i graduate would i be able to secure a housemanship post, Dr?
can’t guarantee unless you are a government scholar.
A brief comment
1. Not only medical field, all other professional fields eg law, engineering, finance, etc are also flooded. Doctors must have unique selling point.
2. Internet has allowed patients to pre study their ilness. Sometimes patients directly mentioned the medical name of their diseases to the doctors. Sometimes patients straight away purchase the drugs.
3. Possibly the present of 1 Malaysia clinics.
4. Stricter companies regulations for the employee seeking medical treatment.
5. The present of many non doctor drugs in the market such as …………….
6. The high number of doctors now.
7. The high cost of insurance premium
8. Free medical check up
9. Late delivery of medical test
10. Etc
All and all, I opined that there could be more competition for doctors in the future.
After spm or stpm is the most critical time of Malaysian life. You must know what you really like to do and not being forced by anyone. If possible see for yourself what doctors do. My job allows me to visit workplace of so many professions. I have seen petrochemical, factories, ports, warehouse, medical centers, hotels, golf courses, power plants, etc. I knew how each professions works and basically their prospects also. You got to be the best among all. Often those who like what they are doing normally can progress further. If you really like medicine then go ahead. Nowadays competition is stiff in almost every field. In business they call it survival of the fittest. One way to know whether you like to do something is when you wake up in the morning. If you like what you do you can’t wait to get up and vice versa. I have changed many students from their original career ambitions. There changed from engineering to account after hearing my advice, from IT to aeronautics, etc.
versa
Im a matriculation student in module 2(physic).
What if i dont really know what i really interested in?
I often feel excited in physic and computer science,but rather hate math and chemist..
But people always said that engineering not suitable for women especially for someone whose lack in confidence and shy..
as computer science,although i like it but sometimes it can be harder on me as it need a really strong memory..
I also need to consider what is the most needed career in future..
can you please give me some advice?
if you like physics then go ahead with engineering. Nothing is impossible for a woman.
HI dr,im currently studying foundation in science and currently deciding between this two field to further my studies which is biotechnology or plant biotechnology.I want to know whether they will be in demand for this job or not by the time i graduate around 2017 and which one will have better chance in landing a job
Biotechnology is a new field in malaysia. Unfortunately we are producing too many graduates compared to job creation. There is a huge BioExcell factory opening in Johor soon and the RAPID Pengerang project will be creating a lot of job opportunities for these graduates. If not you can try Singapore or Australia.
I thaught pengerang that project is more on oil and gas enginerring?
Yes, oil and gas also involves biotechnology
IMU fees already increased to 410K. It is bloody sky high.
Hi doctor,
As what you had aforementioned, you expressed that you will not encouraged your children to venture into the same profession as you were doing now. So, did your child study medicine eventually. Sorry for being a nosey parker, cannot help but asking for mere curiosity…My parents encourage me to pursue a medical degree. They tried all means to convince me that I would not end up becoming a jobless doctor cos I can set up my own practice or straight away works in my dad’s clinic (yes, he is a general practitioner ) It seems that there aren’t a better job other than doctor for a doctor’s kids to do. I always think that every doctor wants his or her child to follow their footsteps after witnessing so many stereotypical doctor families in which most if not all of their kids are doctors.
Most doctors I know, do not want their children to be a doctor! Your parents probably still leaving in their old thinking that you can open up a clinic and survive. How are you going to open up a clinic if you don’t complete horsemanship? GP clinics are a dying field. In the future , even GPs need to have postgraduate degree. With the new rules and regulation, opening up a clinic is not going to be as easy as your parent’s time.
My children are still schooling and we have never mentioned a word to them asking them to become a doctor. So far, none of my children have any intention to become a doctor. My eldest son is more interested in technical field.
Do what you are interested in and NOT what your parents want you to be. If you are not interested in medicine, then don’t do it just for the sake of your parents. Most of the time it is a status issue!! Parents want their children to become a doctor so that they can keep their status high. This is very common in indian families.
hi Dr Pagalavan ,
I need your advice urgently. I recently finished my A-Levels and obtained AAB. I have sent my applications to USM , AIMST and Melaka Manipal College for dentistry as my first choice and medicine as my second choice. I am really hoping to get dentistry in USM as it is very affordable and would be a bonus to me and my family. The problem is my family is not happy with me just applying for dentistry only but feel I should be more flexible and apply for medicine as the chances of getting dentistry in the places I have applied for is limited and very competitive.Just to satisfy my parents I have sent my applications to NuMED and Perdana University. I’m in a dilemma now and after reading your article above I now am more acertain of my choice but I do not know my chances of getting into USM . If I don’t get USM or dentistry for the 3 institutions what sould I do next?
AAB at A levels (in the light of so many with multiple A*s) is unlikely to make it into USM, but very possible to any of the IPTS dental or medical schools, if you apply early and pay up quickly when offered. Nobody can tell you what to do, you will have to decide for yourself
thanks jk anyway I have set my heart firmly on dentistry it is just whether i can get the place now.for USM I have little hope so is for AIMST who only take in their foundation students . I have not received any reply yet from any of the IPTS that I have applied so far since february.
If possible I don’t want to wait for another year for the next intake .It would be such a waste of time . That is what I am worried most.
I can’t decide for you. Do what you are interested and don’t follow what your parents want you to be. It is difficult to get into UM but wait for the replies and decide
Thank you Dr Pagalavan . I just received my interview letter from MMMC today. Hope to get more replies from others soon..
Is IMU a good place for pursuing medicine course??
yes
Hi hek,
But you have to be careful because if you fail any of your semester exams (total 5 semesters) during your clinical year in Seremban, IMU does not have any supplementary exams or remedial exams which allow you to resit in a month’s time like some universities are practising now. RESIT an exam means you are giving A CHANCE to flight for your battle again. This is the 100% passes Dr Paga have been saying.
In IMU, you have to REPEAT the whole semester for another 6 months or worse still you may have to withdraw from the course if you have repeated your last semester (mean you are not allowed to repeat semester 7 if you have just repeated your semenster 6 ). I personally favour the “resit” system practised by other universities.
hi Hek, I personally agree with curious. There are times in our lives over such a long period of study that our results in our exams may be affected by many many unforeseen reasons.And it is for these reasons, unless you are caught bootlegging!,a chance for a resit is heaven sent!.U get to redeem yourself and to move on to do well!.I am a firm believer of a second chance!
All the best!
Hi kvk, my suggestion is go with your heart and your gut feel.should you continue to remain in a state of dilemma, try and try to,sit down with your loved ones like your parents or someone within your family you could confide in.Well parents can be hard in getting through to them but they know you through and through and should at least laid to rest some of your concerns.Secondly, parents are important not because they are yr parents but they are and most likely your financier.Unless you hit the IPTA jackpot, the only option is to seriously consider IPTSs and they don’t come cheap!Perhaps your parents are looking out for you and you future.That what they do!.Perhaps your parents think that laying all you eggs in a basket may not be a seriously good idea and that explain their decision in wanting you to consider medicine as well.
So good luck and hope you will be someone great some day!
Hi KCG thank you for your thoughts and time for my problem. I can’t blame my parents as I myself am facing some uncertainties in securing a place for dentistry whatmore with many students these days who are excelling well and having better results than mine so they are asking me to try out for other avenues and not just stick to one especially knowing when there are limited seats and tough competition. I have set and discussed with them over this matter yesterday and told them that I will go for dentistry even if was offered medicine at the same time. If I am not offered dentistry but rather medicine only then I have no choice but to accept it. I agree with your views.Anyway its nice knowing you.
Hi Kvk, good to know u have somewhat decided and its good for u to plan ahead.Take your time and soon enough things will eventually work out.
All the best!
Thx for the advices…
So which school is established and will be better in medicine course???
I just got my Spm result yesterday and i scored 9As…
Currently considering on which pre-U course is better for me…
if i dun wan to take stpm and matriculation,which pre-U course is more advisable to take???
Can i get any scholarship with this result?
(note:i’m not from a wealth family)
regards!!
May i know Why u want to be doctor? Would be interesting to hear ur answer. 🙂
Nothing much to talk about,it’s due to my pure interest.
And i found it a more challenging job compared to other. hehe ^^
Scholarship: you should apply to the government.
Try A Level.
For private : IMU, Monash, PMC are OK
Please don’t enrol with Quest University College. It looks like a bogus college.
It’s Quest INTERNATIONAL University please. A FULL university, NOT a university college, mind you.
Interestingly, the dean appears not to hold any recognised postgraduate qualification. I stand to be corrected.
Yeap , thanks doctor paga for the reply.
By now i had enrolled for cambridge A-lvl in TARC as it provided merit scholarship for SPM leavers.
I think i will be excel there ^^
I hope TARC will be a good place for A-lvl.
My goal now is to get 3As and above,get scholarship to pursue medicine course in UK/Australia.
May GOD bless me! =)
Hi Dr Paga,good evening.what is your take on MSUs MBBS degree program.It is ranked Tier 5 for the last 2 years.But the MMC has yet to accreditate the local MBBS program unlike its sister MBBS degree program from Bangalore.Appreciate your reply
The accreditation process usually occurs when the first batch is in final year.
MSU was ranked Tier 5 only in the D-Setara rating 2013 for health sciences studies only. It was not even ranked in the Medicne, Dentisry & Pharmacy category. Only MU alone was ranked Tier 5 and 13 other universities were ranked. See full ranking in medicine here: http://www.umlib.um.edu.my/newscut_details.asp?cutid=7520
Dear Dr,
May I get some advice from you? Biotechnology in AIMST and Food Science and Nutrition in UCSI, which is a better choice? Which provide a cert that is more recognized? And, which will has better job opportunities?
I am not sure but you can check whcih one can give you a job in Singapore. Then you can get an idea
Dr, can the biotechnology graduates work in the food industry just like those food science graduates?
I heard that AIMST is famous for MBBS and pharmacy, but not sure with the biotechnology. So, is it considered as an internationally recognised university for the biotechnology course? As you mentioned earlier, if plan to study biotechnology, better choose a quality one.
AIMST is not ‘internationally recognised’ for any course, including medicine. These type of ‘biotechnology’ courses have always been vague as to what it is meant for, and I know a lot of graduates who eventually end up in sales, both medically and non-medically related. If the intention is to be involved in the food industry, do a more focused course like food science or Nutrition. The UCSI course sounds to be more appropriate.
As for ability to work outside Malaysia, these kinds of qualifications and jobs are unregulated, therefore it will depend on the employers who they want to employ. Although you have not indicated where you want to seek work, Paga has sensed you want to work in Singapore. Between a graduate from AIMST, and say, a food science graduate from NTU, it is obvious who Singapore employers will take.
Other than sales, what else can a biotech graduate work as? If comparing biotech in INTI and AIMST, which one is more recognized?
I should think AIMST will be better.
Biotech is a broad field. You can even become a teacher, lecturer, reseacher and even marketing agents
Hi IMU student, yes u absolutely spot on.than you for the feedback.It looks like MSU local MBBS program would most likely b accreditated by MMC sometime this year or next during the 1st cohort final year.Just how r u doing now?
Dear Dr,
I’m a 4th yr medical student. May I get some advice ? What is d pathway like to be a psychiatrist in Malaysia ? I’ve applied for PR of Australia, do you think it will be better to take up d Australian board exam and continue from there ? what are d pathway like to be a psychiatrist in Australia ? Thank you so much for your time….
