Tuesday, May 08, 2007

A does not equal B

i saw this in the papers yesterday.



this is the 1st time i've noticed a college publish it's entry requirements. what's bizarre is that, while it promoted its pre-medical course, nowhere in the advert indicated that this pre-med/pre-U will actually lead to the medical school. an oversight? a deception? another scam?

if that's bizarre, try this : how can a GRADE A accredited institution with excellent academic facilities & highly qualified staff require only B-grade students for entry??

2 scenarios may ensue :

1) the excellent highly-qualified staff may lose the motivation to teach the B-grade students, which the latter don't care as long as they pass the course;

2) these 2nd-rate students actually find the going rough, but because the college need the fees the students pay to stay in business, the passing grade is lowered & a bunch of B-grade graduates are let loose.

Alex Tang, quoting from The Medical Tribune (read here), shared my fear that while we are gearing towards developed nation status, we may be producing too many doctors too fast, giving rise to concern that the quality of these fresh graduates may be suspect.

oh, maybe we should consider a 3rd scenario : these fresh graduates are posted to your neighbourhood hospital.

med school, anyone?

6 comments:

LX said...

Too many doctors? I don't think so. Look around. Esp in Sarawak. We still lack of doctors so much so that we have to get doctors from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka to work in the GH. In policlinics, we have to make ado with medical assistants. I am not sure about KL, but in Sarawak, that's the case. Patients are neglected. It's just so sad. I feel that most medical students, esp those who go overseas like UK, Aus, US end up working there (high pay marr.. what to expect) instead of coming back here. It is such a sad situation.

doc said...

lynnx,

i agree with you on that point - the rural areas have largely been neglected in terms of healthcare, but the govt can do more, much more, to attract doctors & other professionals over there, eg. the min of defence has provided incentives above & beyond what the MOH gives, to encourage MO's & specialists to join the army.

however, you must realise that west malaysians require a WORK PERMIT to set up private clinics in both sabah & sarawak, a form of protectionist policy, & that partly deters any influx of doctors & other skilled professionals.

i know for sure that even foreigners (indians, pakistanis, etc) have better remuneration packages than the locals, but this has been going on for decades with no solution in sight.

until the MOH has the foresight to deal with the long-term healthcare requirements of the rural population, i view teleconferencing consultation, paperless ward-round & robotic surgery as nothing more than a futile ego-enhancing exercise.

i presume you feel committed enough to return home to serve when you complete your studies.

Alex Tang said...

hi doc, and lynnx01 too. Nice to meet you here.

I agree with doc that this is a very 'suspicious' advertisement. Please note that it states "Pre-medical/Pre-U leading to dentistry, degree in business,....accountancy. I have not read the rest of the advert but does anyone notice that medicine is not mentioned?

doc said...

thanks, alex!

it was a most bizarre advert, wasn't it?

LX said...

Yes, I want to go back to Sarawak. I grew up going to govt hospitals, sick but having to wait 4 or 5 hours just to see the doctor. I know how it feels like when there is lack of doctors in the hospital.

doc said...

lynnx,

you will set a good example to your fellow sarawakians! your dedication & loyalty to the home state is most commendable.

may God see you through!