Here’s the questions that I was asked in the exam.. But couldn’t remember all the questions..

Long Case

1. Asthma (Dr Chan, HOD from SGH & Dr Wai from UNIMAS)
   1. What is d outcome?
   2. How to treat now?
   3. What is d complication of high dose Budesonide?
   4. What is long term complication of asthma?
   5. What is severe asthma?
   6. What is hygiene hypothesis?
   7. What can u find in lung function test?
   8. How do u prevent triggering factors in asthma?
   9. What is prognosis of this child?

Overall I think I did not perform well coz I forgot something which is quite important..

But Dr Wai’s comment: “Not bad”

Short Case

1. Down Syndrome + VSD (Dr Khin & Dr Wai)
   1. What advice u wanna give to mother?
   2. What’s d recurrence rate?
   3. Incidence in this mother?
   4. What’s ur diagnosis?
   5. Translocation higher incidence or non-dysjunction?
   6. If both parents got 21, what’s d incidence?
   7. More questions on frequency & incidence but I could not remember the exact questions..
2. Thalassemia with splenectomy scar
   1. What is the scar?
   2. Give example for the drug for this scar?
   3. Indication for the scar?
   4. What investigation u wanna do?
   5. What is ur diagnosis?
   6. What is d complication of the scar + this disease in this child?
   7. What is d commonest organism?
   8. How do u manage this patient?
   9. What is d definitive treatment?
   10. What type of transplantation in this child?
   11. Why cannot do autologous transplant?

Overall I think I did quite ok for both cases just that I couldn’t really answer the incidence thing for Down Syndrome..

In thalassemia case, Dr Khin & Dr Wai have no more questions to ask so they let me go earlier.. They went to ask the time keeper “How many minutes left?”

The time keeper said “11 seconds”

Dr Khin asked me whether still want to answer some questions?

Then Dr Wai & Dr Khin laugh at each other and I went off after that..

I have just attended the MQA meeting.. It’s a meeting to decide whether to continue recognizing our medical degree..

So it’s serious business here! They have de-recognized Cyber medical degree.. So dont play play!

But I was informed last minute while taking my lunch in Hong Hong Inn cafe! LOL

So what are the questions did they ask? The followings are not in order..

1. Please introduce yourself
2. How often you fly back to hometown?
3. Any lousy lecturers?
4. Is there any MO teaching?
5. Are you following MO or specialist ward round?
6. Do MOH specialists teach you guys?
7. How often do u see your basic sciences lecturer in clinical years?
8. Any problems with your lecturers?
9. Any problems with your friends?
10. Who is your mentor?
11. How often you see your mentor?
12. What do you usually discuss with your mentor?
13. What is SDL? What do u do?
14. Did you really follow the SDL?
15. Where do you stay?
16. Why you stay outside and not inside hostel?
17. How you get your car? Buy or send from JB?
18. How’s the library?
19. Did UNIMAS lecturers teach you more or the SGH lecturers teach you more?
20. What is IDA?
21. What is CPC?
22. Do you compare your notes with other university students?
23. How do you feel about your clinical years?
24. What speciality you intend to do?
25. Will you come back to join UNIMAS?
26. So many HO now, so can you learn?
27. Is it easy to get the signatures for the log book?
28. What do you learn in Public health? Medicine? O&G? Family Medicine?
29. Which topic do you like the most?
30. Any counselling for failure in exam?
31. Is there any evaluation form after exam?
32. Is there a “Best lecturer” prize?
33. What do you learn in your elective posting?
34. How’s your ON CALL?
35. Delivery is conduct? assist?
36. Did you do procedures like blood taking? LP?
37. How’s your PBL conducted?
38. Any of your friends study until commit suicide?
39. How many BST per week?
40. How many SDL per week?
41. Are you happy with UNIMAS?
42. How many posting in 5th year?
43. Why psy & ortho were 2 weeks only?
44. Are you taking any scholarship or loan?
45. So are we wasting your time here?

Apparently the answer for the last question is NO! Free lunch! Why not? LOL

So in the end they will give a cert like this..

I hope I did not say anything wrong just now.. If I really did, then to all my juniors.. Sorry la.. haha

As u know, Members of Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) is not a recognized postgraduate program in Malaysia..

Meaning even after u got MRCS, u’re still not a surgeon!

So here is the answer from our MO in Sibu Hospital, Dr Roger who got his MRCS..

