When I first wrote something about GMC’s recognition of a branch campus of UK University over here exactly 1 year ago, I received few nasty comments saying that I do not know what I am talking about, just speculating, misleading the students and questioning the quality of medical education of this university. Let me clarify that first and foremost, to my knowledge, I never said anything about the quality of medical education of this university. I am very sure the standard will be better than most of the shop-lot medical schools in this country, since it is the same curriculum as in UK with same exams and quality control. However, what I wrote was about the degree international recognition and lack of academics, which is a problem faced by ALL medical schools in this country.

In my said article 1 year ago, I mentioned that just because it is offering the same degree as in UK, it does not mean that it will be internationally recognised. My experience being an academic in another branch campus tells me a lot of how a medical degree recognition works. Despite Monash Malaysia being recognised by Australian Medical Council, it is yet to be recognised by any other country including Singapore, despite already produced 3 batches of graduates.

A month ago I wrote this. In this article I mentioned that even if GMC gives recognition to NuMed Malaysia, the chances of getting an internship post in UK is almost NIL due to prevailing immigration laws and shortage of internship post as mentioned here. It has been clearly mentioned in GMC’s report over here ( see page 9 and B9). It is also mentioned in the university  website. I am not particularly worried about Malaysian students at the moment as the job opportunities are still present but what about international students?  Even for Malaysian students, when the glut hits us by 2016, where else are you going to work after spending almost RM500K to study medicine? The government sponsored students will obviously be given preference. Malaysia generally DO NOT provide housemanship for foreigners unless you are married to a Malaysian. So, as what is happening to the international students in Monash (only 4 students manage to get internship post in Australia for 2013, all Malaysians), the same situation will happen to NuMed international students.

Now, coming back to the topic above. GMC seem to be in a dilemma regarding this issue. Two weeks ago, it was reported that GMC may implement new rules regarding foreign campuses of UK universities ( see below). The GMC’s report is over HERE. It is very clear that GMC knows that they would not be able to monitor the standards of these branch campuses as how they monitor their own UK universities. At the same time, they can’t just derecognise the degree as it is the same degree. Thus, they are proposing to amend the medical act 1983 to include a separate type of recognition which do not involve the mother university in UK. It may be named as “GMC Overseas Programmes list” etc. However, since this will take a few years as it involves amending the Medical Act, GMC is proposing a PLAB-like exam for graduates from overseas UK branch campuses. GMC also admits in their report that “The work undertaken to date with Newcastle/Malaysia indicates the difficulties facing medical schools seeking to apply our standards overseas because of the organisationally and culturally specific nature of medical practice. The context makes a real difference.” 

Saying all this, the immigration law still applies to foreign students. I hope all students are aware of these issues mentioned above. I also hope those who commented on this topic 1 year ago read this latest development.

GMC forced to register medical

students trained overseas

By Abi Rimmer, 17 October 2012

A loophole in NHS legislation allows medical students trained overseas to practise under supervision in the UK, the GMC has warned.

GMC: concerns over registration of overseas-trained medical students

The GMC has asked the DH to amend the Medical Act 1983, so that students who study medicine at a UK institution abroad are not automatically entitled to UK provisional registration.

The regulator raised concerns after UK medical schools established overseas initiatives offering medical degrees to students abroad. Because the courses were offered by UK institutions, the GMC said it was required to regulate them and offer any students who graduated from them a provisional GMC registration.

A report in GMC board papers for its September council meeting said: ‘As things stand the GMC’s statutory framework would result in an entitlement – subject to fitness to practise not being impaired – to provisional GMC registration for students who have trained entirely abroad and may have had limited interaction with patients in English.

‘If such students are granted a UK primary medical qualification, they are eligible for UK provisional registration. In turn, that gives a platform for clinical exposure to UK patients, albeit under supervision.’

The GMC also warned that it had little control in regulating standards at overseas campuses, because ‘the only formal power we have is to withdraw recognition of a UK university completely’.

‘It seems disproportionate to do this if our concerns are limited to the overseas campus,’ the GMC warned. ‘Such an “all or nothing” power is a very blunt instrument.’

The GMC report said it would like to develop a new framework under which it could treat graduates from GMC-approved overseas programmes as holding an acceptable overseas qualification rather than a primary UK qualification.

This would require the DH to amend the Medical Act 1983. But these changes are unlikely to occur for at least three to five years, becuase the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence has told the DH they are not a priority. By this time students in Malaysia and Cyprus will have graduated, the GMC warned.

