Interesting thread you got here.
It is amazing that with the current appalling state students and parents alike would actually consider medicine as a career! If I knew this was what medicine was going to turn out to be, I would have thought twice prior to entering!
I am currently reading medicine at Monash Sunway and I would like to clarify some things as well as perhaps giving an insight to how terrible the situation is in Malaysia.
1) The qualification in this website (http://www.afterschool.my/guides/medical/study.php?pageno=2&content=local&type=5&study=Private%20Universities) is incorrect as Monash does not publish the minimum entry requirement for medicine. The minimum requirement here I believe is copied and pasted from IMU's website as they are identical. A good grasp of the minimum requirement with regards to the MBBS course is to look at the pharmacy minimum requirement at Monash and expect it to be higher than that. The lowest TER I have heard from my intake is 93, never 85 as stated in the link above. Having that said, it changes yearly and these changes depend on the applicants they have for that particular year. Good grades do not guarantee an entry into Monash as I have a friend who has a TER of 98+ and an ISAT raw score of 180+ and was still rejected but on the same year her friend who has a TER of 94 managed to secure a spot. The interview process is apparently important for Monash MBBS.
2) Why do medicine?! Seriously! The future for medicine is not as bright as what it used to be! And even if you want to consider medicine please do it at an ESTABLISHED university! When I first started my clinical year I was dumbfounded to find out that NUMEROUS HOUSEMEN have no idea about their basics! Literally, basics! Initially, I thought I could look up to them as my senior as they are housemen but believe me, seniority is not applicable for meds here. Some housemen had no idea what an ECG was or how to interpret it, some do not know how to do a blood CNS, some have no clue as to how to interpret an ABG, forget about the imagings! You will have to rely on your tutors, the clinical consultants, some competent housemen and yourself if you want to learn! This can be frustrating especially realizing that every Tom, d***, and Harry can be a doc in Malaysia. Imagine getting straight As in SPM, A-levels and then study hard at uni and when you graduate, you are stuck with someone with 1 A in SPM, no pre u, some unknown foundation, with statement such as "I thought medicine is glamorous"...
And, if you are thinking about money, you guys will be paid the SAME.
3) Being top students in SPM and pre-u does not necessarily mean you will do well in med school or become a good doctor. I know of people with TER of 99.4 and yet failed and was held back. Some bright students drop out of my batch. And yet some with worse pre-u results pull through. Pre u is not a good indicator! But nonetheless, you should be academically capable when entering med school, you must have loads of interests (subject to change) and passion, and last but not least you must have considered if all these sweat and trouble is worth it at the end. This mushrooming of med schools and med students is really, driving the healthcare system MAD!
Think.
P.S. Parents, please don't ever force your kids to be doctors, I have seen some and trust me, the outcome of it is horrendous.
Jan 1 2012, 09:49 PM
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