KUCHING: Medical graduates from unrecognised universities overseas can now sit for the Medical Qualifying Examination (MQE) at all 16 medical schools in the country, including private universities.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said previously these graduates could only sit for the exam at three local universities - Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

"From now onwards they can sit for the exam in all medical schools in Malaysia. We have 16 medical schools offering 17 medical programmes.

“All students coming back from unrecognised universities overseas can sit for the exam in all these universities," he told reporters after holding a dialogue with several Sarawakian medical graduates who earned their degrees in China here on Tuesday.

The 16 universities are UM, UKM, USM, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Penang Medical College, International Medical University, AIMST University, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Royal College of Medicine Perak, Monash University Sunway Campus, UCSI University, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, and Management and Science University.

Liow said this move would make it easier for medical graduates to sit for the MQE, particularly Sarawakian students who would no longer need to travel to Kuala Lumpur for it.

"They prefer to take the exam here because the cost will be lower," he said, adding that this was one of the problems brought up by the graduates during the dialogue session.

Liow also announced that the medical graduates could now take the exam an unlimited number of times.

"In the past it was limited to three times. Now they can sit for it unlimited times to make sure they pass," he said.

Medical graduates from unrecognised universities need to pass the MQE in order to start their housemanship and be registered as medical doctors in Malaysia.

In addition, Liow said the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) was currently in the process of recognising medical programmes in China.

He said MMC would focus on accrediting the 11 top universities in China first as many Malaysian students were studying there.

He said although Malaysia and China had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on recognising the universities, medical courses needed to be accredited by MMC.

"MMC will visit the universities in China to accredit their medical degrees so that we can recognise them as soon as we can," Liow said, adding that MMC would try to complete the accreditation process in one year's time.

At present, MMC recognises 375 universities in over 30 countries, not including China.

i really LOL'ed
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...Na2X5E.facebook

I have no words......

might as well just recognise everybody and every uni...that will 'make sure they pass'......

but seriously....with so many (>300) recognised med schools.....and so many ipts med schools within msia itself....why would anyone need to attend an unrecognised one?...

and with the impending surplus of doctors within the next 3-4 years, why is it necessary to even have a qualification exam for these unrecognised doctors?....

my questions are supposed to be rhetorical.....

i really LOL'ed
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...Na2X5E.facebook

oh wgy im from a local IPTA. and thx ya for the replies to my question.

and btw clinical vs research elective ... how will it affect us? research probably has more value on a CV, but how useful is a good CV? will it matter in the future. sounds stupid but ive heard ppl saying locally good or bad CV everyone is equal

From youngyew in recom.com thread "choosing a good medical school" : -

"The notion of the "best" doctor is a vague one. Medicine is such a huge and varied field nowadays, there's no one who knows how to do everything under the sun. The regular general practitioners in the clinic probably do not know the appearance of a brain tumor under the microscope, but the top brain surgeons probably don't remember the dosage of antibiotics for a urinary tract infection.

As pointed out by a few people here, there are some basic characters, knowledge and skills that all doctors should have. All freshly graduated doctors should know how to approach and initiate basic management for patients presenting with a chest pain. All doctors should know how to put in an intravenous drip or take bloods. All doctors should know that when a patient suddenly has difficulty speaking and have a one-sided weakness, that person has a stroke. All doctors should know how to do CPR.

Unfortunately, we have heard so many cases of "doctors" failing these simple tests. This is commonly attributed to studying in institutions where teaching culture is not strong, and hospital exposure during medical student years are non-existent. It doesn't take universities and hospitals with world-leading researchers to let you hone your skills inserting intravenous drips, and to teach you how to approach patients with a chest pain. It takes medical schools with proper structured, supportive teaching and uncompromised assessment system to make a safe and competent junior doctor.

Big and famous universities probably do not produce much better doctors than medium and modest universities. Yes one can always be assured of a certain level of teaching quality when it comes to "famous" universities, as they are usually well-funded, closely scrutinized, and inherit a time-tested tradition of excellence. Because of the positive-feedback effect (a good university attracts good students, good students make a university even better, and so on), students in a famous university will be surrounded by peers with strong academic aptitude and learning drive. These are all merits of studying medicine in top universities.

However, smaller and less famous universities are not necessarily disadvantaged by the flip side of the same argument. If a university provides good teaching facility and resource, maintains a high level of integrity and does not compromise its admission and graduation standard for financial gains, it would still be able to produce very competent doctors on par with those from the bigger, more famous universities. In fact, many people find themselves enjoying the smaller, more personal teaching that is only available on the new, medium-sized medical schools.

One may ask, "What if you want to become a top brain surgeon? Don't you want to learn from the best top brain surgeons?" The answer to that is a more convincing "yes", but medical schools do not produce brain surgeons, they produce junior doctors. After one graduates from the medical school, the postgraduate career becomes less and less influenced by the medical school they went to as they progress in their career. When someone applies to enter a specialty training program, they will be judged more by the reference given by the previous senior doctors they worked with than which university they went to.

At the end of the day, when you are choosing a medical school, just go for an established medical school known for its reliability, quality and honesty. It doesn't really matter you go to UM, UKM, or USM (amongst others), as long as you are in a proper school, and you go through the process with the right attitude, you will become a competent doctor ready to embark on a wonderful career. Just don't go for universities with no teaching or no hospital exposures. "

That is just plain stupidity! Obviously, you cant find such smaller institutions in Malaysia and even overseas, it is more an exception than the rule.

No funding, no grant, what can one do?

quite a few well known, and well regarded and established med schools are 'small'.....

utas takes only 120 students...

even cambridge takes only 200....of which only 100 stays on for clinicals.....

size does not really indicate quality....

i am not sure what that writer was referring to, when he says 'small'.....but if it is the number of students they train, then i agree there are lots of good small med schools.....

Obviously these institutions are rare but as you mentioned, exceptions do occur. I think Youngyew just wanted to make these exceptions clear because many people seem to denounce the worth of small medical schools outright. Obviously one should be skeptical, but to say he's 'stupid' for pointing that out is a bit uncalled for.

quite a few well known, and well regarded and established med schools are 'small'.....

utas takes only 120 students...

even cambridge takes only 200....of which only 100 stays on for clinicals.....

size does not really indicate quality....

i am not sure what that writer was referring to, when he says 'small'.....but if it is the number of students they train, then i agree there are lots of good small med schools.....