Q: Hi Dr, wanna ask u why u wanna take MRCS since it’s not recognized in Malaysia?

Dr: Hi.. good question.. reasons:

1) Self improvement. Brush u your basic surgical knowledge

2) U get benefits as a member of the college (e.g library and journal access from the college, they have surgical courses which is only limited to members..useful later on in your career)

3) It’s not a specialist qualifications and was never ever meant to be one instead it recognizes that your basic are up to standard and you qualify for higher surgical training

4) Recognized in all other parts of the world..again not as a specialist qualification but a qualification that enables you to enter their healthcare system as a junior registrar..

Q: And since it is not recognized, what is ur future plan? Is it local master program is the only way out? How about FRCS?

Dr: Yup, Masters is the only way…

To be eligible for FRCS exam, you need

a) MRCS

b) 4 years post MRCS with operative log book approved by the committee and 3 referees who are frcs holders..so it’s still a long way to go for me..haha

Other option I would consider is..

a) Go to Singapore after your medical school..they’ve started on their residency programme which is structured and should be of good quality

b) Adventurous..then take your usmle and apply for surgical residency in US

UK – tough to go in now as they are closing their training system to foreign trained medical grads..

as for me i am applying for masters then will see after masters if i am eligible for the frcs

So I got Dr Chan, the funny orthopaedic surgeon! haha

My 1st case was Skin traction:

1. Can u tell me what is this?
2. What r d indications?
3. What r d complications?
4. What special thing u can notice for this Buck’s traction?

2nd case was peripheral nerve examination:

1. This young boy presented with post-tumour excision.. Can u examine the neurological system?
2. As usual, inspection, motor, nerve, scar..
3. Then I said wanna examine proximal lymph node, Dr Chan said: “Please show me.”
4. Then I said complete with examination for mets..

So the comments from him:

1. Well done for upper limb.
2. Nearly well done for skin traction.

I asked him what caused the “nearly well done”?

He said I should answer all the questions without him to say “What else?”. Coz I missed 1 complication and he said “What else?”

After I answered that, he moved on liao.. walao, za dao..

Then he told me to answer all the questions without having examiner to prompt me for answer in Prof exam.. Then will get full marks.. lol

While for Jun Ing, she got Dr Gunalam:

1st case was high tibial skeletal traction

1. Can u tell me what is this?
2. What other tractions do u know?
3. What’s max KG for skin traction?
4. Why cannot be more than 5kg?
5. What is Orthopaedic?
6. What are the causes of non-union?
7. Why in bone infection, healing is poor?

2nd case was above knee amputation

1. What is this?
2. Indications for this?

3rd case was Illizarov external fixation

1. What is this?
2. Indications?
3. Describe the ulcer on inspection only

No comments from Dr Gunalam

Studying far from KL is a major problem for medical students to buy their books and the sad thing is Kamal Bookstore is the only large bookstore that supply medical books in Malaysia..

So I either go there one shot and buy lots of books or I order and ask them to courier to me..

So the steps are..

1. Email to kmedical@streamyx.com and ask the price of ur books.. please tell them the edition as well..
2. Then they will tell u the price, the postal fees and method of payment
3. U can pay by banking into their Public Bank account or Online transfer money to their Public Bank Account..
4. Then u email back the banked-in slip or the online transfer ID, the book u wanna buy, the edition, ur address, name, handphone number.
5. They will email back to u once they got ur email..
6. Wait for 2 working days not including the day u got their reply email to get ur phone call from the courier agent..
7. Collect ur book! Woola!

The reason to state the edition of ur book is that I ordered from Mediclink before , ECG Made Easy.. Then I did not tell them the edition, assuming they will give me the latest one..

In the end when I open my bundle, I got the older version of ECG Made Easy.. WTF? Pissed me off!

Anyway, if u wanna buy from Mediclink, the handphone number is 012-2835794..

The advantage of MedicLink is that u get ur books first before u pay the money.. While Kamal is u pay first before u get ur books..

But MedicLink does not have a great variety of medical books!

Main entrance of Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

Whooping 18 medical schools! Walao.. U all don’t graduate so fast leh.. So competitive!

My advice is to go IMU and take their twinning program to UK la..

If u have limited budget then go Manipal or AIMST.. Don’t go Russia.. Now Russian graduates have very very bad reputation in the local hospitals..

At least in Sarawak General Hospital I heard lots of stories la..

