I am not sure what ” Medical Qualifying Board” is our Minister talking about. Is this something new? As far as I know, it all depends on the Head of Department(HOD) and finally the Pengarah of the Hospital. The sad part is that most HOD do not care and to avoid any paper work , they just pass the housemen and release them to another department, hoping the next department will take some action!! That is what that has been happening with so many of them being released with a “license to kill”. Let me tell you a story that just happened recently in JB.

A senior staff nurse was diagnosed to have Ca Cervix stage 2b, 5 years ago and underwent surgery and radiotherapy. Last 3 months she has been having shortness of breath on exertion. She was admitted to a district hospital almost on a monthly basis over the last 3 months. Each time she was seen by a junior MO who just completed her housemanship last year. Mind you, this hospital is just 30 minutes away from the general hospital. Each time she was diagnosed to have Pneumonia and discharged with antibiotics and MC. CXR showed patchy opacities!! Whenever the staff nurse comes back to see the “so-called” doctor, the MC is just continued with sarcastic remark as though the staff is malingering!!  No attempt was made to refer this patient to GH. 2 days ago, this staff nurse died after 3 days of admission to a general hospital. CT Thorax showed multiple mets with pericardial effusion!!!

To me, this doctor is not FIT to be called a doctor!! These are the type of doctors that we are seeing nowadays. Remember, this patient is a medical staff herself, imagine what will be the faith of the general public!

Be very worried………………………

Liow: Housemen not up to mark will be booted out

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KUALA LUMPUR: Housemen have two years to prove their capabilities as doctors or they will be booted out of the healthcare system, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.“The Medical Qualifying Board will assess the housemen and if they do not show adequate clinical abilities and skills during the two years, their service will be terminated as provided under the Medical Act 1971,” he said.

He said it meant that they could not practice medicine in the country.

Liow said this in response to a Malay news report on Tuesday that questioned the quality of housemen.

The Star had also highlighted complaints about local students who had trained in some foreign universities and were found to lack core knowledge and basic expertise in medicine.

Liow said there are medical graduates studying in 11 public schools and 18 private schools locally as well as students training in Britain, the United States, Australia, Indonesia, the Middle East, Russia and India.

He said that since their education curriculum and clinical experience are diverse, the Government lengthened the houseman training in 2008 from one year to two years for more clinical exposure and guidance.

“If they do not show adequate clinical abilities or capabilities in each department after four months, their training will be extended for another three months,” he said.

Liow said the Joint Technical Accreditation Committee for Medical Education continuously evaluated medical programmes by local and foreign universities.

Choose a good medical school, students told

PETALING JAYA: Students who want to take up medicine should assess their own capabilities and choose universities with good international ranking, said Malaysian Medical Association president Dr David Quek.

“They should choose a school with good international ranking and not because it is cheap and easy to enter and pass,” he said.

Dr Quek said this in response to news reports yesterday that quoted Higher Edu­cation Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin as saying that medical courses offered by recognised foreign universities would be checked to eliminate doubts about their standard.

He said it was difficult for the Government to monitor all schools overseas.

He said that while many Malaysian parents wanted their children to study medicine, it was not just for anyone as the job was stressful.

He said seven doctors had mental breakdown each month and the highest number in recent months was 20.

While parents might think their children who scored seven or eight As in Form 5 were intelligent, Dr Quek said Form 5 and matriculation results were not the best indicators.

“They should go through A-Level studies or sit for the STPM and obtain at least 2As in science subjects. This will indicate if they can grasp things fast and are mature enough in their thinking,” he said.

He also said that if top Form 5 Science students decided to do a foundation course, the course duration should be one to one-and-a-half years and that their acceptance should not be automatic but subject to satisfactory standards.