Malaysian Doctors abroad not coming back? Who’s to blame?
posted in - Nation, - Palmdoc |Well the DG apparently is blaming “unnamed individuals” so the NST reports
“While Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek and I have met Malaysian doctors, specialists and students studying and working in these countries and advised them to return, there are individuals who go and say they can carry on staying there.”
Dr Ismail, who is upset over this turn of events, said they took great pains since November last year to visit Malaysian doctors and students, make presentations and convince them that there were tremendous opportunities for them back home.
I gather from the DG’s comments, that the efforts to convince these Malaysian doctors working abroad to return have not been very successful. But really, is it true that this is due to “individuals” advising them otherwise?
Perhaps the DG and the MOH should look at themselves and examine the entire situation again
1) The current working conditions of the MOH. Despite the efforts of the Minister of Health and DG to change the system, how much has really changed in terms of salary and promotion prospects? Has it really got better or worse? How many stumbling blocks does the JPA still put in place?
2) The recruitment system. It is passive at the moment. Who do they think they’ll attract? Look at how SingHealth goes round the world attracting and recruiting talented and bright doctors. I really think they need to change the way they advertise for jobs – be specific in order to fill the gaps. Target individuals not groups of doctors. This way you make people feel wanted. Be more active (but the Catch-22 here is you have a poorer pay structure and you are less competitive compared with Singapore). You also need to be specific in your job offers.
3) Meritocracy – does it truly exist in the MOH? As long as it is perceived otherwise, there will be those that are reluctant to return as they would prefer to work where their hard work and dedication are truly rewarded.
4) How much information are you putting out to help people make the move? Just check the MOH website – how much info is there for Malaysian doctors working overseas intending to come home? I found this little unexciting page.
Related MMR posts:
This not how to do it
But what about those in Malaysia Dr Chua?
Training abroad: are you coming home?
Technorati Tags: Malaysia, doctors, jobs, recruitment, salary, medical, hospital, foreign
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July 9th, 2006 at 1:55 pm
Unfortunately, the Malaysian Ministry of health do not functioning as it should. Generally Malaysian system is good enough to cover the minimum standard for the whole Malaysian Public. No where else in the world that the healthcare is such heavily subsidised as in Malaysia. You almost get free medical care here. Even Singapore citizen will come to JB hospital to get medicine because they will be charged RM2 (100% more than Malaysian)for chronic illness such as hypertension / DM. Thus Malaysia doctor cannot possibly get the same pay as even what is offered in Singapore.
But this is not the reason to ill treat the doctors. The doctors should be paid reasonably not like a general workers. A HO will only pad 2K+ which is worse than other graduate who is working in private sector. The specialist got the worse deal. They do not get promoted because they got the qualification, more important is to past PTK exams set by these brainless JPA. They don’t mind letting the most experience doctors to resign because they think they can eventually make up the numbers. JPA will never care the quality of the doctors even though they have prove themselve by the qualification because they are obsessed with their PTK.
I had come across incident that univeristy sacking the world class lecturer because they connot work with the HOD but employ newly graduate specialist (not even gazetted) as lecturer. What do you think about the quality of our medical student.
Some doctor do want to work in public sector because of the statifaction of work but they shpuld be compensated well (they need reasonable salary even though may not be as good as in private sector). AT least reward the specialist with promotion once they get qualification not organizing PTK course or exam which is brainless, not related to work, waisting time and money.
In conclusion, I would say Malaysian healthcare would never reach world standard but will definately offer cheap minimal care because there is a political will to do so.
As for those foreign doctors, please stay on oversea, definately you will be paid better there but if you still keen to serve the Malsyain public (but don’t expect the Malaysian government will appreciate your intention by rewarding you), please do so at your own risk. Also please make sure you can definately write and speak in Malay, otherwise please expect that you will be medical officer U41 forever (even though you may be super consultant oversea) because without it you cannot pass PTK and if you cannot pass PTK, you are considerred as not worty for promotion.
July 9th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
Makes a person wonder…
1. Does MOH know what factors fresh grads and overseas Malaysian doctors consider when they decide whether or not to come back?
2. If they didn’t know before, do that bother to find out? (reading this blog will be a good start)
Isn’t it that it’s only when they know what they are up against that they can do something about it?
And of course, if a person wants to come home, he needs to know how. Putting up easily accessible information on their website will be a good start. (Oh ya, using English on their websites will be a good move too.)