If you are in the IMU local programme, your degree is not recognised in Australia, even if you do obtain your PR. You will need to pass for the AMC qualifying exam to be registered. It is unlikely you will qualify for an independent skilled migration PR as a student, as you will not have enough points.
Dear sir, I am very thankful to you for writing all these pieces of gems. They are indeed eye-opening for me. I am one of those lucky daughters who has been ‘asked’ to read medicine by my parents (both are not working in medical-related field).
My sister is studying medicine too, in Ireland now. Just like her, my parents hope to see another doctor in the family and so here I am, confused between my parents’ hopes and me wanting to decide my own path.
I am a scholarship holder doing my A-Levels now. And I can choose to study in any field, locally or abroad. At first I thought I want to do medicine, and after comprehending all your writings, besides my sister’s advice on not to do medicine, I am now at a halt on what should I choose to study at university.
I like Biology and Chemistry, and I kind of like working with kids. Thus I decided before to be a pediatrician. But now, I don’t know what to do because to be a pediatrician, you have to be a doctor first. But no, I think medicine is not for me.
(Sorry for droning) But what is your suggestion for me on what should I study at university? I am thinking of dentistry now so do you think dentistry has a better job prospect in the next 5 years? Is life as a dentist as hectic as a doctor?
Thank you so much.
It is entirely up to you to decide. Do what you are interested and not what others want you to be. Dentistry is definately less hectic than medicine, infarct it is office hour job most of the time, unless you open your own clinic.
hi doctor pagalavan…I would like to know which university is a better one to pursue dentistry ?? Is it Aimst or Melaka -Manipal medical college? I had offers from both . Thank you.
I think both are Ok
thank you.
Have a nice day!!
Hello dr, i want to become a dr.. a surgeon to be exact. Looking more on working overseas..well thats after specialization =D. But i have no idea which private university should i attend. I can’t afford expensive ones like IMU. Pls..which one do you suggest? I want to be a cardiologist. n my Foundation in Science CGPA is 3.67
NOne of the local private medical degrees are recognised overseas, thus you will not be able to work overseas. Only UM and UKm is recognised in Singapore. Monash is recognised in Australia/NZ.
The only way to become a surgeon in malaysia is via the local Master’s program which is NOT recognised overseas either.
BTW, cardiologist is NOT a surgeon!
NOne of the local private medical degrees are recognised overseas, thus you will not be able to work overseas. Only UM and UKm is recognised in Singapore. Monash is recognised in Australia/NZ.
The only way to become a surgeon in malaysia is via the local Master’s program which is NOT recognised overseas either.
BTW, cardiologist is NOT a surgeon!
tq dr. oh ok..what if i do in india..?? Then?
Depends on which university you are talking about. Not ALL university in India is recognised overseas. Their postgraduate degrees are not recognised elsewhere either, depending on which country you are planning to migrate.
Frankly, if your plan is to migrate, never do medicine!
What courses would you advise? if very keen in migration to overseas like Uk , aus, nz.. to b very honest.. i dun hv anytg in mind.. its just that all this while ppl say mbbs..so i kinda get into the liking.. i noe that me and phy plus maths can’t get along.. i am so lost..
I think you are doing medicine for the wrong reason! If your intention is to migrate, either you do some other course or go to the respective country to do medicine.
I am not exactly sure but u could try MSU Intenational Medical School in Bangalore,India.try calling in MSU Shah Alam n find them out.i read their profile on MBBS Bangalore n it seems that its recognized by GMC UK n other Asian Medical Councils.Again i may b wrong but then all best!
If I am not mistaken, if you graduate anywhere outside UK, you need to sit and pass the PLAB exams inorder to work in UK
Hi doctor. I am getting biomedical science degree in IPTA this september. May i know this degree has better job prospect in the coming five year?? i scare no work found next time
It is a very broad field and there are many jobs that takes people with this degree, including teaching, research, business, medical reps etc.
but ,nowaday malaysia is not a nice place for me to develop right?
if you are talking about research, yes. But atleast you can try working in another country
can i be a medical officer or scientific officer in malaysia with just a degree certificate?I am very worry next time i graduate , i am jobless in malaysia. Actually i just wan to study until degree then just stop..although it is wide field, but seemed like it is not wanted in malaysia
having a degree is just the first step in professional life. Frankly speaking, it does not mean anything. It all depends on how hard you want to work to achieve something. A non graduate can do the same!
look like i need finish study master or phD just cn become rich,, sad case. regret for choosing this course..
You will never become rich with an employed job, unless you are a CEO of a GLC etc! BUt you can earn enough money to have a decent life
Hi Doctor, I finished local matriculation & got an offer from local public uni, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) (formerlly known as Universiti Darul Iman) to study MBBS. Because the uni is still quite new, it is yet to be MQA accredited, seniors say that they are waiting for the 1st batch to be produced. This is the only offer that I got, and due to financial constraints, I will most probably accept it. What do u think? I heard that local public uni graduates have a better chance of getting housemanship, is it true? And when I graduate, even if I study very hard & do my best, would it be very difficult to get a job ?
Public universities got no problem getting MMC accreditation (MQA got no value in medical course).
Yes, public uni graduates and government scholars will be given priority for jobs in the future.
Sir, for medicine, which universities is better in your opinion? UM or USM?
Both are OK
but UM is recognised in Singapore if I am not mistaken. Isnt tis is a sign that UM is better than USM?
Not necessary. Furthermore, only their undergraduate degree is recognized.
Sir., i has been filling biomedical science for my degree course and i now get it. . But now i noticed that, the course has low job prospect in malaysia and does not guarantee a bright future.Even the research job has a low paid. I am also no interest to continue my master study as it need a lot of money too…What to do? i am quite interest on this course but cannot earn money. What use? i am very regret. i cannot do anything like appealing becauuse this is my first choice. After thinking back and back, i dont know whaat holy shit i am thinking… i need some advice from u sir.. i jus wan a degree couse and get a job in malaysia..but now i go job search website and found tat they need experiences ..how about fresh graduates?? i really very sad and regret for taking this course.. interest got, but look like no money and i have no plan to work abroad..
Never think about money! If you think about money now, you will never do anything. Do what you are interested and find a job after that. Biomedical science is a broad field and there are many things that you can do, including teaching.
teaching need diploma in educaton (that is KPLPSM) one year but wat i know now malaysia usually just give this diploma to malay student.. and the number of accepted student is very low.. i duno what happen on this world???
don’t forget the mushrooming of private and international schools ! I know one MBBS holder who quit housemen and now teaching Biology in a private school in JB. He is happy with the salary and working life.
no.. i dont think it is a broad field. u will end up working very bored in lab. and mayb just work as sales ..dont choose this.u will regret like hell.even food tech earn more than this.
Between ucsi n numed, which one will b better to pursue medicine? Because I m currently under Jpa scholarship n I m given few choices of ipts.. Numed is not yet recognized by mmc? Will this affect our internship??
Why not ipta?
I wanted to but I didn’t manage to gt a place in IPTA. So I just can choose ipts..
I don’t think Numed will have any problems getting MMC accreditation, It will be done by next year before the final year graduates.
UCSI has been accredited and the first few batches are OK but the teaching is in Trengganu. To be frank, I think it is good because there is No other medical schools using the hospital as far as I know. I think both are OK But NuMed have a more established curriculum. However, NuMed campus is about 30-40 km from their teaching hospital, which is not ideal.
Is NuMed recognized in UK? Actually I hv been wanted to study medicine in ipta. However, even though I manage to gt 4.0 flat, I gt my last choice of upu which is biotechnology. So, no point I hv to study in ipts. Thanks, doctor. I will think twice before making my decision.
nope, so far. Even if it recognised by GMC, you need to do 1 year internship in UK inorder to be eligible for full registration. However, due to current immigration laws of UK, your chances in getting a job in UK is almost nil.
Hi Doctor,
What about Bio Medics course in University Malaya? your opinion pls?
Thanks
the course is OK
maybe u need to work in the foreign country. nowaday many biomedic graduate end up jobless in which their job are not same with what they study now. so better go overseas after graduate. u work at malaysia u sure waste your life
doctor, i found that malaysia is a good place for busniess. So, my opinion is dont study biology. Our marketing have no demand for biology workers. The word end with science one sure have no bright future in malaysia.I encourage my son to take busniess or economics in the future. Even u see newspaper nowaday, every people become rich because of starting a small busniess, then develp slowly just can become rich. But for biology-work, NO!! I never see a biotech or dentist person getting rich and published in the newspaper. For me, busniess, economics, sales has a good future. I also plan to urge my son just take diploma and faster start working as a busniess admin or sales and get experience. Because many company nowaday acept all degree and diploma cert. Most important is the experiences. So i urge all people, biology dont take. Even u interest on it, maybe after 10 years, u will found it bored at last. U will feel that money and family is most important prospect other than wat so-called interest.
Yes, I agree with you. I had written in this blog before that instead of spending RM 500k for medicine, why don’t you do a cheaper degree and use this money to open up a business? Unless you have real passion in medicine and don’t care about the money and job. Almost all professional jobs are saturated in Malaysia and also in most developed countries.
yes. But somehow, may i know sir why u want to be a doctor in the beginning? biology really a ‘nothing-to-earn ‘ career. Even enginner is well paid than biology career. I suggest for those who take stpm, choose physics or art stream, dont choose biology. U will regret like hell.Study so difficult but earn d thing so little. Because biology is a’dead’ subjk, need memorising, the theory is already known by whole people all over the world, then u just memorise it and apply it, then u sure has no future . But enginner different, that has different situation and u need to use different concept to apply it, tats why malaysia oso in need of enginner. Never choose biology, sure regret like hell. This is because i am a former biology student(biomedical science) too, and i am now work as a busniessman .==
I did not choose medicine for money. I had passion of treating people and also I liked both physics and biology. In fact, my favourite subject was physics and maths. Somehow, I am still applying the analytical thinking of both these subjects as a practising doctor. IT does make me a better doctor.
Would you encourage your children to be doctor, Dr Pagal?
Nope. Till today, I have not said anything to encourage them to become a doctor. Both my sons never mentioned about becoming a doctor so far
I would want my children to be doctors though. I would encourage them but will not force them. because I still think medicine is a noble profession.
Yes, it is a noble profession but you should not force anyone to do it . Secondly, you have just started your career. Things will change as the time goes. Trust me, I had many friends who had passion for medicine but the passion did not last long after they graduate.
I do feel sorry for those who lost their passion for medicine. You need to know how to pace yourself, how to kindle your fire. medicine is for the long haul not a sprint. There are many people out there who can benefit from your knowledge and skills. Even as a relatively junior doctor, I know I have done good for my patients and perhaps save some life along the way. And when patients saw you in the restaurant, stood up and gave you their table, you know you have touched somebody’s life along the way. such is the tangible reward for medicine. If you press on, you will find the reward at the end of the journey, and you can look back and say it is a life well spent.
I presume you came from a rich family. If not, you won’t be able to do medicine in UK. Correct me if I am wrong.
Most people who do medicine claim they have passion for medicine. Only when they start to work they realise the hard truth of what medicine is all about. You are right when you said about the happiness of seeing your patient getting treated and walk back home. Even I, lost my passion along the way some time ago before regaining it back. That’s what happens when you have 3 kids to feed, work almost 24hours a day sometimes(including weekend) , have a debt of RM 10k in your credit card for sitting for MRCP with only a rented house and pathetic salary of RM 2500. Passion is one thing but medicine is still a job to earn a living. You probably won’t realise what I am saying til you come back to Malaysia and start to work in a MOH hospital. Patients in government hospitals expect you to treat them as you are employed by the government to do so. Patients in private sector expect you to treat them without any flaws as they pay you! Complains will be sent to MOH, MMC and even legal letters will await you when something goes wrong(especially in private sector). These are the instances when someone looses their passion for medicine.
