Materia Medica Malaysiana

Hospitals Offer Training To Medical Students

PETALING JAYA, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- Major hospitals under the Ministry of Health although non-teaching are now offering clinical training to medical students from public and private institutions of higher learning.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said this was to provide students exposure to patients besides allowing them to understand their roles as medical practitioners.

"We have the criteria ...the patient load is sufficient for teaching ...only that the current situation is not yet suitable for 100 per cent teaching hospitals," he said.

He said this to reporters after witnessing an MoU signing ceremony between the Ministry of Health and Monash University Malaysia, here Saturday.

The MoU provides clinical study for the university's students at Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor Bahru.

Sunway Group's Health and Education Division chief executive officer, Lee Weng Keng signed for the university while the ministry was represented by its Secretary-General Datuk Ismail Adam.

Dr Latiff said besides Monash University, the ministry had also entered into similar agreements with nine public and six private institutions of higher learning.

However, he said the ministry did not issue any certificates for the students on completion of their training.

In line with the development, the capabilities of major hospitals in state capitals would be upgraded in terms of infrastructure and expertise, he said.

This was also to cater to pressing needs by the hospitals besides meeting the needs of learning institutions, he added.

As an example, an allocation of RM40 million had been made to upgrade infrastucture at Hospital Sultanah Aminah, he said.

Meanwhile Monash University Malaysia Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Merilyn Liddell said that the university will enroll its first batch of 50 medical students early next year.

She said they would undergo their clinical training in Sultan Aminah Hospital in 2007 after completing a two-year initial study at Monash campus in Melbourne, Australia.

-- BERNAMA