Yes, of course there are exceptions..

Although Elective posting also counted in our CGPA, but this doesn’t really can be considered as a “subject” la.. haha

If Elective posting got exam, what kind of questions will they ask?

What is the most famous tower in Paris? lol

Anyway, the remedial exam result is out as well.. Sad to see 1 of our batch student leave UNIMAS, another 3 of them have to repeat year 4… and 1 lucky charm passed through!

So as usual, I will see how were my results in year 4..

CGPA for Year 4 excluding elective posting: 3.45

• Psychiatry: B
• ENT: A
• Ophthalmology: B+
• Orthopaedics: B+
• District Hospital & Family Medicine: B+
• CDL: A
• Community Medicine: A-
• Forensic Medicine: A-

Sem 1 in year 4 doesn’t look too good but sem 2 in year 4 may have a chance to get Dean List if I did not screw up my Elective Posting..

For those who are interested to know more.. Can download this: Download

1 day to go, I will be in year 5 medical school.. Final year!

Time really flies.. I could still remember when I was in year 1, looking out from my hostel window to see the year 5 seniors, teasing them “old”..

Now I myself is “old” as well.. Turning 24 this year July but still studying?! Abuthen?

I also moved to a new house.. Actually I change places every year..

Year 1: Hostel

Year 2: Stapok Rm250 per month

Year 3: Sibu Rm155 per month

Year 4: Matang Jaya Rm75 per month

Year 5: Jalan Pisang Rm125 per month including electric, water & internet

Sounds good huh?

Hope for the best in 2011/2012!

1) What is MRCP?

MRCP (UK) is a diploma offered by Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. In UK, it is an entrance exam to speciality and everyone needs to pass MRCP in order to pursue their speciality training. In Malaysia, MRCP is considered as an exit exam where upon finishing the exam and completing 18 months gazettement process, you will be considered as a General Physician. MRCP is an internationally recognised degree and widely accepted worldwide.

2) How is MRCP conducted?

MRCP consists of 3 parts. MRCP Part 1 consists of 2 papers of 100 questions each. It covers basic science as well as clinical questions. The questions are multiple choice questions (MCQ) with “best of five” answers. You are eligible to sit for MRCP Part 1, 12 months after your graduation and medically employed. This means that you need to complete at least 1 year of housemanship before sitting for MRCP Part 1.

After passing your MRCP part 1, you will be given 7 years to clear your Part 2(written) and Part 2 (clinical). You can sit for either of the Part 2 exams at any time. If you fail to clear both this exams within 7 years, you will have to sit for Part 1 again.

Part 2 (written) consists of 3 papers of 90 questions each. The questions are multiple choice questions (MCQ) with “best of five” answers.

Part 2 (clinical) is a clinical/practical exam. It consist of 5 stations assessing you on history taking, physical examination, making a diagnosis, investigations, management and communication skills. Station 1 and 3 will have real patients with physical signs of cardiovascular, respiratory, abdomen and neurology. Station 2 is on history taking and Station 4 will be on communication skills of explaining certain medical diagnosis to patients etc. Station 5 consists of 2 brief clinical scenarios where you have to take a brief history and do quick physical examination and come to a diagnosis, simulating a scenario in a day to day clinic.

3) What are the passing rates of MRCP?

Generally, the passing rate of each part of MRCP is about 45-50% worldwide. Very rarely, a person passes all the part in first try.

4) How long will I take to clear MRCP?

If you pass all the parts in first try, you can complete the MRCP in less than 5 years; the best will be 4 years after graduation.

5) What are the other options in becoming a Physician?

The only other option in becoming a Physician is to do local Master’s programme offered by UM, UKM or USM.

6) I planned to work in medium-sized hospital in Sabah or Sarawak to learn as much as I can without too much competition (HO overflow). but your advice is after I pass part 1 and 2 MRCP, I should apply for transfer to bigger hospital for training purposes to handle part 3, even if I’m in a rural hospital?

First of all, there are only few hospitals in Sabah and Sarawak which can take housemen, namely Kuching, Miri, Sibu, probably Bintulu soon, Queen E and probably Sandakan/Tawau hospitals soon. The rest of the hospitals do not have consultants to supervise housemen. As long as the hospitals have consultants and has adequate training facilities for junior doctors, you should be able to sit for MRCP. Unfortunately, only major hospitals have adequate specialities for you to train as a physician.