I have served for 16 years now, thankfully I still enjoy doing my work, working 24hrs a day 7 days a week. That’s the reason why I always say that unless you have real passion for medicine, never do medicine for just money and glamour. I will let my children to decide for themselves what they want to do. As far as children are concerned, encouraging them to be a doctor from young is equivalent to forcing them, because their mind has already been “brainwashed” to only do medicine!
Engineers are not in need. Many engineers are teachers now cz they cant get jobs lolzzz.
Nowadays industry very in need of mechanical and electronic enginner.. u can search in jobstreet.. enginner vacancy everywhere.they are teacher i think is because they dont want to be stress and want to have a wonderful life. somehow, teacher can earn many than enginner because u can open your private or home tuition yourself. As a conclusion, art stream work can give u a more successful and relaxing life. Dont think that you want a challenging job, after a few years, u will get bored too.
Actually, it depends on what type of engineer you are. There are many uninterested engineering graduates out there who do not want to do field work etc etc. that’s why they become teachers to do easy job. I know quite a number of them as my patients.
Dear Dr.Pagalavan,
I am offered Biomedical science in an IPTA recently.However,my real passion is to take up medicine.Now,I am conflicted on my next move.I have two options:a)study well and get a good pointer of CGPA 4.0 for the first year,then alter course to MBBS in the same university b)take up MBBS in an accredited private university should the application to alter course in IPTA fail(if my pointer qualifies for MBBS).what are your views on this matter,Dr.?
Thank you
wat ipta u get? and this is your which choice?
I have a feeling that your 1st option likely won’t work. So, why waste time doing 1 year in IPTA?
we r poor doctor. and study ipts and taking scholarship need a lot of operation.. interview here interview there.and not neccesary will get one..
.
Oio, u seem to be giving up already about scholarship jz becaUse of interview?
Dr Pagalavan,
A very good day Sir.I admire your writing in your blogs.Sir i was offered for Medicine in USM.MD and i also offered seat for AIMST MBBS.After alot of thinking I finally decided to take up USM MD.I turned down AIMST MBBS.I met my friend few days ago and she was making comparison between MBBS and MD.As i know both are the same,Just one is UK the other one is US.She told me doctor who is MD graduate will not able to do surgery while MBBS can.Is it true?Hope you can help me sir and thank for your time.
Your friend is obviously talking non sense.
Firstly, no one is going to teach you how to do surgery as a medical student. You only start to do minor surgeries when you are a first year MO. Even as housemen, most not allowed to do any surgeries.
You made the right choice of choosing USM
In places, MD is higher ranked than MBBS.
Really, like where?
M.B., B.S. are to professional and medical degrees – Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, – This is the primary qualitfication required for a doctor.Further experience and studing for 2 more years will make MBBS a MD doctor.MD is The Doctor of Medicine (MD) (from the Latin Medicinæ Doctor meaning “Teacher of Medicine”) is a doctoral degree for physicians (medical doctors).But PhD is differnt – It is the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent research doctorate (Ed.D., EngD, D.Sc., etc)
MD and MBBS is the same as far as Malaysia is concerned. There is NO such thing as MD after 2 years of MBBS
I know the terms stood for, thank you, You wrote, “in places, MD is ranked higher”. So which places?
By the way, what do you study exactly in the additional 2 years to be awarded MD? And which medical school run this MBBS + 2 yrs = MD program?
Check wikipedia about doctor of medicine MD. I thought MD is the same as MBBS till i read bout that..its jz a term used differently in different places i guess..though it says MD is higher level of attainment according to wiki
As I said, MD was used in US for graduate medical schools. So, it supposedly higher ranked as most of them do have a bachelor degree as well.
MD originated from US where it is a graduate degree. In US, to enter medical school, you need to have a basic degree first.
Source from Wiki – no wonder!
Yep..wikipedia.org 😀
Hi Doktor,
Can you rank our local IPTS for medical course in term of quality and popularity?
Thanks
I would still put IMU as first
sir. biomedical science and pharmacy and science in education. Which one has a good future in malaysia?
sir..do u have any idea?
Dr. Paga how am I going to have work experience in medical field if I’m only have SPM qualification. In order to enter UK medical school, I need to have work experience in this field and also some charity works.
How are you going to enter medical school with just SPM qualification?
Doctor, I envy your patience with high respect.
If I were the one who answer this kind of question, I would ask him to run for the president of china instead of America with SPM result.
What kind of eduction today kids are having?
I did a level. The competition to UK medical schools is very hard. the interviewer will ask the students about the work experience or charity work related to medicine. So it is essential to have these experiences.
I think rick is dumb. He didn’t understand the procedure of applying to UK medical schools. It is not only about excellent SPM or A level results but I need to go through all the entire process of getting into the UK medical school like FILLING THE UCAS FORM., INTERVIEW SESSION, UKCAT /BMAT TEST and then if i lucky I get the offer. So extra curricular activities like work experience or charity work are important. That’s why I ask how am I going to have the work experience in this field if I had only spm qualification.
Alexa, are you applying for the 2014/2015 cycle? Depending on the medical schools you are planning to apply to, related working experience is not necessarily a must. It depends on the overall strength of your personal statement, and if it meets the respective medical school’s criteria. Charity works are easy to fulfill, isn’t it? Please don’t ask for suggestions as you should know what that entail.
“Filling the UCAS form” is just that, ie. filling up a form, no big deal.
In my opinion, and assuming you have the necessary grades, the most important aspect in your application at the start is your personal statement. If all 4 medical schools are unimpressed, you will not get an interview invite.
And, if younger invited for an interview (s), and subsequently fail to impress, you will not be offered a place.
By the way, shadowing a GP, volunteering in hospitals etc will count as work experience. Just make sure you actually did that, as questions may be asked of that experience, and you would have to provide 2 referees for verification.
P/s. Rick was not “dumb”, but sarcastic. May not be wise to call another such, even if you thought it. Am just saying.
Edit
“And, if you are invited…”. Not “And, if younger…”
Most of my daughter’s classmates are accepted by NUS or NTU medical, out of all these kids, only two kids are accepted by one Imperial and one Aberdeen. They all have minimum Singapore A Level 4As and above.
I helped my daughter to go thro’ the UCAS, BMAT, and two UK medical schools interviews held in KL and Singapore.
So where is your daughter, RIck?
It was many years back but I got accepted into three medical schools through UCAS – Aberdeen, Leeds, and Cardiff. Chose Cardiff in the end. wonderful school and place to study.
Alexa, it is not nice to call somebody older than you dumb. Learn to show respect, even in the virtual world. Such character of yours – showing disregard to others – may manifest itself during interviews and is actually very off-putting and may cost you a place in medical school.
Singapore, she does not like to study here, the seniors told them in NUS medicine is like taking A Level exam every day. Even the very good one will fail not to pass the first year, no college life.
Alexa is just another arrogant kid,worst still, an ignorant one. Some kids are arrogant but smart. The way she posted her comments, we should know that she is actually a ‘dumb’ herself. sigh.
Biomedical science, biochemistry or biotechnology. Which one is easier for me to get a job in UK / AUS. I will be opting one of this course in UK universities.
I am not sure but I know some who did biochemistry and working in Australia
actually both three are almost same. A person with biomedic cert oso can work in biochem company . Because three of them are bio-related. So it is the same. The company most of them want to hire bio-related person. They does not specific.
hey sir,I m here to seek your help as im in a major dilemma.Medicine is my passion and was fighting all the way out till matrics and I ended up not getting offered for anything. Now and then there are so many negative comments about future doctors which in reality is true.Basically,I love to learn about how our body works and all,in specific the heart.Thats wht im interested and i dont seem to know any other field teaching about it in detail.But Ive decided to come out of my shell.I had some interest in doing chemical engineering,Nutrition but again there were so many discouraging comments about the job prospects.And now Im stuck and dunno know what to further in…
JK, at the moment, there are only a few subjects in university with guaranteed jobs after graduation i.e doctors and teachers. (though as Dr Pagal puts it, in a few years time graduate doctors may not be guaranteed a job too!)
my sincere advice to you JK, is to do what your heart tells you to do. What you are truly passionate about. I assure you, if you are one of the best in your fields, you do not have to worry about being jobless. Jobs will come streaming to you.
Examine yourself – look for your strengths and weaknesses. Then pursue your dream where your strengths lie. And if you can get into a reputable university for it, that’s even better!
Actually, starting from this year, the government has already announced that there will not be a guaranteed job for teachers anymore. All have to go through interview and only selected ones will be given a job
Nothing is guaranteed in the future. Even doctors do not have a guaranteed job in many countries, soon Malaysia as well.
Do what you are interested in. People succeed the best in what they are interested
Dr. Pagal,
My sister is a teacher. full scholarship for IELTS in MU. graduated with distinction. was sent by gov to a rural school in Sarawak. She taught the students faithfully for 3 years. In her first year there, the school achieved 100% passes in English for the first time.
she is currently pursuing her Master in Linguistic in MU.
I have high respect for my sister, for the sacrifices she has made for the students.
Yes, teaching is another noble profession. My father was a teacher.
Unfortunately, nowadays many become teachers to cari makan and not really interested in teaching.
When my sister chose teaching as a career, outsiders were not in approval. Our family doctor told her that with her SPM results, she should pursue medicine and be a doctor.
But our parents have always allowed us to make up our own minds and supported our decisions.
For me, I have always wanted to be a doctor from young. My sister, on the other hand, wanted to be a teacher.
I do not agree with some parents who insist their children to be a doctor simply because they are good in their studies. Parents are there to guide and mould and not to insist on their own opinions on their children.
To be a teacher is my dream. I taught A level Advanced Maths after my Chinese Unified Exam, wow, it was one of the best time in my life.
My old folks wanted me to be an engineer, I was so lucky to be chosen to be a teaching assistant in college, I enjoyed it so much to teach.
Too bad, I did not become teacher or engineer not even one day and engaged in family business and then starting running my own factory.
I ask my wife to fulfill my dream as a teacher, we are sharing the teaching methods even today. I pay very high respect to teachers, doctor saves life, teacher changes life. I was one of the most problematic students in my chinese high school until I met my mentor teacher changing my whole life.
I deeply believe the kids should have their own will to be what they want to be, especially childhood, they only have once in their life, the parents should give their kids to have a very memorable childhood.
I have been living in Singapore for 23 years and still holding Malaysia passport, I love my motherland so much.
I started to pay attention on Dr Pagalavan blog after my daughter showed the interest to become a doctor after her first year in Junior College. Before reading Dr Pagalavan blog, I did have the intention asking my daughter to serve in Malaysia if she is able to become a doctor. Alas, my heart was sunk after knowing the truths, how come even our motherland healthcare system is so screwed up?
Two years ago I went to a Johor Bahru educational fair and met some agent there, telling me SPM 5Bs or 4Bs 1C, with about RM200k, the agent would guarantee my daughter to be a doctor, I said NO WAY.
I lived in a small town with 50000 population in Perak, never heard of any of my seniors going to medical school in Mayalysia during my high school. Only a handful students going to local university, and they are so-called the elite of our town.
SPM 4Bs can become a doctor? Oh, lord, save us.
