Dearth of info on fast track plan

I NOTED with interest the reply given by Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad to a question raised in Parliament by the MP from Tanjong Malim on housemanship placement. In his reply, the minister mentioned a fast track programme for outstanding house officers as one of the solutions to resolve the long waiting period for housemanship placement across the country.

The fast track programme for exceptional housemen was announced back in 2016 by the Health Ministry through a press statement. Among the criteria for getting on it was passing Paper 1 of a parallel pathway membership programme.

The announcement offered hope and ignited a sense of excitement among medical students who were motivated to hasten their pursuit of specialisation. To date, there are many graduates and house officers including myself who have attained the Part 1 qualification but have yet to receive any form of recognition, and I haven’t heard of any house officers being selected for the programme. Those who have sat for a parallel pathway examination would know the challenges involved, including only being able to study after an exhausting day at work.

I am currently a house officer in a hospital in the northern part of Malaysia. I am nearing the end of my first year of housemanship. Having passed Part 1 of the Member of Royal College of Physicians examination, I attempted to look for further information to support my application for the fast track programme. Imagine my dismay when, after hours of browsing through various websites, including the Health Ministry’s, Malaysian Medical Council’s, and Malaysian Medical Association’s, I had to conclude that my search had come to naught. Multiple attempts to telephone the Health Ministry also yielded no results.

One can only hope that the Health Ministry could give us some clarity on this matter, especially the selection criteria for a fast track programme.