Malaysian Health Ministry to review entry qualifications into medical schools

• The Health Ministry might increase the minimum entry qualifications into medical colleges; Currently the entry requirement is five Bs at SPM level in biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics or add maths and another subject
• 4,000 medical students graduate each year, that doesn't include the 2,000-3,000 medical students who come back from overseas

"Admittedly there will come a time when they will have to wait a while to find suitable training posts. They not get a vacancy straight away. They'll have to apply and wait for their turn. It's a worldwide phenomenon," says Deputy director-general of health Datuk Dr Jeyaindran Sinnadurai in response to MMA's fear of medical graduates going jobless.

To help improve the standard of healthcare in Malaysia, the Health Ministry will review the existing entry requirements into medical school. Moreover, they will look into the kind of training medical graduates have at hospitals.

Sinnadurai admits that many junior doctors are not as competent or passionate about their job because of insufficient training, especially those who were trained overseas because they did not have similar exposure to patients as local graduates did.

He also said the flexi-system which was introduced some time ago had some limitations in that it did not give the house officers (HOs) ownership and accountability for their patients.

To address this, a new system has been proposed that will result in 65-75 hours per week and implement a one (1) HO to four (4) patients ratio.

Moreover, they plan to open 2 more training hospitals soon and by next year, they are looking to train HOs at primary care clinics (Klinik Kesihatan) under the supervision of family physicians. This will help produce more specialists of sufficient seniority. He added that adding more hospitals or training hospitals is not the solution.

Related news:

• Too many trainee doctors; Too little clinical exposure