I am lucky to live in Singapore, how about my motherland’s friends and relatives? How about if I go to Malaysia for holidays and got sick or injury? No belittling, I don’t want a 4 Bs student graduated from a medical school most of the people don’t know or even can’t pronounce to take care me, do you?
Sad, it is really sad to see the greed of few dozens guys to make Malaysia from first world health care to today SPM 4Bs guarantee doctor health care system.
You mentioned above, that your daughter does not like studying in Singapore. Is she already in medical school? How is she coping?
She takes a gap year after going thro’ the 2 years Junior College intensive studying. Averagely she slept about 5 hours a day for two solid years. She wants to go to England for her degree. I wanted her to go to China Beijing university or Tsinghua University, but she is not interested.
She is busy shadowing some specialists in Singapore, giving tutoring, part time model and waitress. She wants to experience a lot of fields before becoming a doctor, I agree fully with her.
After averaging 5 hours sleep a day for 2 years, a gap year seem most appropriate. Who knows, she may not want to pursue medicine after that.
Over the last 22 years since entry to medical school, through postgrad training and to my present day career as a surgeon, I have averaged 5 hours of sleep every night. Do you think I need a gap year too? 😉
(Just in case some people are crazy enough to think that this is the sacrifice required for a surgical career, it is not. My physiology seems to need just 5hrs a night. Admittedly, needing less sleep than average does have its advantages for a doctor.)
Jaz: it is possible that she may change from medicine to social science or other subjects. I do not mind, as long as she is happy with what she likes, I m ok with it.
My wife teaches in a prestigious primary school in Singapore, both of my kids were the having first choice to enter the this primary school, but we put both of them to the nearest primary school near our house, with a lot of other reces. They were having the best childhood if campared with most of the Singaporen kids. I did have a very memorable childhood while I lived in Perak small town.
Jon J: HAHAHAHA, you should have taken a gap year to do some crazy things. I took two gap years when I was 38 years old and just did the reading of China and Russia History. it was so fun.
Jon J, I think the choice now is entirely yours. There has been glorious albeit hot summer days. Hope you have had some time to enjoy it.
I do know of a medical student in the UK who still clocks an average of 7-8 hours of sleep, and still among the top band of students. But I agree that requiring less sleep is advantageous.
Hi, Rick, I believe the agent at the Johor Bahru educational fair you met did not mean that you can study medicine in Malaysia with SPM 5Bs or 4Bs & 1C. SPM result (with at least min 5Bs, if I am not mistaken, Bahasa Malaysia is one of the compulsory subject) is one of the criteria, besides the required pre-u qualification (such as A-level, STPM,etc) to apply for studying medicine in Malaysia.
Yes, MMC came up with the guideline in 2011. Prior to that, anything pun BOLEH. Even now, I know few students who got less than 5B doing medicine in some of the private colleges. They just need to appeal to MMC few times before the approval is given. Most of this students are given a place in the college’s own foundation studies course which is just an eye wash.
As for overseas, the agents will do everything for you, including getting the NOC!
The guy I talked to from Windfield College. I just looked up the info they passed to me, UM, University of London and University of Cambridge are their associates.
I think they should have added Harvard, MIT and Yale as their branches.
http://www.windfield.edu.my.
Hi, Rick,
Did your agents name the medical schools which accept students with SPM 5Bs or 4B1C for studying medicine in Malaysia? I have not heard of any M’sian medical schools offer MBBS with SPM qualification. Could it be just one of the requirement? I was told in Malaysia you must have at least a credit for Bahasa Malaysia in SPM, otherwise you are not allowed to study medicine, is it true, Dr Paga?
I have not heard about the credit for Bahasa to enter medical school but you need BM credit for a job in government sector aka horsemanship.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR ENTRY INTO A MEDICAL PROGRAMME
Click to access MY%20Entry%20criteria%2020120911%20Adopted.pdf
Kursk State medical University. SPM students need to attend Windfield College’ s Foundation studies in Science. The guy told me it is 100% passing rate and recognised by JPA, MMC, GMC of UK etc etc.
RM200k, a doctor. A real doctor or a accidental doctor? You decide.
The agent did call me a couple times and saying the word “guarantee” repeatedly. I did not buy it, I reckoned it as a joke until I came across Dr Paga blog. Such a shock and look like it is quite a normal phenomenon now.
Yes, they do openly advertise in newspaper. The foundation study is crap. Just an eyewash. This is one of the reason why we see so many Russian graduates who are below par and totally hopeless at times.
Doctor, can we do something about this? Eventually, the normal citizens are the one who suffer.
it is all about politics and cronyism! Nothing much can be done. Unless you change the government and try
Doctor, I hope you do not mind that I have posted a lot of your articles in my high school forum. I am the host of my high school blog, I understand to maintain a blog is such a tired and difficult task, Kudos to you. I learn a lot of things in your blog.
I am doing my little part to let others know that we are in a such a dilemma and dangerous situation.
No problem
“I have not heard about the credit for Bahasa to enter medical school but you need BM credit for a job in government sector aka horsemanship”.
Dr,
This means all those who take medicine and wish to do housemanship in Malaysia (either a local or overseas MBBS) must have a credit in BM, because it is a job in the government sector. Right?
Yes. If not you may only get a contract job in Government while you sit and pass(credit) the BM JUly paper. With the upcoming glut, you may not get a job if you do not have a credit in BM.
Guys guys guys.. theres a dude i know his mom faked a SPM results for the son to get into a medic school in Medan. Not sure is it recognize or not.
So im not bullish about people who has bad results can do medic tho.
Nothing new
I wonder why some parents wanted so hard for their children to pursue medicine as a career? Have they forgotten that medicine is a vocation, not just a job?
I have seen people with poor results when I was doing my A levels in Taylors college. Went to Russia to study medicine and are now doctors in Malaysia.
But I think they will face difficulty when they try to specialise. You need a certain level of intelligence to be a competent doctor and specialist exams from overseas are not easy.
What specialist exams from overseas? IN Malaysia, the only option is via the local Master’s program which the standards are also dropping. However, most of these guys will end up as GPs and chronic MOs.
Luk,
Well said. To specialise, indeed need a level of intelligence. They can fake SPM / pre-university results and bribe their lecturers off in medical college but definitely can’t take the easy way out in the postgraduate programmes like the Masters/membership exams. You will notice that most of these doubtful doctors do not take membership exams, as they know that they definitely would not be able to pass them. They take the easy way out and that is to join the local Masters programme though. I don’t know about the quality of the programme, but the criteria of admission into these programmes is questionable.
Dr Paga,
I think what Luk meant was membership exams like MRCP and MRCPCH. Hopefully both are still recognised as a pathway to be a specialist in Malaysia.
In UK, those who intend to be a GP have to pass the MRCGP exams and also there’s a 4 year structured training programme, similar to the FMS in Malaysia. I believe similar system exists in Australia etc. Shouldn’t this be a minimal standard for one to be a GP in Malaysia in the future? Its just dangerous for the public to let off some of them to have unsupervised practice as an independent GP as honestly a lot of them have very poor knowledge despite working in government based settings.
The local Master’s program selection is done in secrecy. There are still quota system imposed and no one knows for sure how the selection is done.
MRCP/MRCPCH/MRCOG/FRCR are all recognised in malaysia. In UK, these are entrance exams for speciality training.
Yes, eventually once the 1Care system is implemented, likely on GPs with family medicine diploma/degree will be given priority
Dr Paga,
With regards to you comment in another post (https://pagalavan.com/2013/08/01/for-future-doctors-tired-of-doctors-lawyers-engineer/#comment-28093), you mentioned that ‘Mistakes made by doctors will cost a life and legal suits will await you the next day.’
I am sure you are aware of (or even attended to) patients poorly managed by GPs (both private and government KK MOs) who comes in to your practice with a serious problem. For example, maybe a poorly managed diabetic under GP follow up with infected DFU. If anything bad were to happen, for example, the infected DFU turning into full blown sepsis and the patient dies, it would be the treating hospital specialist who would get the blame, but not the treating GPs.
Thus. If these half-baked doctors decided to quit government after compulsory service and become a GP, at the end of the day, all the poorly managed cases would end up in the hospital and its the hospital specialists who would need to answer to the lawyers, and not the treating GPs!
Yes, that’s the scenario currently. The public is yet to be educated in this matter that these are chronic diseases and has been poorly managed by their doctor. However, lately I do see patients who had told me that they are going to sue the GP etc. Eventually, public will get smarter and will know their rights better. That is the reason some do not trust GPs anymore.
Hi sir, I have something about jpa scholarship to ask. I did a lot of research and even called the respective institution but no one can answer me. Firstly, in the 10 years bond, are we allowed to study master? If we are allowed, what about the remaining years? and about the job posting, i am well awared that most likely we do not have the right to choose hospital. But if I had practiced in an allocated hospital for a few years, do i have the right to apply for job posting in other places? I am having the dillema whether to take the jpa or not too. I had read your post and it is really scary. But i guess 10 years is maybe too much for me. Besides there is a news that government is going to build 11 new hospitals too in the future. In your opinion, should I take it or not? Thanks a lot.
You can still pursue your Master’s during your 10 years bond. However, you will have an additional 7 years bond after completing the 10 years, if you were to take the local Master’s program. AS for your job allocation, it all depends on availability of post. Usually, it is up to MOH to decide where you will be posted. Even after Master’s, there is no guarantee that you will go back to the same hospital. They can send you where your service is needed.
If I were you, I will take JPA scholarship as you job is guaranteed. 10 years is a very short time in medicine.
AS for the 11 new hospitals, no point talking about it until you really see it. I am sure you know how many “project delayed and tergendala” in this country!
Dr Pagalavan,
My daughter has completed her Foundation in Science & is interested to be a Pharmacist. She has narrowed down to either Segi University or Mahsa. Any info on these 2 Uni?
Appreciate your advise. Tq
Both are new as thus difficult to comment.
Dr Pagalavan,
I just finished Foundation in Mahsa and now im in amidst of deciding whether to go to Mahsa or Taylors for Mbbs. Which would u recommend? And i heard some rumours about a lot of good lecturers in Mahsa has left. I would very appreciate your advices
Both have not produced graduates. I would not recommend either. Why not IMU, MOnash, PMC etc
Because of my financial status, I cant afford to go to schools like Monash etc.
Hello sir..I had finished my matriculation programme. Thanks a lot for all of your awakening articles. My desire is wanted to be a dentist. I had applied for a few private universities and I got offer letters from Penang International Dental College and Alliance University. Sir, its really confusing that at where want to pursue my tertiary studies. I knew that PIDC is quite established and how about sir’s opinion on Alliance University…
Personally I don’t trust AUCMS. PIDC will be a better choice
AUCMS OFFER DENTISTRY?never knew.
Hi Doc,
To pursue MBBS in Melaka Manipal or IMU? Which one is a better choice and why?
Thank you.
IMU
In dentistry in high demand in the next five years? How about biomed?
AS I said many times, professional science field is almost saturated in Malaysia.
Came upon this discussion by chance. As a dental specialist, I personally feel dentistry in Msia is getting saturated. When I graduated from UM more than 20 years ago, it is the only dental school in Msia. Now we have at least 18 dental school, at last count. MOH had already reduced the compulsary service of dentist from 3 years to 2 years from April 2012, and there might be plan to reduce it even further in the coming years in view of the huge number of dentists being produced. The Malaysian Dental Association had already highlighted their concern of the high number of dentist being produced each year. In another 5-10 years I believe the dental GP practice will be very competitive but for the dental specialities there are still a lot of opportunities because we are still short of dental specialists.
