Materia Medica Malaysiana

Medicine in the Ukraine

MALAYSIANS seem to be an adventurous lot when it comes to studying medicine these days. Rather than choosing traditional destinations like the United Kingdom and Australia, more are finding their way to Eastern European countries like Russia and the Ukraine.

To date, the Crimea State Medical University (CSMU) in Simferopol has trained more than 26,000 doctors in the Ukraine, including 2,000 for countries around the world.

The university first opened its doors to foreigners when six Greek students arrived to take up their studies in 1961. Today, there are students from 34 foreign countries such as India, Jordan, Lebanon, China, Greece and Morocco.

Currently, 750 Malaysians are studying in CSMU, and in the last two years, 20 have also graduated with medical degrees from the university.

Cost is often a determining factor in medical studies and CSMU is competitive in this aspect.

According to Dr Subendran Arumugam, director of Ukrainian Medical Education Sdn Bhd, which represents the CSMU in Malaysia, the tuition fees for a six-year medical programme is RM69,000.

''It works out to RM11,500 per year. In addition, accommodation in a two or three-bed hostel room is RM850 annually. Most students can survive on between RM300 to RM400 per month,'' he says.

Given that cost can be between RM500,000 to RM800,000 in other countries, Dr Subendran says, more parents are now considering the Ukraine as an option for medical studies.

Since 2001, the Public Services Department has recognised the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees from CSMU, so graduates need no longer sit for a qualifying examination to practise in Malaysia upon graduation.

Dr Subendran says Malaysians should not worry about the language barrier as the programme is conducted in English.

But, he adds, it is important to be able to speak Russian too as students will have to deal with patients in their clinical years from the fourth year onwards.

''During the eight-month pre-medical period, the Malaysian students will have intensive Russian language classes every day for between five to six hours a day for three months,'' he says.

After three months, when students have a basic grasp of the language, university staff will start introducing other subjects such as biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics.

The university, which was established in 1931, has five faculties, namely nursing, general medicine, paediatrics, dentistry and clinical pharmacy, divided into 60 departments.

Tests in all the subjects are also continuously held to ensure students are able to understand what they are learning.

The medical degree is divided into the basic science years (first three years) and clinical years (final three years).

Out of the 750 students at CSMU, 200 are doing their pre-medical studies. The rest are in the medical school.

Dr Subendran explains that students are divided into various groups with their own timetables. Each group has 11 students.

''To sit for the examinations, students must have 100% attendance in class unless they are sick and have a medical certificate from the university's polyclinic.

''If they do miss a class, they have to pay a fine of about RM2 and make up for the class by doing extra work for the lecturer. This is to encourage the students not to miss any classes,'' he says.

In the summer time, students can do their clinical practice in Malaysian hospitals, he adds.

Up to 85% of the Malaysian students in CSMU are living in the hostels.

''It is more convenient for the students as it is a self-contained campus. The hostels are also within walking distance from the lecture halls and laboratories.

''Students can get what they want from the shops on campus such as halal food and go up straight to their rooms without worrying about having to go into the city,'' he says.

Other facilities on campus include a stadium, swimming pool, tennis courts, polyclinic, cafés and canteens.