Tuesday, April 05, 2011

An Industry

Day 3. So far so good. Had a case of Mamak Malady (ie diarrhea) already, but it's all worth it for sure. Poor babe though- the heat/jetlag seems to be really affecting Alli and she's having a tough time sleeping and staying asleep. Naturally this means mom and dad too.

As always, it's a great feeling being home. And I sometimes do feel weird calling this home, since technically our home is in the USA now. But, one can always have two homes, no? Plus, introducing Alli to family and friends here has been great. Though we'll have to make another trip when Alli's bigger- she won't remember this trip. I've had many sentimental moments, telling her "This is where I slept as a child" or "This was my Ah Kong's room" or "This is where I used to get haircuts" etc. One of my joys has been sharing stories of my childhood with my daughter. I imagine all parents do that. Because, as importance as our futures are, it's also vital to have a sense of your past. And I'd like Alli to know where her dad's roots stem from.

Anyway, I digress. Something I wanted to blog about. And yes, before you go around condemning me, I'll be the first to admit: I'm a hypocrite.

You see, I was surprised, or perhaps shocked is a better word, to see the sheer number of ads in the newspapers for private medical schools. And it'll seem like I'm a bastard for saying this, as I'm a product of a private medical school too. But I do still (naively?) consider the field and the practice of medicine and healing, to be sacred work. It's not just a profession, but it's a lifestyle, a passion, and an art. And no, not that I think I'm so damn smart that I got into medical school and all, but I do find it concerning that there are so many 'alternative' paths to becoming a doctor. Seeing so many ads promoting medical schools only seem to cheapen things, especially when many of the ads promote how economical the programs cost, with no hint on the academic requirements for entry.

Yes, I'm being awfully judgmental and jumping to conclusions, but seriously of the (at least?) 7 ads I saw in the papers, with many of the schools not even having had any graduates yet, of the many foreign schools of which some where not even WHO-recognized, I do question the quality and reliability of the medical education. Granted, I have not had the pleasure (or displeasure, as some of you have commented in MMR) of working with grads from these schools, so I have little basis for my concerns.

It's clear, this is a multimillion-dollar industry, one that is also driven by the lack of medical school positions in public universities and coupled by the unfairness of affirmative action. So, the motives for the sprouting of these private medschools is pretty clear- everyone's out to make money. And when a country as small as ours boasts of so many medical schools locally (more than Canada!), plus the numerous others in other countries aggressively recruiting Malaysians, you have to wonder what will happen a few years when the hospitals are overflowing with HOs who don't get the training and experience they need, before they are let out into private practice?

Who suffers?

The patients.