I feel there are still shortage of dentist in rural and semirural areas.
Dr ,
Im gonna start my mbbs this year, and after all the news about too much doctors, do i stil stand a chance to get a job by the time i graduate? which is around 2018? Because it really worries me alot, im afraid that after i will be jobless after graduation, I’m willing to work hard and not really hoping for high salary or anything else , i just hope for an average job that can substain my daily needs. So doc, i just wanna know is this path stil rational for me to pursue?
No one’s gonna really predict how the future gonna be, and I guess if you work hard in your med school and pass your exam well, i am sure you still can get a job
ok, thanks for the advice.
dont be a doctor just because u want to support your everyday living. If you simply want that, why choose such a difficult path? be a doctor because you want to make a difference in the lives of your patients. money will come. but dont make that the main reason you become a doctor.
Yea, helping the patients will also be the pros of being a doctor, i just want to know whether i can survive as a doctor in the future
If you are doing medicine for just good job prospect, then you are making a big mistake. Never do medicine for such reasons.
Nothing is guaranteed in the future! You just have to do what you are interested in and work hard and not to do something just for good job prospect.
Ok, i appreciate the advice. Doing medicine is also my passion. Then i guess i will just have to work hard and take the chances
hi doctor. i wanted to ask about veterinarian. which college or uni actually offers this course and how is this course like?
I only know UPM offers this course. I have not heard any private university offering the course. No Money may!
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan also offers veterinary programme.
Dr Pagalavan,
Hi doctor,I’m interested to study dentistry and considering Penang International Dental College and Segi,which one will be better?I also wondering whether dentist is still in demand when I’m graduate since there are rumours about the surplus of dentist happened in Malaysia now,what is your opinion about the future of dentistry in Malaysia?Hope for your reply.
PIDC will be better. I did not even know that SEGI has started dentistry!. Yes, eventually dentistry will also get saturated but there are still a need in rural/semirural. As of last year, the dentist:population ratio still stands at 1: 6000+, way lower than 1: 700+ for doctors. here
Thank you doctor.What do you think about pharmacy future job prospect?Pharmacy is in my consideration too.As I know there are still lots of job opportunity for pharmacists in private sector,is it true?What is your opinion for both dentistry and pharmacy,which one will be better and has more job opportunity?
Yes, pharmacies are still needed for private sector especially if the government does introduce the 1Care system. Dentist is more of your own business where as a pharmacist, you can work under the chain pharmacy stores.
Hi Dr, I have been following your blog for sometimes. Please kindly advise what is the ratio pharmacist : population nowadays in Malaysia?
you can see here
Hi Sir , I am just finished my stpm and I am planing to choose physiotherapy for my degree in private university. May I know which private university is better for this course? UTAR or INTI or Aimst? I saw UTAR homepage stated tht the course had been recognised by MQA since year 2011 but I cant find it in the website of MQA about recognisation of this course. May I know is this course really hard to get a job in Malaysia if i study in private U? Thank you vry much sir ..
The problem with physiotherapy is that there are many diploma holders out there who can do the same thing as a degree holder. Thus, private hospitals would prefer to hire them with a lower salary then degree holders. Unless, you want to join academic institutions like universities etc etc.
As advised in all these blogs, you got to forget about any profession related to health care like doctors, physiotherapist, pharmacist, nursing and etc., as the market is over-flooded with medical staff and a lot of graduates are already unemployed. Furthermore, the health ministry is beginning to crack down on errant hospital. According to this article, the Chinese Maternity Hospital and Chinese medical centre were ordered to stop operation, thus leading to further unemployment in the future.
I think Dr you may have the wrong idea about this blog.This blog was written primarily to provide access to the world of medicine in Malaysia and it’s problems within the industry for readers and students to study and learn about the industry before he or she decides to take that “plunge”into this industry.I think that readers are fed up with worthless pretenders out there who seem to think that the medical industry is all hunky dory and nice!
About time authorities do something about the quality of our applicants to medical school.Weed them out now to cut down on the supply of ill qualified ones and hopefully soon enough able to balance the scales of excess supply over demand!
Which authority? It’s the ‘authority’ which actually allowed this situation to exist, by converting medical education into another commodity that can be bought, like all the other courses…..
Yes, we all know that the so called “authorities” are the ones messing this all up and we have all been talking about it for years and it looks like we are always “looking for the needle in the haystacks” as far as the solutions are concerned.well then who else in the community of doctors and students fraternity is in the position to alter the balance of power to pull this one off?
Unless someone in power with the full weight of authority with the political weight to bite realized the full extent of the crisis that this brings, I just don’t see how much we lay people could do to bring about change to the system!
Thank you Sir. So if i study physiotherapy most probably end up with become a lecturer in a college ?
something like that
Sir, i have failed my first year twice. I hv the passion for medicine. But mayb here it is too much for me. I am studying in manipal. I worked really hard. But I don’t know what went wrg. I don’t want to waste another 30k I tot of doing in msu. Im just not willing to give up. But a part of me is saying tat, I have not even manage to clear 1st year of mbbs.. I wld I go thru 5 years n more? So now what I am thinking is, mayb a new environment wld gv a btr chance. I need ur opinion on my choices.. shud I cont or not. Coz u r a dr, so u noe the drill. I am extremely lost and in the dark. If im ur daughter, wat wld be ur advice. Thank you dr.
Personally, I would not advise you to waste more money. If you can’t pass Year 1, how are you going to face multiple more exams in the future. Medicine is life long learning and need great deal of motivation and stress management. I do know some who took almost 10 years to clear their MBBS but after graduating they are just too old/demotivated to further their studies and decided either to become a GP or stay as chronic MO in the Klinik Kesihatans.
Please go do something else. ‘Passion’ is NEVER a good reason for doing medicine. It is just an excuse for many mediocre students to justify whatever the real reasons are.
Ramyah,
I hv 2 daughter…one is a 2nd yr housemen…another 1st yr dentist. Both regret going into their respective careers…trust me they were both top students all the way.
If u were my daughter…i would advice you to drop medicine immediately…u will never regret it.
My housemen daughter had a PASSION 7 yrs ago…inspite of advise from doctor friends..she did medicine …but she now regrets it like hell.
I could write a book on why u should drop medicine or dentistry.
I hope your book won’t go to the extreme to kill off the real passion of many aspiring doctors.
passion is one of the popular excuse for one night stand 😉
Is Veterinary Doctor a marketable job in the future? My initial plan is to enroll into medicine or dentistry course but the financial burden is just egregious!
I really like the health and science field and I felt that Vet Docs are treated like trash in MALAYSIA.
Doctor Pagalavan, Is Veterinary medicine worth it?
Yes, it is generally not well established in Malaysia. However, in major towns, people are looking for vets running pets centres. Many who have pets would like to leave their pets in these centres when they go on leave. Generally, you need to open your centre in middle to high end population areas.
Dear Dr Pagalavan,
I am interested to know your opinion about Perdana University. I thought National University of Ireland is a good university and I am thinking of enrolling my son for the medical course. During my recent visit to an education fair the staff of PU told me that PU will give successful candidate RM300k of scholarship & I can get RM150K PTPTN loan & that make the course more affordable. Pls advise. Thank you.
Rgds
Cheah YE
I had written about Perdana before. Please search for it . Perdana university is NOT National University of Ireland. FYI, even though it is the same curriculum, it does not have the same recognition. It will not be recognised elsewhere. As far as I am concerned, the scholarship is just another form of marketing strategy. Just overprice it and give scholarship!!
Dear Dr Pagalavan,
Thank you for your prompt reply. I would appreciate if you can guide me by commenting on my following questions:
A) I went to the education fair last week Sunday. I took a brochure from the Perdana University booth & I was told about a Medical Degree Programme (5+0) in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).I was told that students graduating from the PU-RCSI School of Medicine are conferred with the primary medical degrees of the RCSI – 3 dgrees, i.e. Bachelor of Medicine, B of Surgery & B. in the Art of Obstetrics (MB BCh BAO). The degree of this programme is NOT conferred by the Perdana University. They are recognised by IRC, MMC & other regulatory bodies. You said they are not recognised elsewhere. Why ? Pls clarify my doubts
B) I also approached a placement agency & I was given a list of Indian Universities that offer dental courses. They said these universities are recognized by the M’sian government & many JPA students were sent there. These dental universities/ colleges are:
1)Bapuji Dental College & Hospital
2) AB Shetty Ins. Dental Sciences
3) The Oxford Dental College & Hospital
4)SriSiddhartha Dental College & Hospital
5)JSS Dental College
6) Yenepoya Dental College
7)College of Dental Science (located in Davengere)
8)KLE Institute of Dental Sciences &
9) Vinayaka Mission’s University.
I only heard of Bapuji & Vinayaka. What is your opinion about these universities/colleges?
I was told the seats are running out soon (in fact seats for 2014 intake in Bapuji & Vinayaka have been fully booked). I was advised to place booking fee (about RM17,000) asap to book a seat if I want to send my kid to these places in Sep 2014. Booking fee is a huge figure to me. I want to make the best possible choice for my kid. What is your opinion? Please advise. Thank you again.
Cheah
Firstly , never listen to agents. Always find out yourself.
RCSI Ireland is a established university in Ireland but RCSI – Perdana is totally a different story all together. It is NOT the same! Despite the claim that it is the same degree, it will not be recognised elsewhere. As far as I am aware, both MMC And IRC have not given any form of recognition to this degree. Monash and Newcastle also offers the same degree as their home country but it is not recognised elsewhere. In medicine, the degree does not matter, it is where you undergo the training that matters. All these has been explained many times in this blog. Please spend some time reading this blog.
As for dental, pls check the Malaysian Dental Council website
Dear Dr.
Thank you for yr reply.
My son have got a BDS dentistry course offer from Dundee University. We are hesitating as to whether to accept the offer or not. The main reason is the cost fee & living cost of uk. The total cost is about RM1 million. Whereas for the same course in indian private universities, the total cost is only about RM250k. We want our son to have option to practise dentistry in places like Australia or in EU in future & we believe a uk degree is easier to achieve that aim but the cost is a heavy burden to us. Can you pls enlighten me on this matter?
Rgds
Cheah
If your intention is for your son to migrate or work overseas, then it is better to get a degree from UK, Australia etc. generally Indian degrees are not recognised elsewhere.
Dear Dr.
I’m a SPM 2013 leaver and planning to do medicine in the future . But now I’m really torn between doing medical course in a local university or going overseas(A-level or Foundation in Science?) . Which one do you think is better based on the current situation ?
And since I’m staying in kedah , Aimst university will definitely be my first choice because it is nearer to my house but over the years i had heard about some negative comments of the deterioration of the quality of their teaching power . Do you have any information to share with me ?
I thank you in advance !
Regards
jason
Go to a reputable university
Hi, Dr.
I am currently doing foundation studies and have to apply for my first degree program soon but i am in confusion to choose between pharmacy and dietetics. Would you give me some suggestion? Thanks.~Aimee
It is entirely up to you. Do what you are interested in.
UCSI is great at trolling the internet to brush up their poor image and incredibly poor quality. When I was there in the first year, many medical students were threatening to go public with what they considered a rip-off. There were complaints made to the medical council (MMA, I think) and they were threatening to go to the Press. I am not sure how it was resolved but I believe many of them were intimidated.
