Elective in Malaysia

[nins]

Hi everyone

I'm now thinking of doing my elective placement in Malaysia. Is there any Malaysians out there who can give me any advice? I don't really know where exactly I want to go in Malaysia, or where the good hospitals are.

Hope someone can help.

Thanks

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[jsn]

there are many hospitals here available for elective placement. any particular state you are interested?

 

[nins]

i'm not sure exactly where in malaysia i want to go to. i'd like to go somewhere that's safe, rich in culture with lots of things to do and see. i was thinking of going to kuala lumpur as there are several hospitals there, or penang.

 

[Singh]

Hi Nins.

I am planning an elective in Kuala Lumpur in august 2005.
I have chosen Univeristy of Malaya (www.ummc.edu.my).

You can also try International medical University which is a private university in KL. (www.imu.edu.my)

I have never been in Malaysia before, but I have heard that both these universities are well renowned and of high standard.

If you speak Bahasa Malaya, then you may also try UKM.

Feel free to contact me if you need advice.
When are you planning your elective and in which field?

 

[nins]

hi singh,

thanks for your reply. my elective will be the same time as yours, august 2005. i'm not completely sure what i want to study there, but at the moment i think i want to study emergency medicine, and maybe some anasthetics as well, since i haven't done either of these things at university.

i'm going to look into the universities you suggested. i'm also going to look at Penang General Hospital too.

thanks again.

 

[Singh]

Hi Nins.

I have chosen anesthesia as my first option and emergency medicine as my second. I also considered infectious diseases, since there is a higher prevalence of those diseases in malaysia compared to Europe and US.

If you are cost conscious, then I can inform you that IMU is a little more expensive than UM. But since the standards are the same, I chose UM.

From the websites I suggested, you can download application procedures.

Let me know if you choose UM, we might be staying same place then.

 

[eleileen]

hey guys & gals,
I'm an ex-IMU student, and although the university is good, the hospital itself is not in KL itself, so less patients would English-speaking. Also, the UM hospital is a big tertiary care hospital with many beds, research facilities, etc compared to the IMU hospital (Seremban Hospital, which is a district / primary care / second referral center).
Housing should not be a problem at either of these places either.

Hi Nins.

I have chosen anesthesia as my first option and emergency medicine as my second. I also considered infectious diseases, since there is a higher prevalence of those diseases in malaysia compared to Europe and US.

If you are cost conscious, then I can inform you that IMU is a little more expensive than UM. But since the standards are the same, I chose UM.

From the websites I suggested, you can download application procedures.

Let me know if you choose UM, we might be staying same place then.

 

[Singh]

Dear Eleileen.

Thanks for your input, nice to hear from a malaysia med student. Can you tell us where the hospital under IMU is situated? And what you are basically saying is that UM is a better choice than IMU when it comes to electives?

 

[jsn]

UM is the first local university in malayisia and its medical school is well-established while IMU is a private medical college therefore the cost is a bit higher.

most of the patients do not speak english but they can understand simple words. btw, if you are interested in eco-travelling sarawak general hospital (SGH)would be a good choice

 

[eleileen]

IMU's main hospital and the location of its clinical school is in Seremban, which is about 1 - 1 1/2 hours from Kuala Lumpur. University Hospital is located in the city itself. There is also another option if you're interested in infectious diseases...the center for tropical medicine which is under the main Kuala Lumpur General Hospital (HUKM campus);...might make an interesting elective! basically KLGH & UH are the two big government hospitals in the city. cheers!

 

[ici_cute]

I'm a student from H. UKM, and we all use English as medium. It's just the patient, but I can say, half of the patient you meet can speak english...and usually with their own dialect. just to clarify. This is true for all other teaching hospitals, english as medium to teach.

As for IMU (international medical university), it's not in KL, the practice is in Seremban Hospital, about 1 hour south of KL. and I live in Seremban for 1 year, not much to do there...they say seremban is usually for retired people...(no offence Seremban people

 

[ici_cute]

btw...forgot to tell you...I'm under HUKM...if you go through the society called AMSA...we can help with lodgings. There are about a dozen elective students last year if I'm not mistaken.

I myself is planning to go to Sarawak for my elective, problem is lodgings. There are great places to visit, it's just that transportation and accommodation is also a problem. So it's great if you go in groups.