To provide ‘belt and braces’ assurance, the GMC said it may also include a requirement to pass an assessment equivalent to the professional and linguistic assessments board (PLAB) test – a test for International Medical Graduates to demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to practise medicine in the UK.

Existing UK/Overseas Initiatives

• The most advanced initiative is Newcastle/Malaysia, which offers degrees in medicine in Malaysia which ‘are identical to those of Newcastle’s UK-based provision, and lead to the award of the same degrees’.
• Newcastle/Malaysia, received its first students in September 2011. Those students spent their first two years in Newcastle and will graduate in 2014. Subsequent cohorts will undertake their entire study in Malaysia.
• St George’s, London, has established a similar initiative with the University of Nicosia, the largest private university in Cyprus, to offer the St George’s graduate-entry 4-year MBBS (Bachelor in Medicine and Bachelor in Surgery) programme in Cyprus, the GMC said. St George’s University of Nicosia admitted its first students in 2011, who will graduate in 2015.

Way back in January 2011, I wrote my first article on this issue. The news about unemployed pilots appeared in the Star then. Fast forward 18 months later, we are hearing the same news all over again. The Star reported this issue as a headline and even dedicated almost 3 pages of articles on this issue. Are any action being taken? Is the government bothered ? I don’t think so!

2 months ago, similar issue was highlighted in the Sun as I mentioned here. This statement from the DCA DG really caught my eye then “the authorities would not limit or reduce the number of AFTOs or the intake of student pilots as they are private entities which do not receive any subsidy or assistance from the government” !!  Brilliant answer!! So, you know what the answer going to be from the powers to be. However, the number of training schools has reduced from 8 to 5 currently. IT is simply too many for a small country like us. The cost of doing pilot course is almost similar to medicine and they too have to undergo various stages of training before flying a commercial airplane.

The nurses unemployment issue is also being highlighted by the mainstream newspaper over the last few weeks. Six years ago, the headlines of newspaper were saying that we are having severe shortage of nurses and nursing profession are not attractive anymore . The mushrooming of nursing colleges started and the colleges were using our society’s ignorance and our government’s poor human resource planning to make as much money as possible.

Now, with 8000 unemployed nurses, our usual foot in the mouth syndrome guy seem to be coming up with “brilliant” ideas to solve this problem. Firstly, MOH is going to come up with special incentives to private hospitals who are employing these nurses. Then he claim that 1681 of these nurses from private colleges will be interviewed by JPA for a government job. Finally, he is also coming up with Graduate Training Scheme for our nurses. This GTS has been going on for quite some time for other graduates. The government will pay a monthly allowance of RM 1000 to each of this trainee while they do their attachment in various clinics and hospitals. After the 6 month attachment, the clinic or hospital can decide whether they want to employ these nurses. Well, in one way it is good for the nurses but we are probably the only country in the world who need to retrain graduates by using tax payers money to make them employable! This is after the nurses spending RM 60K to become one, mostly using PTPTN loan. The colleges are becoming richer but the tax payers are becoming poorer.

I am very sure that soon they may force the GP clinics to employ these nurses. It is the only way out of this unemployment. Remember that we still have close to 100 nursing colleges producing graduates despite the moratorium 2 years ago. This means that we will still be producing almost 9 000 nurses every year!! So, where the government is going to place them? It will just multiply every year.

I gave a talk to some SPM students last Saturday. It was an informative session for them. I was telling them that similar situation will happen to doctors in another 4-5 years time. It is unavoidable. I advised them to do medicine only if they have true passion and willing to put up with all the frustrations and challenges that will come along the way.

As what is happening to nurses and teachers, the government sponsored and public university graduates will be given priority in getting a job. The rest would just have to wait. Racial issues will come into the picture but would the government be bothered? Social engineering is part of the government’s agenda since those days. No one can deny this!

Sunday October 28, 2012

Pilots come down to earth

By REVATHI MURUGAPPAN
revathi@thestar.com.my

Down but not out: Low, who obtained his commercial pilot licence in 2010, has yet to find a job in the industry.

Young, jobless pilots are scrambling to make ends meet with the current glut in pilots.

SINCE he was six, S. Nathan has harboured the dream of becoming a pilot. It was an arduous journey to materialise his ambition but he made it. His parents were not affluent so he scrimped, saved, worked, invested in shares and sought ways to increase his education fund. Finally, he sold his car, took a loan and with additional funding from his family, enrolled in a flying school in Malacca in 2007.

After investing nearly RM250,000 in his studies, Nathan graduated top of his class in 2009 and earned himself a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL). No one could have been prouder than his labourer parents. But three years on, he’s still struggling to find employment.