There was this Indian Muslim legal advisor who routinely used the police to intimidate foreign students when they pressed for refunds or redressal. He was even threatening to use Interpol to silence them. And people believed he had such clout. That’s how naive UCSI staff were. I remember that the senior staff and students were terrified of him.
Slander and academic malpractice were rampant.
UCSI is just a profit-making institution that thrived on political patronage. It’s close to UMNO, and just opened its latest campus by cozying up to the Perak MB, Zambry.
But that does not mean that it does not hedge for the other side too. After all, Ong Kian Ming — a PKR stalwart — was once a lecturer there.
Hi Loh,I am sure there r many students n parents out there may not know what is going on in UCSI n may have placed their faith in it.Please do keep us posted n u know anything peculiar about its medical program?.tq
haha, nothing new
I am a graduate student from Australia doing my research in Sarawak and I got the chance to visit the ‘Jom Masuk U’ fair in Kuching recently. The scale of tertiary education the and the number of universities is simply astounding. I spoke to a couple of private universities regarding entry to the medical and dentistry courses and it does seem that the entry scores are (disturbingly) really low. On the other hand, I’ve noticed also that the news that many students cannot get into medical schools with perfect scores in the national exams.
Regarding biochem/biomed/biotech degrees, in truth there is no difference. In many universities elsewhere, they’ve been combined into single Life Sciences degrees. Integrative sciences is rising rapidly in the West. Life Sciences students are learning mathematics, programming and biophysical engineering above the traditional biochem/biomed/biotech paradigm. There also very very little mention of mathematics and physics when students consider medicine/;dentistry / life sciences and this makes life miserable when they enrol. For example in reviewing drug trials or predispositions or isolating genetic mutations,multivariate statistics plays a very crucial role. But if one struggles with simple calculus or binomial theorems then life will be tough. Young’s modulus plays a big part in medical materials and dentistry biomaterials as well etc etc.
Congratulations on your blog, Dr. Pagalavan, I stumbled upon it and I find it, and the comments quite revealing.
Malaysia Bolehmah. The aim is to make everyone a graduate, in the name of developed country status!!
Hi doctor.Im currently doing my deg in physiotherapy in collaboration with northumbria,uk at mahsa col(final year).*stil gt 1year to go.The prob here,im nt sure whtr it would be wise for me to finish up my dgr n get a job or should i juz stop now and at least get a diploma bcoz im in very tght financial situation.I usually score highest in theory bt practical wise moderate or better like that.I kind of dont have enough cnfidence to pursue longer cause my fmly situation.Yet,m thinking if i would able to get a better job with dgree or diploma .Also doc,if i were to work in Spore,which is more preferable,dgree/diploma?Is Mahsa dip/degree in Physio recognised there?
I would suggest for you to complete the degree. I am not sure about the recognition issue but generally, should not be a problem
Well,thanks doc for the comment.I’m thinking that would be better too,yet i gt 1 doubt.If let say,i graduate in physiotherapy,if in future i would like to get a long term career other than physiotherapy or teaching in physio,what else could i opt for? If i would like to apply in teaching at secondary level is it possible or any other career you could suggest me?As long as good salary & increament as well as better future.And just in case,if i would like to do lecturing in college,i could just teach diploma student ryte?Usually how much roughly the salary would be?Tq doctor 🙂
no one can predict salaries. It all depends on the economy. Only government salary is usually fixed but even than certain allowance cut can occur during recession. Do what you are interested and decide along the way
Hi,from what i noted from your years of resumae, you must be a sort of Maharajah at your working place.
How are your children doing?Do they take up the similar field like the parent?
Thank you
Nope. Both my son got no interest in medicine at the moment
Hello sir…
So now what are the science related courses can we look up too if courses such as biomedicine,biotech has no demand in malaysia and there is less job opportunities and even the salary never helps to sustain my living? While i do hav interest exploring science and keep learning…im not a super intelligent student but i do put in my hardwork..
I dont have the requirements to do medicine pharmacy or dentistry unless if im done with my first degree with first or second upper class honours or study overseas..
So what kind of courses i can do..?
Can i take over any business admin courses and work for some years and later on can i be able to do medicine then?
Or Well can you guide over this because im confused.
How about bsc psychology? What in can do with this?
What else choices i can make now..
Can u dont give up answering me..
Im from johor.
My mother was your patient years ago.
If anything like i can meet you?any appointments? You Still in johor ?
Yes, I am still in Johor. You should know where I am if you read this blog.
Frankly speaking, science sector is relatively full. There are just too many science graduates out there. The prospect now is more towards technical field like interior design, marketing, designing, architecture etc. Unfortunately, many do not want to venture into this programs. Lim Kok Wing university conducts a lot of this technical and designing courses. I have seen a few graduates who did not have any problems getting a job after graduating.Most of them will end up doing business.
BSc Psychology is relatively a new field in Malaysia. It will eventually develop as in many other western countries. The prospect at the moment is not good. However, you can still find a good job prospect overseas if you have a well recognised degree.
Doctor, may I know what is your impression about Taylor University School of Medicine?
New, can’t comment
Doctor, i’ve just completed my Spm and i’m currently pursuing diploma in pharmacy at Allianze University College of Medical Sciences. I’m still in my first semester. I’d like to know some details about this course. Is this course recognised/accredited ? Will i be able to do my degree overseas? Im still very confused. Will you suggest this pathway/pre u program..if i have financial problems?
You can check with MQA whether the course has been accredited. Whether you can do your degree overseas or not depends on the uni that you are going to apply to.
Okay:) Is diploma in pharmacy the best pathway to become a pharmacist? I need your advise and opinion…
Well, if you have a good pre-u course, you don’t need to do diploma before degree.
Doctor, recently the upu result just released. I wished to study medicine at UM but I failed to get it, instead I was offered to study bio medicine at UPM. Can you provide me some advice and opinion regarding this course (bio medicine)? Isn’t this course at UPM is recognised in other country? What I am going to face after I graduate from this course? Thanks in advance.
I don’t think there is such thing as ‘recognised ‘ for biomedical course in other countries. Meaning, you can work anywhere.
hi, doctor, is pharmacy job oversupply nowadays?
I am currently taking a levels and i take 3 sciences, i find physics interesting, but i heard pharmacy course do not include physics element anymore, is it true?
Which uni in australia do you think is the best for pharmacy?
Hi doctor, I had just received the upu results and i get usm medicine .
However , I also get an offer from newcastle university in johor .
Both of the courses will be fully sponsor by jpa and i will get allowance every month as i am a bursary holder .
I wish to choose newcastle as it has a more quality study life there . But i am so concerned that afterwards I will face problems in my housemanship as medical students are getting more and more every year . However , since johor have no ipta , will it be easier for us to get houseman ? And will i have the opportunity to work in singapore ? easier to get postgraduate study in uk ? I am not sure with it .
If I choose USM health campus in Kelantan , it is a safe move i know , but since i had the sponsorship , why not i try something different as it is a chance for me after years of hardwork. And even though USM has its hospital , not all the 120 graduates each year can all stuff in there for hosmen .And the study life is not as comfortable as in newcastle .
The most concerning part is some of my friends who r also bursary students choose newcastle rather than um medicine ! That put me in so much confused of choosing usm .
I am currently in huge dilemma and I hope that sir can give me some advice on this … Thank you so much . I will be so so so grateful that sir can reply me as i don’t have someone professional like sir to consult with … Thank you in advance .
I think you are totally confused. Please spend some time reading this blog.
What do you mean by ” more quality study life”?
Where you do housemanship depends on Ministry of Health after you graduate. You DO NOT do housemanship in the state that you are graduating! MOH can even send you to Sabah or Sarawak to do housemanship. Thus it does not matter whether it is USM or NuMEd.
NUMed degree is NOT recognised in Singapore and thus you will not be able to work in Singapore. You will not get full GMC registration in UK if you do not complete your housemanship in UK. Despite NuMed being recognised by GMC, the chances of you getting a housemanship post in UK is almost ZERO due to immigration laws.
Furthermore, you are a JPA scholar who will be bonded for 10 years with the government!
Many get carried away with NuMED as it supposedly giving the same degree as UK. The degree recognition is NOT the same. It is not recognised anywhere else.
I mean in USM the facilities are older and 4 roommates per room , in Newcastle the facilities are new and we can have either single , twins or 4 sharing room.
And now , since bonding with jpa for 10 years will secure a job for me locally , I think that the future will be the same .
However , there are lots of activities in USM which seem so interesting that i won’t experience in ipts .
I had seen that in another post , Dr had advised the parent of a girl in the same situation with me to take up USM . May I know why ?
Accommodation is not important. You can always rent a house outside! You know how far is NuMed from the town?
What is more important is the teaching facilities and environment. USM is definitely better in that sense. Furthermore, the curriculum is more localised.
Oh.. I see.. thank you doctor.
Sir, i’m thinking of doing my foundation in science (leading towards pharmacy) in maybe, INTI international college (main campus), AIMST University or IMU . which do you think is the best university to do my foundation? Or do you know of any other best universities for me to do my foundation in science? Please give me some details.
As far as I am concerned, foundation is just an eye wash. It does not matter where you do but usually each university will give preference to their foundation students.
Do you think Pharmacy or Law has better career prospects?
I don’t think so. Pharmacy is still OK and the prospect will increase if government decides to remove dispensing rights from doctors.
Does Pharmacy or Law provide better career prospects?
Greetings sir, I have always been very interested in medicine especially in anesthetics and surgery. However I have read your blog thoroughly and have of course, been doubting if i should venture into medicine. On another hand I have also been mildly interested in physiotherapy. I’m considering if I should go for physiotherapy which will be easier in studying aspects and also financially a lighter burden (but not a serious problem). Could you provide some advice?
Also, how are the job prospects in Malaysia and the salary for a physiotherapist?
Hello Doctor, I would like to ask about Biotechnology. How is your perspective of Biotechnology degree, as you mentioned earlier that we need a good reputable degree in Biotechnology in order to get better jobs in the foreign countries. For an example, I am in AIMST and very much interested to become a bioscientist, pharmacogenomical scientist, marine scientist or genetic/toxicological scientist in the future by doing my PhD programme. Where and how can I do my PhD in the other country or Malaysia? Is it a good option, that I chose?
Those fields that you mentioned are underdeveloped in this country. However you can find the job elsewhere.
Hi doc..i just want to seek your opinion about studying optometry in malaysia…does this cost offer good prospect of career …is it good? Thank you
Well, in some countries optometrist are much needed. In our country, you may need to open a shop to do business or get employed by spectacles shop.Generally OK.
Hi doctor! My girl is doing A-level right now. Just to seek for your opinion, how’s the future if she complete her studies in the field of pharmacy in either IMU or Monash Malaysia campus without going overseas? Thank you.
Pharmacy is still OK as many pharmacy retail outlets are looking for pharmacist. The demand will increase if the government remove dispensing rights from doctors.
is there any different between graduating in local and overseas(twinning programme) for pharmacy?
Graduating from a well established university definitely has an advantage in getting a job overseas.
thank you so much for your advice!
hi dr, im a graduated diploma in physiotherapy, and i intend to continue my study, i want to ask your opinion which course is better, is it bachelor in medical science or should i proceed with bachelor in physiotherapist, i really need your help dr
Both are OK but job prospect for bachelor of physiotherapist is not very good in Malaysia
dr, is it ok if i continue my study at msu? bachelor in medical science…
i think it is OK
I have children studying in India at a recognised university by MMC . I wish them to specialise in an overseas Medical School in either USA, UK, Australia , Ireland or New Zealand. I understand the need for recognition by bodies such as GMC and licensing exams such as USMLE
My question is can a person do a Masters overseas without doing housemanship in Malaysia? Is it advisable if one can afford it in terms of money and time ? As pointed out by you there are too many graduates with first degrees i.e MBBS . The situation may be different for those who return with Masters assuming they want to return to Malaysia.
