The Star: Medical qualifying exam does healthcare no favours.... by Stumped, NS

Medical qualifying exam does healthcare no favours

The Star, Thursday May 10, 2012

I AM puzzled by the Medical Qualifying Exam (MQE) to be taken by medical graduates from unrecognised foreign medical universities.

The first thing a would-be medical student who intends to study overseas needs to do is to be sure that the medical university is on the recognised list of the Health Ministry before he embarks on the course.

The sole purpose of this recognition list is to ensure that medical graduates meet the required standards in providing medical care to patients.

We are dealing with human lives here and every patient would like to be comforted by the fact that his doctor is suitably qualified.

If the student goes ahead to pursue a medical course knowing fully well that it is not recognised, surely he has to live by his decision and not expect the authorities to amend the rules to cater to him.

By coming out with the MQE, the Health Ministry is burdening itself with time and effort that can be better spent elsewhere.

Also, it was reported that the rules would be amended to allow such graduates to sit and attempt to pass the MQE without any limitation to the number of tries, compared with the three tries maximum previously.

Common sense dictates that after three failed attempts, the candidate isn’t really qualified to call himself a doctor who can provide healthcare to the sick.

The public has a valid reason to fear that in future we will have quacks in our midst.

This concern is justified considering that lives are at stake.

STUMPED,

Mantin, Negri Sembilan.