For me, it's better to go to a non-teaching hospital for electives, but for foreigners, they may have diffficulties with language barrier. So I suggest teaching hospitals for medical students who doesn't have the language barrier.

 

[Nyusuf]

Hi
My name is Nazia and I'm thinkin of going to Malaysia's UM for my third year dental elective. How was your elective? I was wondering if you still had info from when you went on your elective and how you went about planning it. Did you go to UM and if you did how did you find it?
Thanks
xxx

 

[Singh]

Hi Nazia,

I did my elective at the Department of Anaesthesiology at UM in July 2005. I chose this place for three reasons: 1) I wanted to experience the health sector in a less-developed country; 2) I have family in Malaysia and wanted to visit them; and 3) I had heard about UM being a better place to do your elective as a foreign non-malay speaking student (IMU being a suitable alternative).

Soon after my arrival, I realised that the health sector in Kuala Lumpur isn't very different from most european countries. Apart from few differences, I found my elective in at UM to be quite similar to an elective in Denmark. However, the patients were different and suffered from different diseases than what we normally see in Denmark (Dengue-fever, Malaria, etc.).

Arrangements: I went to UM's medical faculty website: www.ummc.edu.my and read about how one gets to do an elective there. You can download their application form there. One word of advice: Do not expect them to answer on email! I must have written like 20 emails to them prior to my exceptance, but never got any replies!!! The way to go is calling them and talking to them. Malaysians lead a different lifestyle than we Europreans do, so be patient. Use the postal mail service to send the application. You can find more information on their website - student resources - overseas elective students. You need to talk to Puan Rosnani Aziz, a very nice lady but not as effective as one could hope for.

I was quite satisfied with my elective there. As goes for anywhere else, you get what you ask for. So be active and don't be afraid to ask. You'll meet some real nice docs who are very happy to teach you, and then you'll meet some arrogant a-holes who think they're all that.

There's a hostel just next to the hospital (about 1 min walk). You can find more about it on the same website. Not much to say about this hostel, it's okay.. I found it kinda boring though. But that doesn't matter because the elective was all worth it.

One more thing: You might find it difficult to find nice eating places close to UM. There's the hostel canteen which is just horrible! It's free food for students, but that didn't make me wanna eat there more than 2-3 times during my entire elective. Just outside the hostel there's a nice foodstall, but I got kinda tired eating there every day. So here's the thing: Walk towards the ER at UM-hospital and cross the road to find a small side road perpendicular to the main road. Walk about 200 meters ahead and you'll find a large large of south indian restaurants. Now that's what i call good food (esp. the first one in the row which is the only airconditioned restaurant - and really cheap).

Hope things work out for you, lemme know if you need more help.
Cheers.

 

[gangrenes]

if anyone is interested in doing electives in Sarawak General Hospital, in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The person to contact: Dr Wong JS at [email protected] , or fax +6082-240767 (updated april 2008)

 

[Nyusuf]

Hi Thanks for your reply.
As I'm doing dentistry I was planning on writing to the University of Malaya dental hospital. I am interested in Oral Surgery but unfortunately have not been able to find a particular area of oral surgery in which this dental school specialises. If anyone has any ideas I would be very grateful
Thank You
Nazia

 

[Boss]

Hi Thanks for your reply.
As I'm doing dentistry I was planning on writing to the University of Malaya dental hospital. I am interested in Oral Surgery but unfortunately have not been able to find a particular area of oral surgery in which this dental school specialises. If anyone has any ideas I would be very grateful
Thank You
Nazia

hello

I've acceptance from medical school of National University in Kalua , I don`t know anything about this University and when I looked for it`s website I did`nt find it , anybody know about this University Or is there another name for it ???

Thanks

 

[kathleen]

Hi everyone,
I am thinking about doing an elective (2-4 month duration) in Malaysia, would be in surgery. From what I read UM seems to be the best choice for english speaking med students. I`ve tried their website, but couldn`t find the elective application forms (well, anything about electives at all...). Anyone out there, who could give me some hints about this?
thanks
kathleen

 

[ici_cute]

Hi everyone,
I am thinking about doing an elective (2-4 month duration) in Malaysia, would be in surgery. From what I read UM seems to be the best choice for english speaking med students. I`ve tried their website, but couldn`t find the elective application forms (well, anything about electives at all...). Anyone out there, who could give me some hints about this?
thanks
kathleen

Hi Kathleen, try to call them up, it's better that way. Unless you have a direct contact with a student in UM. I did my internship/housemanship there for 1 year plus, but did my undergrad in HUKM. There's no elective application form I've heard before, but you need to go through the dean's office, and from there they might ask you to fax a letter from your student department.