“I’ve tried applying to all the local airlines but to no avail. Some of my coursemates are also in the same boat and are selling burgers and insurance to survive,” says Nathan, 30, who helps his parents run a sundry store and repairs computers to make ends meet.

Unlike other friends who have found jobs with several Indonesian airlines, Nathan prefers to seek jobs locally as he is the only son.

He says, “Both my parents are in their seventies and as a filial son, I have the responsibility of taking care of them. People might say I’m stubborn but I’d like to think I have perseverance. All I want to do is become a pilot. It’s not going to help if I have a gloom and doom attitude, so I’ll keep trying.”

On a suggestion by Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman to unemployed pilots to consider getting helicopter licences, Nathan lets out a cynical laugh.

“We’ve just spent a quarter of a million ringgit and have yet to pay up our loans. Where are we going to get the extra money (to obtain a helicopter licence) from?” asks Nathan.

Chopper pilots: The only DCA-approved flight training organisation that offers helicopter pilot licences in Malaysia is the Asia Pacific Flight Training school.

Fellow pilot Low Kong Chian is also in the same predicament. He graduated in 2010 but has yet to find a flying job. He is currently dabbling in an embroidery business while continuing to apply for jobs as a pilot.

He confesses, “I don’t enjoy what I’m doing but I do not have many alternatives. I can’t afford to pay for the licence conversion (around RM100,000) to become a pilot with any Indonesia airlines. And it’s not viable for me to get a helicopter licence either.”

Low lives with his parents in Klang and works from home to cut costs.

Despite holding a CPL and a Private Pilot Licence (PPL), A.William, 26, works at a call centre in an insurance agency while waiting for his dream job.

He obtained part of his licence overseas and part of it locally.

“For freshies, it’s harder to get jobs in foreign airlines because we don’t have enough experience. I could get an instructor licence but that would mean clocking in additional hours and forking out more money. My father withdrew all his EPF savings to pay for my education so I have to do something to survive. I can’t depend on him forever.

“This is just a temporary job and I hope my situation will improve soon,” he says.

Nathan, Low and William are among 1,174 young pilots in the country with CPLs and Frozen Airline Transport Pilot Licences (Frozen ATPLs) but are jobless. However, they continue to go for medical tests and sit for exams yearly to keep their licences active in the hope that their dream job will land on their laps quickly.

With a PPL, you can fly throughout Malaysia and carry passengers but you are not allowed to charge for your services. With a CPL, you can work as a pilot. And with an ATPL you can fly as a captain on large aircraft.

A Frozen ATPL is a requirement for a pilot to work in an airline as a co-pilot. To obtain a full ATPL (i.e. “unfreeze”), pilots need to have 1,500 hours total flight time in an aeroplane, or 1,000 hours in a helicopter.

Nathan urges the authorities to relax this ruling for unemployed pilots.

“If we don’t complete the hours within a stipulated time, we will have to retake the whole Frozen ATPL examination again. I’ve been unemployed for three years and I doubt I can unfreeze it in two years. This means I, and hundreds of others, are headed for extra costs and effort,” he laments.

In response to this, Azharuddin says, “If they don’t make it in five years, they can appeal and we will treat it on a case to case basis although there have been no such cases. To become a captain is not something you can do by just collecting hours. There are many other factors like showing good commanding skills, etc.”

On the hiring of foreign captains on local airlines, he says it is sometimes a necessity until the qualified Malaysian first officers are promoted.

“When these airlines buy new aircraft, they want ready-made captains and if they don’t have them from their stables, they have to get foreigners. For example, one aircraft may need four sets of crew so it would need four captains,” says Azharuddin.

The downturn of the global airline industry in the past few years, cancellation of aircraft orders and escalating fuel prices have contributed to the rise in unemployed pilots. The four DCA-Approved Flying Training Organisations (AFTO) have been asked to temporarily limit their enrolment numbers to reduce the unemployment statistics.

Azharuddin clarified that becoming a helicopter pilot is one of the options for the unemployed to consider, if they have the finances.

“There are a number of off-shore operations here and I’m sure they require helicopter pilots. These unemployed pilots can also venture into jobs in airport management, airport safety, airport operations, etc. Having a CPL will help them in these jobs,” he says.

Presently, the only AFTO that offers helicopter pilot licences in Malaysia is the Asia Pacific Flight Training school (APFT).

The school churns out around 80 CPLs every year although its executive chairman Datuk Faruk Othman admits that the intake has dropped because organisations such as MARA, Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia are not financing students anymore.

