I think being proficient in English is important. Can you imagine what will the public think when they hear a doctor who struggles in English conversation?

Standards of English among the UM medical undergraduates is getting worse. I guess this is part of the change...English proficiency was definitely much better back then...

Err....shortest course? You mean you want the 3 months intensive Russian language course before going to Russia?
The fastest I know is one year...which is AUSMAT. Another one is matrikulasi in Malaysia...

However, I strongly think that you need a good foundation before studying medicine. Not some kind of short-cuts...

Has anyone read Sinchew paper recently? Have a look at this: 吳名‧醫生的素質問題 | 評論 I'm sorry it's in Chinese. Would be glad if anyone can properly translate it. Or else use the goole translator....

Correct me if I'm wrong, since I myself is not Chinese-educated. My friend roughly translated the article orally. Although it's a bit racist, it's roughly about 7 final year Chinese medical students at University of Malaya (UM) who failed their final MBBS exam and has to undergo supplementary semester. For your information, this is the first ever failure of Chinese final year medical students which has never happened before. Incidentally, this was also the first batch of students with non-bumi matriculation students. Tho anonymous author blamed the system for denying the 128 STPM 4.0 students (the 2004 incident) from getting a place in the local university medical schools and stated that this would have never happened if the 128 STPM students were accepted in the first place.

And this is the rebuttal article written not long after the first: 吳名氏‧醫生素質與128事件無關 | 評論
Something about getting into medical school depends not only on brains but other criteria as well. And also stating that the 128 students were offered to do medicine elsewhere other than local uni.

These articles have sparked outcries from one of the junior batches, with most from matriculation disageeing with the first article. Those from STPM, who are the minority, did not participate although there was a general consensus of agreement with the first article. In other words, the age-old debate about STPM vs Matriculation has started all over again.

Being from STPM myself, I can't help but to be more inclined towards the first article, although I still think that we should not generalize things. So guys. what's your take on this?

This post has been edited by seiken: May 1 2009, 01:55 PM

Can you tell me where did you obtain this piece of information? Because it's a blatant lie.
2 or 3 yes, but not 1/3. Tsk tsk tsk

Dropouts/failures/quitters are not just found in local unis. I believe that's the same case for MMA. Even UK institutions.

Absence seizure, I don't see why I can't answer.

As for the conditions like Ondine's curse, let me ask you again: Have you even seen one of them? And so what if you had seen one of them?

The biggest problem would be knowing all the rarest diseases on earth, but could not even diagnose the most common diseases in Man.

I understand that people tend to defend their own institutions, its perfectly okay. But outbursts like above, I don't think it's appropriate.

This post has been edited by seiken: Jun 3 2009, 08:12 PM