Funnily, when they are overwhelmed by work, they tend to shout at those in their way, especially those who don’t speak Russian. Initially, I was shocked that they behaved in that manner. Now, I simply shrug it off and think to myself: “They can’t help it, it’s their culture.”

The two main concerns I had before coming to Moscow were racism and safety. To my surprise, Malaysian girls feel safer on the streets here than they do back home! According to them, they don’t need to worry about snatch thieves or strange guys eyeing them promiscuously. Malaysian girls walk about Moscow freely because they feel a sense of security and confidence.

There was only one instance when Russian winos approached me and started talking incessantly.

Policemen can be seen everywhere. They constantly patrol the streets and randomly inspect people’s documents. So, if you’re travelling in Russia, be sure to carry your passport with you at all times.

Recently, a parent contacted me. He was hoping to send his daughter to Moscow to study medicine and was under the impression that RSMU is the third-best university in the world. This is the sort of “misinformation” which agents are feeding parents back in Malaysia. The truth is, you only get what you pay for in Russia.
Malaysian students taking the Moscow Metro to their respective teaching hospitals.

Don’t expect the same quality of education as in the United Kingdom or Australia, at one tenth the price. The standard of education here is hardly world-class, although it isn’t bad either.

The main problem is that lecturers aren’t very well trained in English, so it’s hard for them to elaborate certain points if a student finds these unclear. But they are undeniably very knowledgeable and can express themselves very well in Russian.

I find the education system here very “old-school”: exams are mostly oral, subjective and lack standardisation. Depending on your examiner’s mood, you could fail or pass an exam. And did I mention that most Russians are quite emotional?

Every year, slightly more than 100 new students enter my university. Every one of them is housed in RSMU’s hostel, where I’m currently staying.

The catch is that there are more students entering the university than graduating from it. Therefore, there are more students than rooms to place them in.

Instead of finding a new building to house these students, the administrators seem to have decided that the easiest solution would be to fit three people in a room for two. Who’s to blame?

Can we blame the administration for not being able to find a new building for the increasing number of students? Or is it the agents back in Malaysia, who are sending more and more students over, without caring about the facilities available?

Fortunately, not everything is as bleak as I’ve just painted. Some lecturers are very kind and most of the doctors who have taught me are very caring at heart. And we find solace in class. For a few hours every day, we can sit down and truly be students, hungry to learn and be taught.

We also have gatherings during every Malaysian celebration, to draw ourselves closer to each other. We try to cook glorious food, play sports and go shopping together.

With over 500 of us in Moscow, the Malaysian student community is pretty tightly knit. (By the way, a random survey by the students’ association showed that what Malaysian students miss most about home is food, followed by shopping, then friends.)

If you meet the right people in Moscow, you’ll find that they can be quite friendly. I have many close Russian friends, whom I’ve gone on trips with. Typically, the younger generation has a different mindset and is more open towards foreigners. If you want to survive in this country, friends can really help make things easier.

Studying in Moscow is a unique experience. It has opened my eyes to what Russia is really like and made me appreciate the simple things I have back home – the friendliness and politeness of Malaysians, for example.

So if you’re a parent, don’t be swayed merely by the cheap fees here; there are some drawbacks.

If you’re an aspiring medical student thinking about studying in Moscow, consider your other options first. And if you still decide to come to Moscow, the RSMU Malaysian Students Association (
rsmumed.com) can help make your transition a little easier.

I don’t blame the house officers for the patient’s death.

I blame the deceitftul agents that lured parents into parting with their hard-earned money to pay for a medical education in Russia and Ukraine.

I blame Malaysian parents for coercing and sometimes forcing their offspring to pursue a medical degree despite clear suggestions that their children might not make successful doctors.

I blame the universities that make Malaysian students labor for six years in a foreign land learning a foreign language only to end up as clueless, incompetent quasi-doctors.

I blame the Malaysian Medical Council who for reasons best known to them, accorded unconditional recognition to institutions that are way below par.

I blame the healthcare authorities for allowing half-baked medical graduates to roam about causing immeasurable harm and untold horror.

I blame the public for creating and perpetuating this erroneous impression that the medical profession is highly lucrative and glamorous.

Regular followers of national events will recall the controversy surrounding Crimea State Medical University (CSMU) back in June 2005 where the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) decided to abruptly derecognize the medical school.

This was done so despite earlier recognition and accreditation by the Malaysian Ministry of Education.

Worse, some of the CSMU students were actually government scholars sent over there on tax payer’s money.

After many unruly and loud parliamentary debates, during which a deputy minister was suspended and a barrage of racist remarks were fired by Nazri Aziz, all students already in CSMU then were finally allowed to practice medicine in Malaysia upon graduation.

The flip-flop decision by the Malaysian Medical Council has proven to be a very costly mistake....

posted in - Education, - Palmdoc |

Patdave has made a provocative post in the MMR Student Forums entitled Concern over Russia and Ukraine Med Schools (registration in the MMR required to view posts)

I have heard of a HO working in a public hospital in the Klang Valley, a graduate from a Ukranian medical school, who does not know even how to clerk a patient properly or take blood samples. I do not know how representative this HO is of Russian and Ukranian graduates in general.

I am sure there are fine Russian medical schools but the concern is the overall quality of the training Malaysian students coming from the region. It may be suspect if the students are weak and somehow get into medical school despite poor grades. On top of that the weak students have to master a foreign language so I can’t imagine how such weak students can even get through medical school.

These weak HOs will at best be “retained” for an extended period of Housemanship. The trouble is, they are already “in the system”. The “system” permits sub-standard medical graduates (no matter from which medical school – local or foreign) to be registerable, as long as they come from a recognised medical school or if they pass the Unscheduled Examination. Perhaps indeed it is high time we had a Common qualifying exam for all?

Comment:

poor doctor Says:
November 20th, 2007 at 8:52 pm

I seriously doubt the quality of those doctors produced by these Russian medical schools. My hospital regualrly take in students from these Medical schools for elective posting. They are not on JPA scholarship, they are on ‘FAMA’ scholarship.

These are the 3rd year students and I can tell you that they know absolutely nothing at least in my field of O&G. I asked them about their curiculum, they said thier faculty do not have a proper O&G professor, no structured training program, no proper wards for students to see patients. They only clerk average ONE patient in RUSSIAN in their posting in O&G. They spend most of their time studying their books in class room and their room (even though they are in clinical years). They have no written exam except viva.

They even asked me and some of other clinician to give them ‘tuition’.

Source: http://medicine.com.my/wp/?p=2813