MMA backs doc training in army hospitals

tentera

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has welcomed the Armed Forces’ decision to allow medical students to undergo training as housemen at military hospitals.

MMA President John Chew said young doctors would gain much from the strong emphasis on discipline, teamwork and physical exercise in military hospitals.

“Furthermore, it is good for the country to fully utilise the health facilities in the armed forces,” he told FMT. “Many of these facilities are already looking after civilian patients.”

In making the announcement on Monday, Malaysian Armed Forces Chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said the military’s medical services would give housemen a great opportunity to learn and improve their skills.

“We do not open our medical centres to the public due to financial constraints,” he said, “but we do accept emergency cases when it involves members of the public from nearby areas. We also participate in a lot of community projects, locally and internationally.

“This is why we do not mind bringing in medical students for housemanship training. But to employ them is a different issue as we need a budget.”

Several medical students gave guarded reactions to the announcement.

Margot Lim, a houseman in Sabah, said she wondered whether the facilities in military hospitals were adequate.

“I don’t really know much about military hospitals,” she said. “Neither do my colleagues. I wonder if the facilities would be similar to those in university hospitals. Housemen typically go to university hospitals for more exposure and such.”

Bruce Ng, who is on a waiting list for the housemanship programme, said the move was both good and bad.

“It’s good because the waiting list is long,” he said. “Now more students can do their housemanship at once. But it’s bad because we won’t be exposed to the same environment.

“During housemanship, we should be exposed to similar environments and gain similar experiences. But when some of us go to university hospitals and others go to military hospitals, we would be learning different things.

“Of course, I don’t know how it’s like in military hospitals. They should give us more information instead of just telling us that they are well equipped.”