MPI- IJF 2011

MPI - International Journalism Fellowship

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Alvine, 26, shares a little about Namibia and herself

Government hospitals have been seeing deteriorating standards among housemen in recent years due to, among other things, the proliferation of medical schools which produce sub-standard graduates.

A source told theSun that too many medical schools, too few good lecturers, and the “pampering” of housemen have contributed to the serious situation.

The source said standards have been falling as more opportunities to study medicine both locally and overseas emerged, and housemen are getting used to having it easy.

He noted that sadly, many housemen tend to “disappear” and cheat on their logbooks, are irresponsible, lazy, ignorant and unprofessional in carrying out their duties.

“There are some who are good, but some just don’t cut the grade,” he said, adding that not all the blame rests on the housemen’s attitude, but rather, it is a downward spiral brought on by the lack of proper training.

Casually striking a pose for the cameras

“The sheer number of universities offering medical courses has led to standards set by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) not being met, because there are not enough good lecturers and trainers.

“Its bad enough that good doctors do not necessarily make good teachers. What’s worse, in some local public universities, lecturers are sometimes only senior civil servants with some medical background,” said the source, a department head who sees hundreds of housemen in a major government hospital each year.

“And now, exacerbating the situation is the government’s decision not to make the Medical Qualifying Examination (MQE) compulsory for all medical graduates from foreign varsities,” he lamented.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had earlier announced that the current list of 365 recognised overseas foreign universities may be abolished in favour of making it compulsory to pass the MQE before practising medicine here.

However, the cabinet recently quashed the idea and instead directed that the list of recognised universities be shortened and reviewed more frequently.

theSun had, today, front-paged concerns that the cabinet’s decision may have negative consequences when Malaysia opens its doors to foreign medical practitioners under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement.

The medical community had voiced the view that the MQE should be made compulsory for all medical graduates from foreign varsities, to act as a filter and maintain a benchmark in medical standards.

Happy to be here in Malaysia