Materia Medica Malaysiana

Separate test for docs soon

MALACCA: Medical practitioners, who had to sit for a government examination previously with other civil servants to gain promotions, will have their own competency test drafted and proposed by the Health Ministry.

The test, designed for the medical profession, is being drawn up by Health Ministry secretary-general Datuk Ismail Adam.

Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek has instructed Ismail to review the content after he submitted an interim report.

The proposed test followed grouses by doctors and specialists that the government examination had nothing to do with the nature of their work.

The competency test for medical practitioners would replace the government examination, Dr Chua said in response to a question raised at a meeting with them at the Malacca Hospital here yesterday.

The Health Ministry has also come out with a proposal to give more attractive allowances to doctors, specialists on call and nurses.

The Cabinet committee on health, chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, would make a decision on the proposal, said Dr Chua.

Ismail had also been given the task to look at this proposal, which also considered nurses with diploma and degree qualifications.

Dr Chua said government hospitals needed more nurses as only 40,000 vacancies out of 170,000 available had been filled.

“It would take another 16 years to fill the vacancies.

“At the moment, about 3,000 people are trained as nurses every year but we need to double it.”

Dr Chua said six nursing colleges were built under the Eighth Malaysia Plan and more would be set up under the next five-year plan.

In his speech, he told the gathering that 48 million people sought outpatient treatment at government hospitals last year while 1.7 million were warded.

His ministry would carry out a health promotion drive to educate the people about healthy living, he said, adding that Abdullah would launch the fitness programme on Sept 12.