TRAINING AND WORKING AS A DOCTOR
The practice of medicine in Malaysia for both the public and private sector is governed by the Medical Act 1971, and the professional code of conduct laid down by the Malaysian Medical Council.

The newly graduated doctor will have to apply to the Malaysian Medical Council for provisional registration. He is then required to undergo compulsory rotating resident housemanship for a period of not less than 12 months. Practical experience is gained during this year while working under the supervision of senior colleagues.

On satisfactory completion of the housemanship the doctor is eligible for full registration with the Malaysian Medical Council as a Registered Medical Practitioner, and is issued an Annual Practising Certificate, which is renewable annually. On full registration, according to the provisions in the Medical Act in force, a doctor has to serve the government or its agencies for a period of three years (compulsory service).

The post after housemanship is that of the Medical Officer. As a medical officer for about three years the doctor has to serve various departments of General and district hospitals. The next rung on the career ladder, the post of registrar, which spans two to three years, enables one to train as a specialist. After the appropriate training and passing postgraduate examination the doctor will have finally completed formal education and will be eligible to be a consultant.

The components of a higher education in medicine include the basic medical undergraduate degree of about six years and postgraduate training and degree of about four to five years, a prerequisite for promotion to consultant grades. Doctors generally and the housemen, junior doctors in training especially work long, tedious hours.

Medical education does not stop after the ten to twelve years of formal studies and examinations, as the doctor has to attend meetings, courses and training continuously throughout their careers to keep abreast of current developments. This ongoing educational process is officially known as Continuing Medical Education (CME) or Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

The financial implications of studying medicine must be considered carefully especially by self-sponsored students as both the undergraduate and post-graduate medical courses are probably the most expensive.

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WHAT ARE THE CAREER OPTIONS?
Medicine offers a wide variety of job opportunities. There is still a demand for doctors in all fields especially in the smaller towns and rural areas. Medical graduates mostly go on to work as clinicians in general practice and in the various specialities looking after the health needs of the patients. A small number will pursue a career in non clinical work like medical research, occupational health, medical journalism or administration.

Traditionally clinicians are classified either as physicians or surgeons. This division has now become blurred with the coming of many newer branches of medicine which do not fit neatly into either of the above.

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GENERAL PRACTICE
A general practitioner or GP must have a good working knowledge of common conditions in all branches of medicine, to make the preliminary diagnosis and institute treatment, as patients usually see them first. General practice is also known as family practice as whole families, not only get treatment for their illness but also get most of their advice regarding all aspects of health from them.

General practitioners used to work on their own, in single handed practices, for long hours in isolation with little time for either themselves or their families. Realizing this many GPs have now formed partnerships to work together in polyclinics and this will probably be the trend in the future.

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GENERAL MEDICINE
The doctor who works in general medicine (also known as internal medicine) is called a physician. General medicine encompasses a wide spectrum of disease which need drug treatment as opposed to surgical treatment. In bigger hospitals the physicians usually have a special interest and experience in a particular field or subspeciality. The common subspecialities being Cardiology, Respiratory medicine, Gastroenterology, Neurology, Nephrology, Dermatology.

SURGERY
Surgeons are doctors who performs operations on patients to rectify a disability or cure illness, as a part of their treatment. Surgery has now become highly specialised and surgeons deal only with a particular kind of surgery, Neurosurgey, Orthopaedic surgery, Eye surgery, Ear Nose and Throat surgery or Urological surgery.

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OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY
The specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology looks after women in pregnancy and diseases related to the female reproduction organs.

PAEDIATRICS
A paediatrician provides medical care for children from birth till their early teens.

PSYCHIATRY
Psychiatrists treat the mentally ill and mentally handicapped with the use of medication, behavioural and psychotheraphy. The method of treatment is changing rapidly because of new treatments reducing the need for long hospital inpatient care.