You must understand that MRCP is not just an exam for you to sit and pass without adequate clinical knowledge. You can sit and memorise all the textbooks but you will not be able to pass MRCP if you do not practise clinical skills. As far as possible, you need to undergo rotations in various subspeciality units to get adequate clinical knowledge before sitting for MRCP. Rural hospitals do not have subspeciality units for your training. That’s the reason, it is better to do your training in big general hospitals.

Furthermore, you need a supervisor who can testify that you are fit to sit for the exam, especially for Part 2. Thus, you need a proposer who can certify that you have undergone adequate training to sit for the exams. After passing all the parts, you also need a MRCP holder of at least 8 years to sign the testimony to receive the diploma.

7) What is gazzetment process?

Since MRCP is not a specialist exam in UK, Ministry of Health of Malaysia has made it compulsory for you to complete 18 months of gazzettment process before being recognised as a specialist and to receive the specialist allowance. Thus, after 18 months of further training in a tertiary hospital, you will have to get your HOD to recommend you to be gazzeted as a specialist. The gazzettement period can be shorter on a case by case basis depending on your duration of training before passing MRCP. This will be decide by MOH gazzettement committee.

The first 12 months is “tempoh percubaan”. The actual 6 months gazettement starts after that. i.e they are actually paid their specialist allowances from the last 6 months onwards.

However generally the 12 months “tempoh percubaan” have been included as gazettement period.

After the gazzetement, what’s next?

How do I apply for sub-specialty training? Where do I apply? Can I apply while I’m still under the gazzetement process? Will I be accepted as soon as I apply, or it’s subjected to seats availability? In short, I would like to know about the sub-specialty training, and maybe as specific examples, you can tell me the route on to cardiologist and neurologist.

After gazzetement, you can apply for subspeciality training via Ministry of Health. Depending on the field of subspeciality that you are applying, the waiting time can vary from few months to few years. Popular fields like cardiology and gastroenterology take the longest time to get a training post. At the moment, subspeciality training in Malaysia can only be done in Ministry of Health hospitals or University hospitals. Only certain hospitals are designated for certain training. For example, cardiology training can be done at Penang Hospital, Serdang, Kuching and JB, as far as I know. Neurology is usually done in HKL and Penang.

Most subspeciality training in medicine is 3 years. Usually, you need to do the training in 2 different centres. The final year can be done as an attachment overseas and you may be given a fully paid scholarship by MOH. From 2011 onwards, you need to sign a contract upon confirmation of your training post in subspeciality by MOH. You will be bonded for 3-5 years depending whether you do all your training locally or partially overseas. Previously, you are only bonded if you choose to go overseas during your final year.

All in all, it will take roughly 10-12 years upon graduation for you to become a subspecialist.

9) If I got accepted by Singapore as MO post-MRCP, is it certain that I will be absorbed into the sub-specialty training after 1 year? After I have completed my specialist training in Singapore, is my license recognized in Malaysia, and is my license recognized internationally for that matter.

There is no guarantee that you will get the subspeciality training post in Singapore. It depends on your performance and which field that you are choosing. If you stay long enough, you will get it, as long as you show interest and your superiors support you. Subspecialist training in Singapore is a very structured training programme and is well recognised internationally. There is no problem for you to return to Malaysia as a subspecialist.

10) Is Malaysian specialist license recognized internationally? And what are your recommendations for internationally recognized sub-specialty programmes post-MRCP?

This is a difficult question to answer. Whether another country recognises our subspeciality training depends on that particular country. Generally, our local Master’s programme is NOT recognised elsewhere except for some Middle East countries. So, it is very likely that as a Master’s holder, you will not be able to work elsewhere as a specialist except on attachment basis. Certain countries like Australia have their College of Physicians to assess the particular consultants experience and then will decide whether you can be recognised as a sub-specialist.

11) What is FRCP?

After 8 years of holding MRCP (UK), you can apply to the respective college for FRCP(fellow of the royal college of physician). To be accepted into a college as a fellow, you need to have contributed a lot to clinical medicine and medical educations. Publications in journals are also important. Furthermore, you need a proposer who is a FRCP holder to propose you to be accepted as a fellow. The respective college councils will go through your CV and publications before deciding whether you can be accepted as a fellow. Being a FRCP holder gives you an international recognition in medical field.

Download: 2011-2012_Medical_Academic_Calendar