“If students have a CPL, it will take them another eight months and roughly RM200,000 to RM250,000 to get a helicopter licence. If they’re starting from scratch, it will take around 20 months maximum and RM500,000 to complete the course.

“A career as a helicopter pilot is actually more lucrative than an airline pilot because their training is much harder. We also have students who switch course midway because they see a better future being a helicopter pilot,” says Faruk.

APFT, which began operations in 2006, started offering helicopter licences this year and thus far, the response has been good. Their instructors comprise both locals and foreigners.

“We have students from the Fire Department and I’m happy to note that local institutions have the confidence to send their students to local schools. However, the police still send their students to get their licences overseas because they think the training is better there,” observes Faruk.

Besides working in off-shore operations, helicopter pilots can opt for careers with the police, armed forces, fire department, aerial surveillance and search and rescue operations like what Britain’s Prince William does.

Faruk is proud to note that APFT has a 100% accident-free track record.

“Of course, there are incidences of skidding and minor things but so far there have been no fatalities.”

APFT has also employed some of the unemployed pilots to become management trainees at the school.

Faruk says, “These are our students who have obtained their CPLs. We teach them operational duties such as flight scheduling, marketing, etc. They are here for two years and are paid a monthly salary of RM2,000 but they can leave at any time.”

The best cadets are also offered employment as flight instructors and have to undergo six months of training. Since these cadets are APFT’s investment, they are bonded for four years upon completion of their training.

“Any pilot can apply for this programme but preference is given to our students,” he says.

 Cheer for nursing grads

 KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry will interview 1,681 private nursing diploma holders from Nov 10-12 at 85 centres nationwide for recruitment in mid-December this year, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

I am sure almost everyone would have read the speech below by Dr Richard Teo, a successful aesthetic practitioner from Singapore who passed away on 18/10/2012 after battling with lung cancer for almost 18 months, at the age of 40. Over the last 18 months, he learned the true meaning of life and went around giving talks to everyone including university students, church etc. Everyone should read this speech and thus I thought I would publish it in my blog for the younger generation as well as for my generations. Many of the issues that he mentioned has been mentioned by me many times before.

Remember what I wrote when Dr Koh’s (a successful cosmetic physician) son fell to his death few months ago, here and here . I remember telling people that money can’t buy everything and DON”T let money buy over you! Over the last few months, I got a lot of questions about aesthetic medicine. Everyone seem to be jumping into this bandwagon simply because of MONEY!! It is survival. Many doctors out there are struggling to earn a luxury life and thus finding ways to earn more money. This is what happened to Dr Richard Teo as well. Many asked for my opinion.

My answer : are you going to become a glorified beautician or a TRUE doctor? Aesthetic is not medicine, as far as I am concerned. Medicine is about treating diseases, preventing diseases and giving comfort and care to patients. It is NOT about beautifying people and making them “look” young BUT still rotting beneath! You cannot cheat ageing or death! Hippocrates and Sir William Osler will be crying in their graves! If your true intention in doing medicine is to “save lives and help people”, than you would not even think about aesthetic medicine. That’s the truth.

Please read the highlighted sentences in this speech below. Remember that once I wrote : “ethical doctors do not earn much but an unethical doctor will be laughing to the banks”. Please read here .That’s exactly what Dr Richard Teo mentioned:

“Patients were just a source of income, and I tried to squeeze every single cent out of these patients. 
A lot of times we forget, whom we are supposed to be serving. We become so lost that we serve nobody else but just ourselves. That was what happened to me. Whether it is in the medical, the dental fraternity, I can tell you, right now in the private practice, sometimes we just advise patients on treatment that is not indicated. Grey areas. And even though it is not necessary, we kind of advocate it. Even at this point, I know who are my friends and who genuinely cared for me and who are the ones who try to make money out of me by selling me “hope”. We kind of lose our moral compass along the way. Because we just want to make money. “

I hope everyone will look back and ask yourself again ” why you wanted to become a doctor” . Never do medicine for money, glamour, good life and future. Do medicine for the right reasons…………………….

Below is the transcript of the talk of Dr. Richard Teo, who is a 40-year-old millionaire and cosmetic surgeon with a stage-4 lung cancer but selflessly came to share with the D1 class his life experience on 19-Jan-2012. He has just passed away few days ago on 18 October 2012.

In Feb 2012, I wrote this. It was about foreign universities setting up branch campuses in Malaysia. Malaysia has this ambition of becoming the education hub of Asia! BUT how many universities do we need? Probably, with the deteriorating education quality, we may have 100% graduates in near future, almost all unemployable!