Between the two, HUKM is very close to a youth hostel. Or you can stay inside the campus, nicer place than UM, truthfully. If you like peds surgery, I would recommend UM. Plastic surgery HUKM. Cardiothoracic surgery HUKM. General surgery either. Obgyn either. Vascular UM. Just my opinion, but I might be wrong as time change.

Staying here for 2-4 months duration? Wow!!! So many places you can go to . If you do come here, give me a hello. If I'm free I can show you around. If not, I can tell you the places you should go. Here's my email [email protected]

 

[kathleen]

Hi ici_cute,
thanks for your reply and very helpful comments.
I already got in contact with someone who has been there til Feb this year. Additionaly ist seems that our curriculum only allows me to work at UM, so this seems more or less clear now.
I think I will just try to contact the dean at UM now´, to see how things will work out.
By the way, arre you still in KL and if yes how long will you be there. I will come there in a year or so if everything works out fine.
Cheers,
kathleen

 

[ici_cute]

I'll be staying quite a loooongg time in KL I live about 15 minutes from UM. I'm glad you've sorted that out. any special posting/rotation you are interested in?

 

[ghostrecon]

hi

thanx for this great debate

i was thinking about doing master of medicine (Internal medicine) ,

at UKM ,

so what do you think about it ??

and what about the hospital ?? is it in kuala lumpur the capital ??

and is there any nice place to stay close to it ( single room plezz)

thanxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Solidsnake]

Hi ghost recon

I think clinical master programs don't have enough advantages for international postgraduate students in Malaysia,for the following:

1- You get to pay the college not get paid
2- you enroll in Royal college examinations only in Surgery, Pediatrics, Obs/Gyn

I think if you have the budget for the Malaysian adventure, Better invest in USMLE or something like.

I don't have a lot of information on Malaysia and maybe I'm wrong, I tried to post several questions here and in some groups in Facebook but I always get NO REPLY

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=573699

 

[ghostrecon]

hi solidsnake

thanx for ur reply

but , i want 2 know , have u beento malaysia ??

and is ur information confidential or you are making a guess??

thanxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Solidsnake]

well, i browsed some uni's websites, but i can't get sure information. yes i have been to Malaysia, loved the country, and when i came back i thought of doing clinical master program after graduation there,but I'm not sure about paying around 100k Rm for the whole deal.. i still have a lot of questions like do i get paid, should i learn malay, is the certificate recognized anywhere, How good is the training level, does it qualify the resident doctor well for Membership of royal college examinations.

 

[zozo]

hey everyone
i'm a med student from London and i'l be doing my elective at University of Malaya in Jan and Feb 2009. i'll be based in the accident and emergency department. i was hoping to meet anyone who'll be there around the same time as me coz i'm doing it by myself!
thanx

 

[ghostrecon]

well, i browsed some uni's websites, but i can't get sure information. yes i have been to Malaysia, loved the country, and when i came back i thought of doing clinical master program after graduation there,but I'm not sure about paying around 100k Rm for the whole deal.. i still have a lot of questions like do i get paid, should i learn malay, is the certificate recognized anywhere, How good is the training level, does it qualify the resident doctor well for Membership of royal college examinations.

so according to u , you have been in m`asia ,, so why u did not ask about these issues??

with all my respect 2 u ,, most of ur information is MISLEADING
thumbdownthumbdownthumbdown

take care dude

 

[Solidsnake]

Sorry ghostrecon maybe i seemed gloomy , its just that i can't find answers here, or even from some groups in Facebook. I only stayed for 1 week malaysia and it was more like a vacation trip, I thought of studying there after coming back home.

 

[mo7sen]

Hey guys

I am planning on doing an elective for 4 weeks in Malaysia this summer, so i was wondering, for Paeds Surgery where is the best place to go? i can't decide weither to go to Penang of UM!

Any special recommendations? any special doctors i should be asking for?

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHERE CAN I GET THE ELECTIVE DETAILS AND CONTACTS FOR BOTH UM AND PENANG SCHOOLS

thx a mil

 

[gangrenes]

if you like paeds surgery and some adventure, try sarawak general hospital. there is a paeds surgeon and she's fantastic.

email me if you want to go to sarawak general hospital
[email protected]

 

[Felicitas]

Hi,

I am a medical student in Germany and I am interested to do my clinical rotation in Malaysia.

