Ignorance is bliss

I wouldn't be surprised if the postgraduate medical council of Victoria reverts to its previous priority list i.e. interstate domestic before local international - either this or the other states also follow suit - not that it makes much of a difference as there is simply not enough room to accommodate all the graduates into existing hospitals. (Private hospitals and clinics have been proposed as alternative training places)

The current estimated shortfall for 2013 spots is 373 (by AMSA), and this does NOT include Monash Sunway students...I think their chances are effectively nil...

This would make the Monash Sunway MBBS degree a much harder sell among private students - JPA to the rescue?

Monash should have gone the JHU/Perdana route, get the Malaysian government to fund the initiative and reap the rewards - the Monash MBBS prestige is bound to be tarnished when word gets out that the degree is actually two-tiered...

Monash is definitely losing its turf in Malaysia - Being the first foreign university campus gave Monash a head start in the private higher education scene; I am certain that Southampton and Reading are both seeking to emulate the success of Monash Sunway - this inadvertently makes them (including Nottingham and to some extent Newcastle) competitors in a very niche market - these universities cannot sell on price (dominated by the lower end degree mills) and they cannot offer the same experience that one would get in their respective main campuses. More foreign universities in the market can only mean a smaller slice of the cake for existing players (JPA/PTPTN allocation).

I reckon medical litigation will be the next big thing in Malaysia - malpractice lawyers rejoice But in all seriousness, Malaysian patients go pretty easy on their doctors (that or they have no idea how/couldn't be bothered to file medical complaints).

Looks like WA is the first state to guarantee internships for all its students this year, let's see if other states follow suit...

"The State Government has ended speculation over the looming shortage of places for Australian medical graduates by guaranteeing internships for all WA-trained doctors next year and some interstate graduates."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/15...90-new-doctors/

Talks on surgery, medicine and pharmacy from Oct 19-21

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/10/18/ta.../#ixzz29c13NjLB

"As a recognised degree in Malaysia and Australia, students can become doctors in Malaysia or Australia which leaves them with more options and opportunities. Students need not worry about career prospects as there are always jobs for doctors."

Are things really that bad for Monash Sunway?

"Bad" as in not meeting enrolment numbers...

Well, giving talks is one thing, making statements like the one I highlighted is just downright unscrupulous...

Quote from the article - "The MBBS programme takes in 130-140 students once a year" - anyone has any idea what the cohort size is for 2012?

Well, I'm assuming the advertisement is paid for by Monash and as such, is endorsed by the institution itself. Regardless, I'd love to hear the speaker's (or the Sunway Medical School) response to the Australian internship shortage - any news about Sunway graduates getting an internship for 2013?

This post has been edited by Huskies: Oct 18 2012, 12:59 PM

Doctor demo highlights hazy future - "A WINDSCREEN cleaning at the stoplights usually costs a gold coin. Tomorrow, in Sydney’s Taylor Square, 100 or more doctors-in-waiting will be doing it for free.

International medical students have planned the “scrubs in the street protest” to highlight a mismatch between university and clinical training places, which threatens to leave 180 graduating students without internships next year."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-edu...x-1226499569555

In other news, Malaysia seems to be doing just fine...with 47 medical schools?!

No oversupply of doctors

"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."

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/509332


This post has been edited by Huskies: Oct 20 2012, 11:29 AM

The intern crisis has hit the Australian parliament: Senator Nash backs #interncrisis campaign in Senate speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe...d&v=47_dGR4efpc

One can only wonder when this issue will be raised in the Malaysian parliament, if ever...

Used to be dominated by Freud and Jung, but mostly evidence-based and psychopharmacology nowadays - personally, I couldn't care less about psychotherapy (although one would probably have to engage in some form of psychotherapy as a primary care provider); what's more interesting is the growing arsenal of psychotropic drugs and the pharmacology behind them

Yeah but I agree with onelove, progress is hard to track in psychiatry, it just doesn't yield concrete results that you would otherwise see in say, surgery. But then again it's hard to dislike psychiatry as a specialty, the hours are good, the pay is decent (at least in Aus), and you can probably get through the day without touching a patient (along with radiology and pathology)

Lololol "A THIRD of Victorian school leavers with an ATAR of 98 or above applied to study medicine at Monash University last year. And 90 per cent of students with an ATAR above 90 choose a course with a cut-off within 10 points of their own ranking, new analysis by equity expert Andrew Harvey has found."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-edu...x-1226716360354

So I've heard - good teachers are hard to come by these days...