Few days ago I saw this report in the newspaper (see below). According to our Higher Education Ministry, we have 506 IPTS comprising 34 IPTS with university status, 21 with university college status, six branch campuses of foreign universities and 413 institutions with college status that are still active. We also have at least 20 Public Universities/IPTA. OMG! I wonder where do all these universities get their academics or human resource from. No wonder we are seeing so many graduates unemployed or unemployable! I feel it is just too many for a small country like ours.

UK with hundreds of years of world-class education has about 115 universities and 165 higher education institutes for a population of  63 million. Almost 10-20% of their students are international students. Our population is just 29 million. UiTM which is the biggest university and the only race based university in the world is producing at least 100 000 graduates/year with a target of 200 000/year by 2015. We will definitely be flooded with graduates. There are just too many redundant courses being conducted by these universities. Imagine we have 9 universities producing aeronautical engineers !! Are we a rocket producing country? We should probably concentrate on technical fields like automotive engineering, technicians, electrical and IT engineers etc as mentioned here. Even in Europe, the job market now is in knowledge and skill intensive occupations.

The Bar council seem to be having the same problem like doctors (read here)! Today, the Bar Council openly said that the current quality of law graduates are deplorable. They can’t speak English and can’t communicate. Furthermore, they are calculative and do not want to work? Sounds familiar? This is what I have been writing about fresh medical graduates as well. I feel our education system is to be blamed for this, coupled with the attitudes of parents who over pamper and overprotective of their children. Children should do what they are really interested in and not what the parents want them to become. I did not realise that there are only 14 500 lawyers in this country, half the number of doctors!

Our education system on the other hand should expose our children to the world and not keep them in a cocoon. They should also encourage school children to read and enjoy learning rather than rot learning. I can always see a BIG difference when I speak to a national school student and to an International School/Singapore school student. The gap is quite big, I must say.

When you politicised education, this is what happens. Education should never be privatised or commercialised. We may reach a point where we may not be able to turn back. I don’t see anything fantastic in the National Education Blueprint that was launched last month. There is also a BIG problem with the teachers in our national schools.  Many are there just to get a paid job. I know many unemployed graduates who were absorbed to become teachers. Knowing their attitude, I can only feel sorry for the students. This blueprint DO NOT address this problem. In fact, the solution was that, under-performing teachers will be sent to non-teaching related jobs in the school!! So, basically he earns the same but get to do less work! Same story all over again. The lazy ones get transferred to a less busy department and the good ones work hard for the same pay! Typical of our civil service……………..

The day when the government take drastic measures to sack under-performing civil servants is the day the service will improve, including the education system which was once a world-class education. Unfortunately, our politicians are more interested in taking care of their seats!

20 applications to set up IPTS

rejected last year

Looking at the news everyday feels like, probably I will have to continue this title till Part 100 ! Just when I thought I had enough, here comes another news report from a Sarawak MP who came up with a brilliant idea ! No country will come up with these kind of ideas except in Bolehland. Why don’t MMC just close shop and create a free for all market! Then, definitely we will be seeing MBBS holders working as taxi drivers and cashiers.

It is a well known fact that there are many students from Sabah and Sarawak who goes to universities in China which is NOT recognised in Malaysia. This was one of the reason why our great Health Minister came up with MQE exams in 16 medical schools and ordered MMC to recognise atleast 10 medical schools in China (in progress). It is always politics in Malaysia. Politics should NEVER get involved in education system of any country. It will only create a mass. Education should always be left to the academics. I wonder how he came up with a figure of Rm 25 – 30 000 to sit for the MQE exams! And, what does he mean by excellence result? Everyone knows how some foreign universities give away their degrees. Money talks!

BTW, the country is not dependant on foreign doctors anymore. The remaining foreign doctors will be slowly phased out and many of the young doctors will be sent to Sabah and Sarawak as the posts in Peninsular Malaysia will be full by early next year.

An interesting letter was also written in The SUN commenting on their report on “No Oversupply of Doctors”, as attached below. The letter basically says almost exatly what I wrote here in my blog.

Sometimes I wonder whether our politicians know what they are talking about. Every now and then I see ridiculous and populists statements coming out of their mouth. We have enough “foot in the mouth” syndrome fellows in our cabinet.

The following 2 reports appeared in 2 different newspapers today. Even the reporters are totally confused. One report says “professionals” and the other says “doctors”.  The speech was delivered during one of the private medical college function. So, probably one of the reporters would have thought that he is only talking about doctors when the minister mentioned “professionals”. I wonder!

