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This is an article that was published today in The Star (08/02/2011). It included my comment about the entry qualification to medical schools which is a growing concern for many people. It is becoming increasing common for medical schools nowadays to guarantee a seat for any SPM leaving students by doing their foundation studies. This foundation studies has no standardization and it is conducted and marked by their own college lecturers!! It is all about money as I will say again and again! Most students will obviously choose the easiest part to do medicine and thus the mushrooming of the so-called ” Foundation studies”. I still feel that only STPM, A Levels and certain other internationally recognised Pre-U courses should be recognised for medical school entry. The rest should be abolished. Then, we can see the actual number of students who really qualify to do medicine. The NOC(no objection certificate) is a total crap.

MMA: Raise the bar for future doctors

By JOSHUA FOONG
joshuafoong@thestar.com.my

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This is due to the low prerequisites allowed for preparatory medical colleges, known to accept SPM-level students with the minimum requirement of Bs in sciences.

From there, the students have a high chance of getting into universities in countries like Russia and Indonesia.

“There must be some quality or level of excellence before one can realistically aspire to be a doctor,” Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr David Quek told The Star.

“If one is not good enough there will be problems of quality later on when he or she becomes a doctor.

“It is not simply about getting a degree or a name. It has bearings on human life and patient safety,” he added.

“The association is unhappy that we are having so many routes to medical schools.

“We are creating an unrealistic atmosphere of easy entry for anyone who can afford to pay but whose scholastic ability may be way off the mark,” added Dr Quek.

Readers of The Star have also written in to express their concern on the many “shoplot medical schools.”

While medical universities require recognition by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) before their graduates can practise medicine, the council does not have the authority to regulate pre-university courses tied with medical degree programmes.

“We are now looking into the entry criteria for medical students, and if these are too low, then we have recommended remedial measures to limit these medical colleges from being recognised as acceptable standards,” said Dr Quek, who is a council member.

“We are also working with the Higher Education Ministry and its agencies to ensure that foundation courses be of acceptable standards and duration, and that only sufficiently qualified students are accepted,” he added.

Universiti Malaya physiology professor Dr Cheng Hwee Ming said a student also had to master the art of decision making besides having clinical skills.

Rheumatologist Dr Pagalavan Letchumanan, who has trained housemen and lectured for 13 years, said the key point should be clear standardisation for entrance requirements.

“If we regulate the intake of medical students, say through MMC-certified prerequisites, just like our medical degrees, we can be more assured of the quality of our future graduates,” he added.