In other news, update on internships in Aus:

Rural Doctor Training Pipeline Internships

The Rural Doctor Training Pipeline (RDTP) will increase capacity to train medical interns in alternative settings, such as private hospitals, and in rural and regional Australia, where there are traditionally fewer options for internship training. The RDTP will involve private hospitals, accreditation agencies and state and territory governments developing new internship training opportunities funded by the Australian Government. As all domestic medical graduates are expected to be placed into an internship by states and territories, RDTP positions will only be available to international full-fee paying international medical graduates who have completed their medical course in Australia in 2013 and who have not yet accepted an intern place for 2014. This information sheet has been developed to provide an overview of the RDTP initiative.

Applications will be called in mid-September 2013, in line with the national schedule of offers expected to be made by state and territory governments (it is expected that the second audit of state and territory intern acceptances and unplaced applicants will be complete by this time).

ELIGIBILITY
Applicants will have to meet all eligibility requirements. Applicants will have to:
• have completed their medical course in Australia in 2013; and
• have met, or will have met prior to commencement of internship, the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) English language requirements for registration purposes; and
• not be an Australian Citizen; and
• meet immigration requirements to allow them to work in Australia in 2014 (refer to the Department of Immigration and Australian Citizenship website for details http://www.immi.gov.au/ ).
Applicants will not be eligible for an RDTP internship if:
• their medical degree was undertaken in an overseas campus of an Australian university;
• they have already accepted an internship position from a state or territory for 2014;
• they graduated in, or prior to, the 2012 calendar year or will graduate in the 2014 calendar year.
• they do not meet the MBA English language requirements before commencing internship.

APPLICATION
When the application round opens in mid-September, interested medical students will be asked to submit an application to the Department, including the following information:
• full name;
• university;
• date medical degree completed (or will be complete);
• Intern Placement Number (as provided to them by their medical school);
• email address/es;
• current home address or mailing address;
• a current telephone number (mobile or landline); and
• a short statement confirming that (1) all eligibility requirements for the RDTP described above met and (2) the student understands that accepting an RDTP internship will involve a Return of Service obligation (see below).

In the application, students will be able to include additional supporting information for forwarding to participating hospitals to help them determine which applicants may be more suitable candidates for the internships they are offering:
• a short description of any particular interests they may have as a medical intern; and
• the name and contact details of a referee related to their medical studies.

Applications should not be provided, and will not be accepted, until applications open. It is expected that this will be in mid-September. More information will be provided closer to this date. Applications will close one week from the opening date. (Applicants will need to agree that any details they provide can be forwarded, in confidence, to stakeholders (including private hospitals and state and territory governments) for the purposes of facilitating the allocation of medical internships in Australia for 2014, including as part of the National Internship Audit Process).

ALLOCATION PROCESS
Once applications have been received, details of all applicants will be made available to participating hospitals. These hospitals may contact applicants to discuss their interest in an RDTP internship. Participating hospitals will be requested to make offers during a specified time period. Applicants will then have a specified deadline to accept any offers.

If the applicant accepts an offer, both the applicant and the hospital must separately confirm to the Department that an agreement has been reached. The requisite documentation to formalise this decision will then need to be completed and submitted to the Department if the internship is to progress.

PARTICIPATION IN THE RDTP IN 2014
It is important to note that:
• participation in the RDTP is voluntary;
• an application to the RDTP initiative will not guarantee an internship for 2014;
• undertaking an internship under the RDTP will not guarantee employment after the internship;
• an RDTP internship may include a Prevocational General Practice Placement Program term;
• graduates who accept an RDTP internship position will need to complete 12 months’ return of service if the internship is not served in a rural or regional area;
• failure to complete the internship year or the return of service period will result in the applicant having to repay the cost of providing the internship place. This may be up to $130,000;
• if part or all of the internship is completed in an approved return of service location, this will count towards the 12 month return of service period; and
• any internship which is offered cannot be swapped with another intern, cannot be undertaken part-time and cannot be deferred.

RELATIONSHIP TO STATE / TERRITORY INTERNSHIP PROCESSES
RDTP is separate to state or territory intern allocation processes. However, work is continuing with state and territory governments to streamline the internship application and allocation process in each jurisdiction. In an effort to reduce the inefficiency and confusion which may emerge where one student submits several applications, the following policies will apply to the RDTP:
• RDTP applicants who accept an offer from a state or territory, will be removed from the RDTP process; and
• RDTP applicants who accept an RDTP internship offer will have their details provided to states and territories, which may alter the status of any offers or acceptances they have made with the applicant.

http://www.medicaldeans.org.au/rural-docto...nternships.html