Now, let’s dissect this report and the figures quoted. Firstly, he says that there are 47 medical schools in this country!! OMG. I got NO idea where he got this figure from and if it is true, we must be the laughing-stock of the world for having the most number of medical schools in the world for such a small country, almost all unrecognized elsewhere. But then, coming to think of it, I realize that probably he is right! Even though we only have 34 functioning medical schools, with 2 more on the way, some of these medical schools got more than 1 medical programs running concurrently. AUCMS is proudly proclaiming that they are the first university in the world that has 5 medical programs (2 local and 3 twinning programs)!! Can anyone beat that!! UNiKL got 2 programs, MSU got 2 programs  etc. So, if we include all these medical programs, we may achieve 47 medical schools equivalent!! For once, a politician is talking sense!

Let’s talk about the number of doctors. He says that we need 16 000 doctors in public sector by 2020.  Does he know what he is talking about? Based on the latest statistics provided by MOH, as mentioned here, the number of doctors in public sector has already reached almost 26 000 last year. So, what 16 000? For benefit of doubt, let’s say he is talking about 16 000 more doctors needed in public sector by 2020. The number of NEW doctors registered last year was almost 4000, which means we can get the 16 000 doctors within the next 4 years, with only 50% of the medical schools in production mode!! Obviously, the production is only going to increase exponentially, has he considered that?

He also says that we are only producing 2000 doctors annually!! Does he really know what is happening? The number of NEW doctors registered last year was almost 3800 and expected to reach slightly more than 4000 this year. Has he forgotten that we have another 2000 doctors graduating from overseas either sponsored or self sponsored? He claims that the government is trying to achieve the ratio of 1: 597 by 2020 but has he forgotten that the ratio has already reached 1: 791 as of 2011?

I presume the college probably wrote the speech and our minister just read it out. That’s what usually happens and the colleges usually got their own agenda in preparing speech. If he is really talking about our great ETP human resource planning then I think our ETP guys really got NO idea of what is happening on the ground. Talking about nurses, just today our Human Resource Minister announced that 8000 nurses are jobless (see below)!! Welcome to Bolehland’s Human resource planning and what a contradictory statements. The best joke is when the Minister has to give appreciation letter for 60 nurses who manage to get a job!! At least the nurses can work in private hospitals directly unlike medical graduates who have to undergo housemanship training, only in government hospitals (although when the situation gets desperate, the government may force the private hospitals).

With other countries closing their doors to medical graduates, the situation will only get worst. It is confirmed that only 2 Monash Malaysia graduates got internship post for 2013 out of almost 60-70 students who applied. I have written about the Australian Internship Crisis here. The international students will be left in the limbo! Many international students intention was to go to Australia for internship since Malaysia do not provide housemanship for foreigners and the degree is NOT recognized anywhere else. Probably in the following years, none will get a post. The same rule will apply for Newcastle Malaysia as well. Even if GMC gives it’s accreditation to NuMed Malaysia, it is not recognized anywhere else and the chances for the graduates to get an internship post in UK is almost NIL as mentioned in their own website and here (see page 9 and B9). The situation in UK is not much difference from in Australia.

Even my nurse aid (STPM leaver and doing part-time degree in UTM) is smart enough to tell me that we are going to have surplus of doctors. This is exactly what she said:

“Doctor, saya nampak banyak sangat buat medic sekarang. I tengok hari itu, banyak orang Malaysia dekat Newcastle. Bolehke dia orang dapat kerja nanti? Sekarang banyak graduate jururawat yang takade kerja. 2 orang customer care staff kita ada diploma nursing tapi takade kerja. So buat kerja customer care. Dekat kampung saya, semua orang yang saya kenal and saudara saya, ada family member yang buat medic. Senang sangat ke masuk medic sekarang ini?”

Well, that sum up what mess we are going to get into soon. Politicians will always tell you sweat things. No one bothers about quality, only quantity! Almost 5-6 years ago, they said the same thing about nurses and we can see what is happening now. I know many families who felt cheated by the nursing colleges. They were promised guaranteed job. I know some parents who are suing some nursing colleges for the false information that was given to them but I can tell you that they will never win the case. This is because no college or university guarantees you a job. The university/college is RM 60 000 richer but you are RM 60 000 poorer and in debt (PTPTN loan)!

Welcome to Bolehland’s human resource planning…………….