I would like to do a placement in Kuala Lumpur or another nice place, and was wondering if somebody can give me some advice….

During the final year, German medical students undertake periods of clinical training in internal medicine, surgery and one subject of their own choice, each period lasting four months.

My University allows an elective placement for 6-8 months…

 

[omniatlas]

Hey all,

I've applied for a Trauma and Emergency elective at UM - Jan - March 2010. Do you all know usually how long it will take for them to get back to me?

I am also an ex-IMU Med student. I am currently at the University of Queensland (Australia) finishing off my 3rd and 4th year.

Best of luck, and if anyone has any questions about IMU, feel free to ask.

 

[gangrenes]

hi, try sarawak for your electives. we have received students from wurzburg and also goettingburg for up to 10 months...

 

[roze]

hey everyone..
i really need some info abt doing my elective in malaysia in K.L as an oversea student..its one month elective i can chose whtever branch i want..probably will be emergency medicine and darmatology..i am in 5th yr and our clg is giving us the opporunity to do it anywhere we like..its probaby going to be in august 2010..me and my friends are really intrested..any related info wud be soo helpful..thankzzz

 

[omniatlas]

Hey Rose,

I'm currently doing my elective at the University of Malaya Medical Center in Kuala Lumpur. I'm posted in the Trauma and Emergency department. I've run into 8 other elective students the short time I've been there. The ED is really informal (you can just come and go) -- sometimes there are classes for the UM students that you can join in as well. Its a big hospital -- I think the first week I was there we were performing CPR every other day. Lots of trauma from MVA.

I'm not too sure if you can get a derm spot (is it even offered?), but you should have no problem with the Emergency department.

Where are you guys from, out of interest?

Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be happy to answer them.

 

[tavahom]

Hello everyone.
I am a 3rd year medical student in Azerbaijan republic. I want to have my summer elective practice in malaysia. I specially want to have it in KL or Penang.
I wonder if any body can help, from where should I start. Thanks thanks

 

[coconut33]

Hi everyone, I'm a med student from UK, doing my elective in KL.

I'm UM at the moment to do my elective in Paediatrics at UM medical centre. I'm staying in the halls of residence, and do not like the accomodation, the toilets are on the floor, no flush, and the food is not very good. From reading all your posts I think there is a hotel right next to the hospital so I will ask to move there.

Thanks for all your posts, it's really helped me to not stress and to realise I can go find somewhere else!

I only got here yesterday, but if anyone has any questions about what it's like here, just ask and I'll tell you whatever I know

 

[omniatlas]

Hi everyone, I'm a med student from UK, doing my elective in KL.

I only got here yesterday, but if anyone has any questions about what it's like here, just ask and I'll tell you whatever I know

I just got back from KL two weeks ago and I'm already missing home. Hope you're being exploratory with your food -- Malaysia has one of the best varieties, its a fusion of SE Asia, and its cheap too

Make sure you check out Petaling street too while you're there -- lots of knock off goods, lol.

 

[idiosyncratic89]

I'm about to start my fourth year at Newcastle and am very interested in doing my elective next summer in Malaysia preferably in KL. I visiting the capital a couple of years ago and loved the city.

Does anyone know the best way for applying for an elective and if I will need to organise my own accomodation or do they tend to provide some locally.

Thanks
Katie

 

[omniatlas]

Does anyone know the best way for applying for an elective and if I will need to organise my own accomodation or do they tend to provide some locally.

Thanks
Katie

I would stick with the University hospitals, University of Malaya Medical Centre (previously known as University Hospital), or the Seremban Hospital (affiliated with International Medical University).

You will probably have to organize your own accommodation, but I would check with the program. The web is probably the best way to find out more information -- when I applied for an elective at UM I did so by their website.

 

[idiosyncratic89]

How did you find details about elective/who did you contact. I cant find anything on their website?

 

[omniatlas]

How did you find details about elective/who did you contact. I cant find anything on their website?

They might have made changes to the website. I filled out a form online last year.

You can probably try contacting Rohana Abdul Hamid at the Faculty of Medicine (UM) for more information.

 

[tonky]

Hi i'm thinking of doing my elective in sarawak. Can anyone recommend a good place for a surgical placement?