Poor doctor: I can’t really write and speak in Malay, looks like I fall into the category of students who should stay on overseas, or look across the causeway (since that one, I can easily see out of my window)
July 9th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
MOH do not diffrentiate local or oversea doctor. For them, all doctors go through the same process of applying the job of medical officer. FOr you to work here, you starting point is U41 medical officer (with or without specialist qualification). Also don’t believe what the DG / Health Minister said; until today from the day they promise the specialist of U48 promotion, no one actually got their promotion. Only a handful of more senior specialist who gazetted in 2004 got some offer to ‘memangku’ U48 pending passing PTK3, all those specialist after 2004 still pending approval of JPA to get their promotion (which need PTK3 exam as well). SO these specialist who passed out since 2004 / 2005 still stuck at u41.
For those who join the service now or even future specialists, they need to pass PTK1, 2 and 3. Yes, THREE exam not one as offered now. This current offer of U48 pending passing PTK3 is a special offer for specialists passed in 2004/2005. Those passed after that need to go thorugh PTK 1, 2 and 3. SO you can be ambitious or already the super specialist / sub specialist locally or from oversea, if you do not have special connection or route for promotion, please be prepare to take these exam which are conducted in BAHASA MALAYSIA!. If you manage to pass every exam in first attempt, then hopefully you will get promoted to U48 in 5 years time from the day you are employed as U41 medical officer (or specialist). Your salary will be then about RM6k.
So unless you are prepare to come back to serve your country men without asking anything for return, than come back at your own risk. If you cannot write in Malay, forget about promotion just treat your service here as charity!. Don’t threaten KKM for losing you as a experience specialist who might bring back any advance technology / skill from oversea because I can tell you, you are just another number on thier paper, they don’t give a damn for losing you. You can get lost if you don’t agree with their offer.
July 9th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
See how JPA puts in the stumbling blocks to promotion? 3 exams now instead of one. In my day we just had to sit for “Perperiksaan Am”. No need to attend any silly induction courses (which take away valuable man-hours from understaffed medical departments). So tell me Dr Ismail, wouldn’t this point deter Malaysian doctors graduating or working overseas from coming back?
July 9th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
I am utterly despondent at the thought that I would be coming back next year with a rather rare specialty only to a salary of U41. I have served 6 years in government service before i left overseas. I did not have SPM BM so after 3 years in the government service I was deemed not good enough to have the 60 ringgit yearly pay rise anymore. ‘Contract’ they called me. I have A levels Bahasa Melayu-was flatly refused to have this recognised (perhaps I should have done another language, and be so much more enriched). I come home for my family and I hope I wouldnt loose sight of this. I am seriously petrified. now ….Dont even mention the website to me…..
July 9th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
ngyo: there may be a way out for you. Apply the contract specialist post (u47). The contract is renewable every 3 years but never heard anybody got terminated before if you do your job resonably well. But if you do not have SPM BM, forget about working in Malaysia, unless you got special permission by JPA, I think you are not even eligible to be confirmed as U41 medical officer so don’t talk about RM60 yearly increament or promotion. Without the BM pass in SPM, you are doomed as government officer with no chance of salary increment (not even the mendatar) or propmotion. Stay where ever you are. If KKM offer you with any sweet talk, make them put in black & white!. You can be the best or only specialist in your field, JPA don’t give a shit, they want you to pass PTK exams. Without BM pass, sorry to say you are not worty as the HOs and not eligible as confirmed staff or chance to take PTK exam. Also why don’t email DG himself and get a special permission for promotion to U54 (as a subspecialist) or at least u48 (specialsist)? But you still stuck at that level as you will never be confirmed without BM pass.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
I have a relative who migrated to Australia after Form 4 and never sat for SPM. He did his medical course after HSC there. He is in the midst considering coming home with just MBBS. Would someone enligten us what are the hurdles fro him to come back?
July 11th, 2006 at 8:52 pm
ch hu: properly no problem for him just to get the job of U41 medical officer. But the application process may take months. You can download the application form from the MOH website; http://www.moh.gov.my. I assume that he want to just serve the compulsary 3 years service than go to private sector! because if he wanted to stay in public section, he had no chance of getting promotion because he had no SPM BM pass. Without it you get RM60 per year increament for 3 years and that’s it because you cannot be confirmed as permanent staff as he has no BM pass. He cannot get promotion because he is not eligible for PTK exam. Even he take up the Master program and become specialist, he will be stuck at the U41 (but he will get the specialist allowance which is RM1300) forever without increament because he cannot take the PTK exams. Why don’t he take up some specialty courses in Australia & come back as specialist, the deal would be slightly better.