Materia Medica Malaysiana

Move to overcome shortage of doctors and varsity places

KUALA LUMPUR: Russia has offered to help Malaysia overcome the shortage of doctors and places for medical courses.

For a start, the Russian Government is seeking recognition for medical degrees from 10 more of its universities.

The country, where about 1,000 Malaysian students are currently studying medicine, has also offered the services of its medical professors and lecturers to overcome the shortage of academic staff and doctors in the public sector.

Its Ambassador to Malaysia Vladimir Morozov said his government has submitted a request for Malaysia to recognise the degrees from 10 more of its universities.

“It is well known that Malaysia needs more doctors and is trying to expand the medical courses offered by local institutions to meet the increasing demand for places.

New students registering themselves at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang on Sunday. Thousands of students and their family members had arrived early morning for the big day. It was the same scene at all the universities throughout the country.
“Russia has the expertise to help and we are ready to do so,” he told The Star.

Last week, officials from the Moscow University of Friendship were here to promote its medical programme.

The Public Service Department at present recognises five Russian medical institutions – the Moscow Medical Academy, Russian State Medical University, Nizhny Novgorod State Medical University, Volgograd State Medical University and Kursk State Medical University.

Morozov said Russian medical insti-

tutions were noted for their high quality education, with the World Health Organisation and Unesco rating the Moscow Medical Academy and Russian State Medical University as among the best in the world.

There are now over 1,000 Malaysians studying medicine in Russia, from the initial batch of 100 in 2001. The cost of studying for a six-year Russian medical degree ranges between RM130,000 and RM180,000, compared to between RM500,000 and RM800,000 in other countries.

English is the medium of instruction for medical degree programmes in several Russian universities, but students need to be able to speak Russian by their fourth year.

Morozov said several Russian institutions were also interested in setting up medical faculties here, adding that the Nizhny Novgorod State Medical University was one of them.

“Our medical professors and lecturers are ready to offer their services here. We are prepared to discuss terms for Russian doctors to come and fill vacancies at hospitals here,'' he said.

Responding to the offer, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said his ministry was willing to recognise more medical degrees from Russian universities if they fulfilled the criteria set by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC).

Dr Chua said the strict criteria maintained by MMC were to ensure that Malaysian doctors would also be recognised internationally.

He also advised students to consult the MMC and the ministry to verify the status of the degree courses before venturing overseas.

Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Datuk Dr N. Arumugam said the Russian universities must go through the processes stipulated by the ministry and MMC before they could be considered for recognition.

“They not only have to fulfil the criteria set by Malaysia but the courses offered must also be checked for quality or be integrated with local courses.”

Dr Arumugam said the Russian universities must also match the quality of courses offered in local universities to ensure graduates were of high standard.

Russia's honorary consul (Northern Region) Teoh Seng Lee, whose company Russian Resources Sdn Bhd represents four of the recognised Russian medical universities, said he had so far sent about 600 Malaysian students to the universities.

Almost all the students gave positive feedback on their Russian experience, he said, adding that about half of them were straight A students sponsored by the Malaysian Government.