I have said it, our Ex-DG have said it, our Ex-Health Minister have said it, MMC council members have said it, MMA have said it, any right thinking Malaysian doctors have said it BUT our politicians says that our ETP is the best……………. WTH.

Nor Mohamed: Govt confident there will be no oversupply of professionals by 2020

By DERRICK VINESH

KEPALA BATAS: The Government is confident that there would not be an oversupply of professionals when Malaysia attains a developed nation status by 2020.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said careful planning had been made to strike a balance between the demand and supply of professionals.

“There would be an oversupply if we do not plan well.

“But, we at the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) and the Human Resources Ministry always plan ahead,” he said after opening Allianze University College of Medical Sciences (AUCMS)-Maybank Education Fund for Medicine at Kompleks Budi Penyayang here Sunday.

Nor Mohamed said the Government had identified the demand for professionals in the various sectors through its transformation programmes such as the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) that was initiated in 2009 to catapult the country to a high-income nation by 2020.

“We know with a very good estimate the type of jobs that will be created, the amount of jobs created and the skills that will be required.

“So, all that we have to do is to make sure that the professionals and the skilled workers created match roughly with the demand,” he said.

Sensing the need for vocationally trained workers by 2020, Nor Mohamed said the government had initiated necessary measures, including by bringing vocational education to the mainstream of the education syllabus.

Previously, he said, vocational training was often treated like a stepchild, but not anymore now.

“For example, a welder who completes step one to step six of his training could earn about RM2,000 a month.But, his salary could go up to RM9,000, if he completed step seven.

“This is what we are trying to do, by upgrading our skilled workers’ qualifications,” he said.

He noted that almost 60 percent of the students who entered the job market in Germany were vocationally trained.

Earlier, in his speech, Nor Mohamed said the country would need 16,000 doctors in the public sector by 2020, taking into account a 1:600 doctor-population ratio.

At present, he said, there were 29 medical faculties in public higher learning institutions and 18 such faculties in private higher learning institutions that produced a total of 2,000 doctors a year.

Nor Mohamed congratulated AUCMS for emerging as the first private university to come up with a RM125mil Education Fund for Medicine that would be offered to those pursuing medical degrees in the university.

No oversupply of doctors

Last updated on 8 October 2012 – 08:46am

Aaron Ngui
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

KEPALA BATAS (Oct 7, 2012): The government has given an assurance that the country would not face a situation where there would be an oversupply of doctors in future.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said proper manpower planning by the government would ensure that such a scenario would not happen.

He said the government is in control of the situation as it could obtain an estimate of the manpower needs via the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and the various Entry Point Projects (EPP).

He said the information derived from the ETP and EPP would enable the government to gauge how many skilled workers were required and thus train enough people to meet demand.

“The trick is to make sure that supply equals demand,” he said at a press conference today after launching the Allianze University College of Medical Sciences (AUCMS)-Maybank Medical Education Fund.

Under the RM125 million fund, some 5,000 medical science students are eligible to receive up to RM300,000 each to pursue their studies.

Also present at the launching were AUCMS president Prof Datuk Dr Zainuddin Wazir and Maybank president and CEO Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar.

The country currently has 47 public and private medical schools producing about 2,000 medical graduates annually. The government aims to have a ratio of one doctor for every 597 and one nurse for every 200 persons by 2015.

In October last year, the then Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president, Dr Mary Suma Cardosa had reportedly said the number of doctors in Malaysia was increasing too fast.

If the situation was not checked, she had warned, doctors may find themselves needing to be retrained as nurses in order to find jobs, citing the Philippines as an example.

The spectre of too many doctors in Malaysia was raised in 2010 by MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek who reportedly said that there would be an oversupply of doctors in five to six years time.

Chua, a former health minister, had said students who wish to pursue medicine should be aware of this trend since the subject is a top choice for those seeking places in public universities.

About 8,000 graduates from nursing colleges are jobless

KUALA LUMPUR: About 8,000 graduates from nursing institutions, especially those from private colleges, are jobless and the Human Resource Ministry is searching for solutions.

Its minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said that a study by the Health Ministry showed that 8,000 graduates who pursued nursing courses were jobless, especially those from private nursing institutions

“The Human Resource Ministry and the Health ministry will hold discussions to find a way to resolve the problem,” he told reporters after handing out appreciation letters to 60 private college nursing graduates who secured jobs through the My Career Fair 2012 organised by the Special Implementation Task Force at Wisma Perkeso here on Monday.

Subramaniam urged the nurses to accept employment opportunities outside private hospitals.

“Among places that require their service are old folk’s homes, child care centres and centres for people with special needs,” he said.