ANAESTHESIA
Anaesthetists are primarily involved in providing pain relief or anaesthesia during operation. They also look after the critically ill patients in intensive care work and are involved in the treatment of chronic pain.

RADIOLOGY
Radiologists perform investigations using many imaging techniques including X-rays, Ultrasound, Computed Tomography (CT) Scan, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to establish diagnosis and to document progress of treatment.

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PATHOLOGY
The speciality of pathology provides a wide range of laboratory diagnostic services and includes the sub-specialities of clinical microbiology, pathology, bacteriology, virology, haematology. The laboratory services help to confirm diagnosis and help in choosing appropriate treatment.

PUBLIC HEALTH MEDICINE
Doctors working in public health are involved in health education, disease prevention, planning and implementation of health programmes.

ACADEMIC MEDICINE
An academic career can be pursued in any of the above specialities in the universities. Those working in academic medicine look after patients, doing research and teach students.

OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE
Doctors working in this speciality are involved in advising management and employees on the prevention of medical hazards of occupation.

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PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
The pharmaceutical industry employs doctors mainly in clinical research and sometimes in advisor capacity.

The above list though not comprehensive indicates how medicine is highly diverse and specialised. After finishing the undergraduate course and compulsory service the doctor may often be unable to get a training post in the speciality of his choice and has to take up the training posts in the speciality in which opportunities exist.

WHO ARE THE EMPLOYERS OF DOCTORS?
The government is the single largest employer of doctors. About half the doctors in Malaysia are employed by the government and the other half work in the private sector.

GOVERNMENT DOCTORS ARE EMPLOYED TO WORK IN :

• Government Hospitals

• Government Polyclinics

• Health Departments

• Administration

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PRIVATE PRACTICE
Most doctors in the private sector are self-employed while a few are salaried. They normally work in :

• Private Hospitals

• Private Clinics

The remaining small numbers are employed by the :

• Armed Forces

• Universities

• Pharmaceutical Industry

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WHERE TO STUDY MEDICINE
Courses in medicine are available in local universities, namely the University of Malaya, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, University Sains Malaysia and University Sarawak Malaysia.

Currently, there are two private institutions - the International Medical College and the Asean Sheffield Medical College offering twinning programmes with overseas universities to study medicine.

Medical courses can also be pursued overseas especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and India. Students are admitted to many other countries through government sponsorship. It is important to check with the Malaysia Medical Council that the degrees offered by the overseas universities are recognised for medical practice locally before going to study overseas.

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INFORMATION AND ENQUIRIES
Further information on medical courses in local universities can be obtained by writing to the Deans of the respective universities at the following addresses:

Dekan
Fakulti Perubatan
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz
50300 Kuala Lumpur

Dekan
Pusat Pengajian Sains Perubatan
Kampus USM Cawangan Kelantan
15990 Kubang Kerian
Kelantan Darul Naim

Dekan
Fakulti Perubatan
University Malaya
59100 Kuala Lumpur

Dekan
Fakulti Perubatan
Universiti Sarawak Malaysia
No. 9 Lot 2341 Bormill Commercial Estate
Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce
93150 Kuching, Sarawak

International Medical University (IMU)
Sesama Centre
Plaza Komanwel, Bukit Jalil
57000 Kuala Lumpur

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MEMBERSHIP
As at 31st December 2003, the total membership of the MMA stands at 11,195 (excluding students of 2,726) out of which 2,522 members are classified as 'Archive'. Thus, the MMA represents only 57.82% (8,673 benefit members), when compared to 15,000 registered medical practitioners in the country.

Student membership had increased to 2,726 as compared to 1,855 for the year 2002 with the opening of more medical colleges. IMU has the largest membership of 521.

The total Life Members of 3,321 form 29.79% of the total membership. These Life Members comprise those who have paid a commuted sum. There are 208 who are still contributing by instalments.

Ordinary Members account for 66.8% (7,482) of the total membership out of which 33.7% (2,522) are not being served by MMA as they have defaulted payments.

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