Medical schools everywhere, none of calibre

With the announcement of Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS) to offer medical degrees courses, the total number of medical schools in the country will be 17.
This figure exceeds the number of medical schools in Singapore (1), Canada (16), Ireland (5) and even Australia (11). This figure I’m sure will keep multiplying fast over the years as privatization of our health and education systems continue. The proposed Health Insurance Scheme will further enhance its growth in the name of achieving a developed status by 2020.

In the enthusiasm of increasing the number of doctors very quickly, we have overlooked the two most important prerequisites for the training of doctors. These are firstly, adequate experienced qualified teachers who themselves are practicing clinicians and secondly, a properly equipped and staffed teaching hospital. If one were to closely scrutinize our medical schools, both public and private, none of them will fulfill these 2 important criteria.

As a result we are churning out doctors who are lacking in clinical skills. This was lamented recently by the Director General of Health as reported in our mainstream media.
Medical training is a stewardship where the student has to be “attached” to his teacher all the time, in the emergency room, in the wards, operation theatre, and outpatient clinics and during follow-up visit after discharge. He learns to manage the patient by observing and assisting his teacher, who himself is actively, involved in the management the patient. In the process the knowledge, skills and ethics of the master are transferred to the potential doctor.

Regrettably this form of training, once a standard practice, is not seen in our medical schools these days, even in our public institutions.

We have many teaching centers with excellent physical set up, but none of our medical degrees are recognized internationally. What is more distressing is that our authorities are least bothered about international recognition.

We aspire to become a regional centre of excellence in almost every field including medical treatment and training but our standards are in fact declining over the years. In contrast Australia and Singapore with fewer medical schools, have achieved a highly reputable international status in medicine, leaving us trailing far behind.

Dr.Chris Anthony







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