I have read websites of overseas universities (Ireland for example) which offer Masters of one year, two year, three duration. What is the difference between such a course and a local Masters course at a government university which can take upto three years or so.
Another question what is the difference between these Masters and MRCP and other professional exams.
I was surprised by your comment that Masters in Medical Science is not recognised as a specialist course. So what is a specialist course I also understand from these website that a graduate with B.Sc in Nursing can pursue a Masters in the same field as a MBBS holder.
I am not a doctor and I seeking advice from you and any other organisation which you can provide me the contact. Is the National Specialist Register an organisation that can help?
I think you are confused on how medical specialisation works. You should spend more time reading all the informations in this blog.
You CAN’T do specialisation in medicine without working. Post graduate education in medicine is FULL TIME working and PART TIME studying. Thus you need to do housemanship and get full registration before even going into training program. It is the same anywhere in this world.
The Masters program you are talking about is NOT a specilaist program . These are non clinical and research based programs which DO NOT make you a specialist.
Please read all the info in this blog under fir future doctors page.
Thank you for your prompt comment although you are on a holiday. What is your opinion about local Masters in the Medical field being offered by private universities in Malaysia that is taking two years part time and the future courses to be conducted in Public Health etc. in conjunction with Universities from Ireland.
Yes you are right I am confused about specialisation in the medical field and will be going through your blog in detail.
Public health is a non clinical field. Furthermore you must clarify whether it is or will be recognised in Malaysia.
Dear Sir. I hope to get some sound advice from you. I am a medical officer in a private hospital and had been in service for 9 years plus.I have history of dropping out from masters in emergency medicine 3 years back and I call that period as my healing period as the impact of dropping out of masters seriously affected me mentally. All my confidence level became low and I was feeling wasted and a failure too. Just recently I recovered fully with some guidance and motivation from my family and relatives and applied a job in private. Prior to this I took up limited amount of locums and was not working with dedication due to my past mistake. I am 35 years old and had plan to be a specialist by this age which I couldnt. I came across the diploma in family medicine and hope to embark on it. But I am worried it might be another 4 years for me to complete the diploma and do my MRCPG. What is your advice. Is it fine if I continue with my current plan or stay as a chronic MO which I despise at the moment. What are the prospect of embarking on my mission. Is it worth doing the diploma and with gods blessing take another 2 years to be a specialist at the age of 39 to 40. I need some sound advice from you
The diploma in family medicine conducted by the Academy of Family Physician is a 4 years program before you are eligible to sit for the FRACGP exam. It will take another 1-2 years to complete the exam if you pass first try. Then you need to go back to government sector for gazzetement after which you can become a FMS. In private sector it does not make any difference as you will be just another GP. No extra charges as patients will not pay.
Hi. I was paid RM 8 plus in private. How much does a contract doctor UD48/47 gets in government. I appealed to join back government but salary from MOH still matters. Is the difference too much. Hope you can give me some input on this. Thank you
Depends at which level they give you. Generally RM6-7+
That is quite low compare to private. Is it worth going back to government. I am in dilemma now. One part wishes to get back to government as I have enrolled in diploma in family medicine and would be easier if I be in government sector. Another part is thinking about the losses I may incur by leaving private. What can you advice.
Well, it is up to you. You win some you lose some.
[…] A doctor too many | Pagalavan’s Avatar – A doctor too many . MARCH 26 — Malaysia, a country with about 26 million inhabitants, boasts of 24 medical schools now. Just a few years ago, the number was less …… […]
Hello doctor,
Your article is great! Thanks, it helps me a lot. By the way, I’m a SPM-leaver, waiting for my SPM result this March. My mum is a GP at a private clinic. Actually, she asked me to do medicine which is my ambition since I was young. In addition, my sister is also studying medicine in Mansoura University, Egypt. And she’s now a second year student. So they are really inspired me to be like ’em. But then, I heard the rumours about the saturated number of doctors produced in the future {and I came across to read your article}, it does not really make sense that I will be doing medicine which I would not be getting places to work once I have graduated. So, I’m interested in doing dentistry but I don’t have too much information about this field. I just know that doing dentistry only takes five years studying and two years internship, isn’it? If I were to do dentistry internationally, where is the best university would you recommend? Is Alexandria University, Egypt is OK? Is the degree is recognized in Malaysia?
Please, I need your advice for a better future. I have to make a plan for my studies. Thanks doc!
Don’t do something just because your parents said so or job opportunities are limited. DO what you are interested after knowing what the field is all about and then endeavour
I should have known about it first, thanks for replying after all.
Hello doctor, just wanted to ask for your opinion regarding the field of dietetics and nutrition. Thank you so much for your time and effort.
hello doc, me too also want to ask for your opinion about dietetics and nutrition. I have just got the offer letter form IMU for this course. But most of my seniors told me that taking this course will be jobless. Cause one hospital only need 1-2 dietitian. Plus, the fees are really exorbitantly expensive for a health science course. It’s really upsetting to hear this. Any suggestions or opinion?
Yes, you are right about hospitals only needing 1-2 dietiticians. However you can also work in food industries etc.
DR can you explain more about pathology in term of job scope and job opportunity in Malaysia.Do u think pathology can give a bright future and wht the requirement if i want to continue my study in pathology.is it true that if we want to be a pathologist we need to have a medical degree first?.TQ
Pathology is a subspeciality of medicine. You need to have a medical degree first before doing Masters in pathology. Your job opportunity is mainly in government sector only.
Dr, I have read your article a long time ago and am surprised to have stumbled on it here after so many years! I have decided to pursue dentistry and have placed pidc as my first choice. However, is their degree recognized in say, uk and Australia? I have talked to a staff from pidc but she could not give me an assuring answer. Thank you!
I am not very familiar with dentistry. You should ask a dentist.
Dr, I have read your article a few years ago and was surprised to have stumbled on it here after so many years! I have since decided to pursue dentistry and have placed pidc as my first choice. However, i would like to know if the degree from pidc is recognised in say, Uk and Australia. I have asked a staff from pidc about this, but she could not give me an assuring answer. Thank you!
Hello doctor. I am currently a third year dietetic student. I would like to know more about the future of nutrition and dietetics. It seems like they are not-so-important as healthcare professionals in Malaysia. What is your opinion? Thank you for your time.
Not necessary that you must work in healthcare sector. You have other options like factories etc.
Doctor, I am very suffering between biomedical and dietitian.i have interest in both of the courses. Which has the better prospect in Malaysia?
Nothing is guaranteed in the future
doctor, hi, i just finish my spm…in science stream… your acticle is just the thing i m finding . thanks for it! so…actually ..i m interested in the medical field…but after reading this article..i m kinda confused on what course to choose..cause my interest is more of medical science stuff…not really mechanical or electronic or accounting things…so…what type of fields might be good? really appreciate it if u reply..thanks
greetings. im an A-level student and planning to pursue biomedical science as my backup for medicine as it is hard to get offer from uk universities, and only if u lucky enough. does biomedical science has a brighter future than medicine? im more interested in doing research about the human body instead of curing them. but as far as i know, most of the biomedical science graduates further their studies in medicine. so do i hv to straight do medicine or i can just do biomed instead? cuz from what i read mostly the biomed graduates end up becoming salesmen instead of working in the lab as they should be. please give me your opinions and thanks in advance
The problem is, research is underdeveloped in Malaysia. You need a a lot of fund which the government never provides. If you are planning to go into research, Malaysia is NOT the place
Hi, I just finished spm and im interested in medicine. which private uni do you recommend? Masterskill offered me full scholarship for foundation but im still considering.
Choose the established medical schools. I would not recommend Masterskill as they are new and it is a twinning program
Hi, I jus finished foundation in science. I m struggling to decide what degree should I pursue. What course do u recommend ? Biotech or physiotherapy?
Do your research and find where your interest is. Never jump onto something just because it is science related
Hi Dr.pagalavan, im a houseman who jz completed 2 n half postings. I was unable to continue since hvng psychiatry conditions.I can’t handle patients. Housemanship is my stimulus of depression n panic attack. I can’t continue tis profession. Wht r the choices of job I can go.plz guide me.tq
You can read my write up on ” What if …… Part 1/2″
Hi Dr,
I’ve read many posts on your website and they are all very eye opening and useful.
However may I ask for your opinion? I just finished my foundation studies in Trinity College but I dont want to continue my studies in Uni Melb because they dont offer undergrad med.( I heard from a lot of people that graduate med is risky and more difficult so if I am certain that I’d like to be a doctor I should go for undergrad med instead).
The question is that now I am offered a place in NUMed, should I accept it? I am Indonesian(cant do internship in Malaysia), and from your posts you stated that NUMed is not recognised elsewhere besides Malaysia, even though the degree in from the UK?
Should I go for this or another option which is China Medical University in Taiwan?(7 years for MD and I can get double degree in both Western medicine and Chinese medicine). I heard in Taiwan I can get internships and license.
Which one is a better option? Please help me because I am really confused now.
Thank you.
IF you ask me, I would still go for Australian university.
NuMed is only recognised in UK and Malaysia. However, chances of getting a job in UK is almost NIL. Recognition is given based on where you underwent your training. So, even though NuMed is a UK degree, since the training is done in Malaysia, each countr’s medical council will look at it as a different degree.
As for Taiwan, unless you want to work there forever, than no point doing it. The double degree is not recognised elsewhere as well. No country recognises Chinese medicine degree as a medical degree.Why waste 7 years when the time taken will be the same if you do it at Melbourne Uni.
Hi Dr thank you for your prompt reply and advices.
In regards to your reply, may I ask a few more questions?
1. Using my foundation result from Australia, I got accepted in a few university in the US(ex.UCF), 4 years biomedical science and medical school after that.
2. Accepted in Canada’s langara college government school and I can transfer to canada’s uni in 2nd year(ex.UBC) for bachelor degree.
I know that getting an entry to US/Canada med schools is extremely difficult for international students, but I just cant think of any other choices. Your advice is to continue in Australia. However I personally dislike the environment there and did not feel happy during my studies there, in addition the school fees is too expensive for me.
What should I do now?sorry for the long question doc, it’s just that I’ve already made a wrong choice of going to foundation studies instead of a levels, and I dont want to make another wrong one. Thanks in advance.
Firstly, you need to ask yourself, where you want to work and settle down. Then decide where to do your medicine. Nothing is easy or confirmatory. You just have to try your best no matter where you go.
Hi doc, I’m about to enter med school soon, just finished my foundation studies at aimst uni, which uni do you recommend between MAHSA and AIMST? They’re about the same in terms of fees structure, mahsa is a little bit more expensive, but does it mean that you if you pay more you get more in return?
I think both are about the same.
Hi Dr,
I am currently a student of bachelor of physiotherapy at CUCMS. And now im going to the second year by this august. Just want to ask your opinion, does physiotherapy job aspect in malaysia is wide? And if i pursue to master, as a dr, which would you recommend me? As in, musculoskeletal, neurophysiotherapy, geriatrics and etc. I am afraid as most of them telling that physio are still looking for jobs after graduate. Please, kindly enlighten me on this cause i am still unsure of my future.