Subramaniam said the My Career Fair 2012, which held open interviews for graduates in the medical sectors, featured employers like Sime Darby Medical Centre, Pantai Cheras Hospital, Hospital Pantai Ampang, Hospital Damai and Assunta Hospital. – Bernama

Well, Budget 2013 was announced last Friday and as I had mentioned last week, it is truly an election budget with a lot of goodies thrown all over the place. As I mentioned over here, more 1Malaysia clinics are going to be opened with extended care of screening services like cholesterol and blood sugar checks. It is good for the people but for the GPs, it is another nightmare! Who can beat the RM1 check and free service for senior citizens?

Now, coming back to the title above, it is not always a good news when your names appear in the newspaper. Few days ago, I received a comment in this blog accusing me of being unprofessional for exposing the unseen side of medical field. This guy who do not even know what a Rheumatologist do (other than giving painkillers!) seem to say that we should just keep quiet and just let the “unethical” fellows out there to continue cheating the public. I had written a reply to him for which he did not reply. From his comment, I can say that he is a young fellow who do not know much of what is going on. FYI, most of the cases that I brought up over here has been reported to the authorities but whether any action has been taken or not, I am not sure.

Today, MMC has announced few doctor’s name in the news. These doctors are being suspended or reprimanded. One of the person involved in a well-known figure who appears in almost all Malay newspapers, promoting his products which supposedly can reduce weight, treat diabetes etc. In fact, that was his main business and someone told me that he is now a millionaire ! Remember what I wrote over here? If MMC truly wants to take action against doctors doing this sort of promotions, I think many clinics will be closed down. Unfortunately, MMC only acts when someone complains to them as they do not have enough manpower for enforcement purposes. I was informed that under the amended Medical Act 2012, MMC will be given more authority and power for enforcement. Whether they will have their own enforcement team or not, remains to be seen.

Any action taken by MMC is done after multiple discussions and deliberation. It has to undergo various stages before the final decision is made. Some may take up to 1-2 years to be decided, as the cases above. You will be given opportunities to defend yourself by appointing a legal expert (your indemnity insurance lawyers). It is equivalent to a court enquiry. Once MMC makes the decision, it will be announced to the public in their bulletin as well as the newspaper. In Singapore, even your photo will be published in the news!! The more developed a country becomes, the more work the medical council has to do as the public will complain more. MMC has already announced that the number of complains they are receiving is increasing day by day. Same goes to the litigation rates. Most general hospitals in this country seem to be receiving legal letters on a monthly basis so much so, some hospitals had made it mandatory for specialist to see all new admission cases and review all cases over the weekend. Now, the MOs have become HOs and the specialists has become the MOs.

As I have written over here and here, the situation will only get tougher for doctors to survive. There is a saying now that you will be sued for at least once in your lifetime as a doctor. No matter what good deeds that you have done in your career, a small mistake can destroy your entire reputation and practice. For the doctors whose names are mentioned above ( not the first name!!), their misery will not end here. What are the other implications? I would leave the readers to ponder upon.

There are even cases where patients are suing doctors almost 5 years later!! I know an O&G friend of mine who is currently in private practise, being sued by a patient who he saw only once when he was “0n-call” in a government hospital then. The child turn out to have Cerebral Palsy due to some delivery complications. After 5 years, he and the government hospital is being sued for almost RM2.5 million!! One case like this is enough to cause you nightmares for months.That’s the reason why the government may soon make it mandatory all government doctors to take indemnity insurance to reduce the burden of the government. I heard indemnity insurance will be made compulsory to renew your APC, under the new Medical Act 2012.

These are the reasons why in developed countries, many of their citizens do not want to do medicine. Many doctors close shop as their income is not even enough to support the indemnity insurance. It is only in developing countries that people are still obsessed in becoming a doctor by hook or crook hoping to have good life, good money and good future. Well, things are changing and I hope everyone who are interested to do medicine will do it for pure passion, willing to work hard and sacrifice family life. This is the purpose of this blog; to educate the public, future students and doctors regarding the “unseen” life and challenges of a doctor. If you think you can’t handle it, then by all means, leave……………. so that you do not regret later……..

Despite writing so much in this blog since January 2010, I still have queries from medical students that sometimes make me wonder whether did they really know anything about medicine before they stepped their foot into medical school!! There are still people who think they can go to UK to do Cardiothoracic training after HO with unrecognised degree, become a surgeon instantly etc. However, it is my duty to explain to them. That is the purpose of this blog!

I have a feeling that the current generation do not read much!