 

[rockst4r]

Hey guys (and girls).

This is a very good thread. Plenty of useful information. Well done guys!

Its nice to know that a lot of people are interested in doing their electives in Malaysia, feels proud to be a Malaysian!

Anyway i will be doing my elective in april and may 2011, hopefully in UM. I've found the application form and all and i will have to complete the form soon! A n E seems to be a popular choice for prospective UM elective students. If anyone could share their experiences in UM's A n E that would be great!

Also, if anyone is planning to do their electives in UM during the aforementioned period let me know!

Cheers

 

[omniatlas]

If anyone could share their experiences in UM's A n E that would be great!

There will be plenty of procedures you will be able to do at UM A&E. If you're not too good with ABGs, this will be the time to perfect it

MVA roll in on a daily basis, you will be asked to perform CPR; I had a motorbike vs. bus incident and it didn't turn out very well due to the circumstances of the patient, but we all tried our best.

Overtaxed ED, leading to overworked residents, consultants -- don't expect a lot of formal teaching, but make the best out of the situation.

You'll get good at getting your lines in. Hope you're good with those old fashion ECG machines (strap-ons), when I was there there was only one for about 30 beds, and it takes two to operate it. There will also be many other international students doing their elective term there. UM students have priority; they have a thick book that needs signing off, so you might have to take a rain check on a few procedures.

Any questions, feel free to ask

 

[rockst4r]

I see... thanks a lot omniatlas, that was very helpful. Sounds like a pretty good place to improve/practice skills and procedures... Ive got a couple of other questions though..

Did you spend the whole of jan - mac in AnE alone? and is there like some sort of supervisor or are you just expected to do and learn things on your own initiative? Also, how are the doctors there, are they keen to teach you procedures, etc given the fact that they are overworked?

Anyway, if im not mistaken you should be graduating soon right? Good luck and enjoy!

 

[omniatlas]

I see... thanks a lot omniatlas, that was very helpful. Sounds like a pretty good place to improve/practice skills and procedures... Ive got a couple of other questions though..

Did you spend the whole of jan - mac in AnE alone? and is there like some sort of supervisor or are you just expected to do and learn things on your own initiative? Also, how are the doctors there, are they keen to teach you procedures, etc given the fact that they are overworked?

Anyway, if im not mistaken you should be graduating soon right? Good luck and enjoy!

I was there for 2 months. If I had a chance to do it over again I would have split it up and done EM and another med specialty for a month each. You will have to take your own initiative -- the docs are busy (just like in any other ED), but they are especially on the edge because of all the trauma that comes in. Even gunshot patients (guns and Malaysia, unheard of!) will roll in. You'll have a couple sessions with the UM students, so don't sweat it. It would probably be best if you get to know the senior medical officers and try and tag along with them. That way you don't get lost in the scuffle and crowd of the ED. You make your own hours; you should try and schedule a few afternoon and night shifts -- thats when everything happens

Yup, graduating in 2 months, then its time to join the real working world.

 

[tell44]

Hi,
I'm from Germany, actually even from Munich, too. Are you in/ have you been to Malaysia? I'd really like to do my PJ there and could use some pointers for the appliction procedure etc.

 

[tell44]

Hi felicitas,
I'm from Germany, actually even from Munich, too. Are you in/ have you been to Malaysia? I'd really like to do my PJ there and could use some pointers for the appliction procedure etc.

 

[Batman59]

Hi everyone, I'm a med student from UK, doing my elective in KL.

I'm UM at the moment to do my elective in Paediatrics at UM medical centre. I'm staying in the halls of residence, and do not like the accomodation, the toilets are on the floor, no flush, and the food is not very good. From reading all your posts I think there is a hotel right next to the hospital so I will ask to move there.

Thanks for all your posts, it's really helped me to not stress and to realise I can go find somewhere else!

I only got here yesterday, but if anyone has any questions about what it's like here, just ask and I'll tell you whatever I know

Hi, I am a UK medical student who is trying to arrange an elective for april 2011/may 2011. HKL have offered me my rotations (a&e, O&G) but they dont offer any accommodation and I have no idea whats near and student friendly! (not too expensive!) Is HKL a good hospital in terms of experience, im a little confused with all these abbreviations, UMMC, HUKM and conflicting people telling me which will be the best hospital!

I would appreciate any help!