The problem is the fact that there are a lot diploma holders out there. Most hospitals only hire these diploma holders as they are cheaper and do the same type of job as a degree holder. Degree holders may have better options in teaching institutions.
Hello doc. Thanks for this great article that you had share with us. I’m going for medic soon and this surely put me into dilemma. Before this I really do not know what occupation should I take up too. I just studied hard and scored A’s in my exams. And as what other good result students do is taking up medic. (Thanks for pointing that out doc) So I did. I applied. But now, I’m really clueless on what should I take. I was given a biotech course through UPU which I turn down. I’m a bit sad as you say that it is a mushrooming field on the future. To bad its a local uni I guess. Any how, dentistry seems a good choice. Can you give any suggestion of local dentistry university that is well-recognised?
I am not very familiar with dentistry recognition. You probably need to talk to a dentist.
hi doctor, i have done housemanship. better to take pedicitrian specialist in indon or germany?heard in germany we will be paid 4k euro but medical is not good in europe since they take complete diagnosis
This is a rather weird question! No postgraduate degree from indonesia or Germany is recognised here. So why bother? Furthermore your basic degree must be recognised by these countries for you to even be able to work there!
My son is interested in dentistry & will b studying in a local private university. Is dentistry in the same dilemma as doctors where oversupply is an issue. He is interested.in sciences, what other science courses offer better future?
Dentistry post in government is almost full but in private we still need a lot of dentist at the moment. However i can’t say what the situation be like in 5 years time
Hey doctor, is there any difference between Mbbs degree recognised by private universities say like IMU and UTAR in terms of better job employment because I feel that those graduated from university which provides more expensive MBBS course will have the privilege to get the job easier when the competition for job is really stiff like in the sultanah aminah hospital in Johor .Can doctor enlighten me please? Thank you.
There is no such thing in medicine ! As long as your degree is recognised ,you are considered equal!
Thank you doctor.However,isn’t the degree which offered by a more established and prestigious university like IMU compared to UTAR has more quality and hence more easier to get jobs? Why would people pay more then?is it just because of the reputation that solely causing the course to be more pricey? Reply is very much appreciated,doctor pagalavan!
That only works for other courses, not medicine . Yes, you are just paying for the reputation and quality. In terms of job, only recognition matters . Jobs are given equally .
Doctor, i heard that Aimst university is also offering mbbs? Is studying medicine there a good choice?thank you!
It’s ok
Doctor paga , besides Monash , Numed or IMU, what are the next best medical schools available based on lectures’ teaching experience,reputation and affordability??Thanks!
PMC,CUCMS are OK as well.
Yes lambolim97.Biomedical engineering,biotechnology,Bioengineering has a great prospect in these coming years as New zealand has seen been investing heavily in the R&D sector since 2012,in fact these jobs are in demand right now in new zealand! However, the degree from the Newcastle university,United Kingdom you mentioned cannot be registered with IBMS (Institute of biomedical science) hence u cannot work in NHS hospital as they do not meet the requirement to register as a biomedical scientist with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).Bare in mind that biomedical scientist spend majority of their time in Hospital dojng analysis and research.When a UK Bsc degree is not recognised by the UK biomedical science board which is IBMS , you cannot register as a biomedical scientist in new zealand even though you obtained a postgraduate degree in any universities in nz as the undergraduate degree is not accredited by MLS and MSC(Medical sciences council) of new zealand.Do take note that majority of graduates(locally-trained or foreign-trained)spend at least 1 month getting job experience before pursuing their desired postgraduate degree.Please visit http://www.mscouncil.org.nz/for-practitioners/overseas-trained/medical-laboratory-scientist/holders-of-any-other-overseas-qualification/ for further information which will be of help.Best of luck!
[…] Fine. Fine. I get it… Too many housemen, 20% extension, not enough positions, too many medical schools. […]
Dr Pagalavan,
I’m interested in health related career. Honestly, I intended to pursue dentistry after my STPM but now I found out that it is getting really saturated. So I changed my plans to study physiotherapy. But after going through the comments, I found out that even if I get a degree, I could not guarantee a job. Do you suggest any other health related careers? I am just gathering suggestions.
No job is guaranteed !
Greetings.I heard that medical graduates without the shadow of a doubt will have to wait for about 6 months to 8 months for housemanship nowadays.If I choose to complete my housemanship in East malaysia :sarawak,sabah or even rural areas,(maybe after the SPA interview which can take another 3-4 months)can doctor possibly estimate what’s the waiting period for posting? (Let’s say I’ll be graduating in 5 years time)or will there be TOTALLY NO JOB by then bearing in mind that the government posts are about to be filled completely.Thank you
[…] A doctor too many | Pagalavan’s Avatar – A doctor too many . MARCH 26 — Malaysia, a country with about 26 million inhabitants, boasts of 24 medical schools now. Just a few years ago, the number was less … […]
Hi doctor…would like to which is a better university to enroll for dentistry – Manipal-Melaka, PIDC or Segi? Thanks
Dear Dr,
Im planing to study medicine..Just finished my Foundation..few of my friends studyng in Segi University.is it recognize by MMC!
Thanks in advance !
It was recognised last year
The days of doimg medicine for a good living are gone. Doctors must be givers, As Dr Pagal says , do not do medicine hoping to emigrate. Be careful of the expensive fees medical colleges with overseas twinning programes charge, claiming that their degree’s are recognised internationally. Although this may be true, medical migration is difficult, Houseman, postgraduate, and specialist appointments are often given to PR’s and citizens, before international medical graduates, or graduates from overseas campuses. If you must do medicine it may be better to spend about 300k at a local medical college . It is of no use to spend 600k–1000k ++doing a twinning programe leading to a internationally recgonised degree. Be careful of what the recruitment agents say
Good evening doc. What’s your opinion about dentistry? Is it likely stable? And also does the contract basis will affect this course too?
dentistry is much less complicated but the contract will definitely affect you if you intend to specialise.
The doctors’ oversupply situation is getting out of hand. It’s due to a mixture of greed by the mushrooming private medical schools with political connection, lack of farsightedness and poor planning by the government as well as parents pushing their children to do medicine thinking it’s still the good old days.
I remember some time ago a prominent political leader stating that the government wanted every student to be a graduate. The policy that followed thus resulting in the mushrooming of institutions of higher learning both government and private. The PTPTN was giving out loans like nobody’s business. Many of the loanees are now unable to pay back the loans mainly because they have no jobs or are employed in poorly paying jobs despite the degrees or diplomas that they possess.
Why are we pushing everybody to be graduates by lowering the requirement for entrance to these institutions. It doesn’t make any sense at all. I could see straight away listening to the politician that we’d be having all these problems. There are simply not enough jobs commensurate with their degrees to go around and the quality of some of these graduates also leave a lot to be desired due to a policy of quantity over quality. Even the government has frozen new staff intake.
Medical students face the greatest dilemma because theirs is a specialised training and a very expensive and long one too. If they can’t practise as doctors then they are as qualified as SPM leavers to do other jobs.
Welcome to bolehland
hi doctor.
i really enjoy reading your posts about medical world in Malaysia. in this upcoming July, i am going to enter IMU to study foudation in science. fyi, i am a JPA scholar. for now, i have a big intention to study medicine. in your opinion, is IMU a great uni to study medicine? i have no interest to work oversea since i really want to serve for this country.
your reply will be highly appreciated, thank you.
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IMU is OK and the most established private university in Malaysia.
agree IMU the best medical college. chance of studying at partner medical schools at fair value for money fees, also can do local IMU programe, seems to turn out the best well adjusted housemen at fair fees RM 300-390k, lots of gd local lecturers with gd research output
best not to waste time, effort and money doing offshore overseas medical school programes locally. the degrees are not highly regarded in the parent country, and jobs cannot be won if the candidate is not a PR, sometimes even PR’s or even citizens will need to pass licencing exams for foreign medical graduates in these countries
IMU partner medical school programe, is where the medical syudies are finished overseas,degree regarded same as a local overseas citizen who graduates, resisency and specialist training also done overseas based on meritocracy and even subspecialist experience can gained ,then you can have the option of returning to serve, or also serving overseas , by being an outstanding leader in your field
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Hi doctor. I just have finished my foundation. I have interest in medical field. First, i have planned to do my degree in medicine, but then only i had knew that there are a lot of graduated doctors who are jobless now. So i’m really confused now. Can i know which medical course will be in demand in future and will help to produce bright future? Thank you.
Is it true that mbbs course in cyberjaya university college of medical sciences has been derecognised by MMC?? Coz i’m currently studying there…
It was derecognised in 2011 but what I know is that they got back their recognition already.
Oh, thank god
Dear Dr,
I am currently in my 2nd year of MPharm degree. However, I am considering to study the MBBS degree back in Malaysia. Would it be unwise for me to do so? Thank you for your time.
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Frankly, it is definitely unwise! Please read some of my latest articles on the situation in malaysia
Thank You Doctor.
It just not happen in medical professions, it also happens in many other professions. Authority should not deprived students from taking medical courses. If they want to take it, let them take it. Please take note, there are no “exclusiveness” or “prestige” in almost all professions nowadays. Doctors should compete in giving best service. There are already many lawyers, engineers, architects, surveyors, accountants, etc. and they compete to become the best. It will benefit people. For existing doctors, please accept that there will be more competitions. Medical association can check with other professional professions. In conclusion, let the market demand decide.
yes, there is nothing special about medicine anymore. However, People still believe that it is a guaranteed job and willing to spend almost half a million to a million. That is the problem.
Hi Sir,i came to know about AMU medicine program which owned by CUCMS and I have a very shallow information about the university.So i would appreciate if Dr could share some knowledge about AMU and is it worth comparing with other medical schools in Malaysia specifically AIMST.Thank you.
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[…] perubatan dengan harapan akan lahir lebih ramai doktor yang kompeten. Tetapi malangnya, semakin ramai graduan perubatan yang dihasilkan tahun demi tahun tanpa jaminan pekerjaan tetap dan peluang untuk melanjutkan […]
You were right all along. I followed your blog when I was a med. student until now I’m in specialist gazettement, although along the way I disagreed with some of your views. What are your suggestions regarding the current contract MOs/glut surrounding our fraternity?
Wait for my latest article soon
Good day doctor,
I have been a frequent visitor of your blog and I really appreciate all your posts as they have been very informative and provided me with insight on deciding my career pathway. Just to clear some doubts, what do you think about the career prospects of a biomedical scientist in Malaysia, doctor? I have been doing a lot of research of lately, and there happens to be divided views on the prospect of biomedicine in Malaysia. While some say that it has a good future, others remark about our country’s research and development field. Since I have always wanted to go into academia and research, biomedicine seems like a good pick for me. What do you think, doctor? Is there any other alternative that I should consider, doctor?
Thank you and have a nice day doctor.
The problem with Biomedical science is that we are producing just too many. Malaysia is not a research based country and the government hardly spends any money on research. I would suggest to look at Singapore opportunities or elsewhere where research is dominant.
I see doctor. Actually doctor, I need your advice. I finished my SPM and am currently doing Foundation in Science in IMU. Initially, I wanted to do medicine but after much thought, I settled for biomedical science instead. As I have mentioned before doctor, my ultimate goal is to become an academician and researcher, so I thought biomedical science would be a good choice. Since I’m doing my Foundation in IMU, I plan to continue my Undergraduate studies there as well. What is advice on this, doctor?
try a twinning program if possible