KUALA LUMPUR: Many Malaysian medical students overseas who take examinations in a foreign language suffer from depression when they return.
Physicians for Peace and Social Responsibility (PPSR) vice-president Datuk Dr Abdul Hamid Abdul Kadir said that large numbers of young Malaysians were being trained in foreign medical schools in Indonesia, Russia, India, Poland, Britain and the Republic of Ireland.
At a forum on Saturday organised by the PPSR, it was highlighted that at least five such houseman are found to suffer from mental illnesses every month.
“These countries have varied systems of medical training and different types of patient care, based on the emphasis of the country. As a result, many of the students who go there undergo a culture shock,” said Dr Abdul Hamid.
“Coming from different universities, backgrounds and experiences, they have difficulty relating and working, especially the weaker students,” he said, adding that there had been a sudden sprouting of many public and private medical schools.
While the schools have increased, however, the number of teaching hospitals have not.
Dr Abdul Hamid said that although there was an increasing demand for doctors, the standards and quality of patient care should not be compromised.
“These are the major concerns which the country’s healthcare and medical educational planners have to constantly bear in mind so that the value systems governing the training of our doctors are never lost sight of in the short term and the long term.”
by M. KRISHNAMOORTHY (The Star Newspaper 2008)
this particular article interest me. especially this finding "it was highlighted that at least five such houseman are found to suffer from mental illnesses every month."
i don't think culture shock alone cause them to suffer from depression. so let me be abit bias for minority's sake today. i think that students sometimes don't have the freedom to decide what they want to study. and one of the reasons why is because their parents 'decided' what's best for them. afterall, mum and dad KNOWS best.
the traditional chinese and indian parents (usually) would be the ones to dictate their child's future. one classic example would be deciding what course their child should take. e.g. parents insist that their child pursue medicine. full stop. i even know of a friend whose parents refuse to pay for his education unless he studies pharmacy, and that friend of mine is talented in humanities. i just don't get parents sometimes. do they want to see an epic fail and then ask whats the problem?
i'm not a racist. but conincidentialy, indians have this mentality also. some tanner friends of mine don't have the freedom to study what they are good/interested in. but because of their parents insistency or 'pride', they are forced to study what they don't want to. for instance, (let me use schoolboy's language) if a student apparently SUCKS in science subjects, why force'em to study to become a doctor when the results are telling you otherwise? some parents just don't understand. but we can't blame them also lah (i guess its their brought up). its life.
usually its the chinese and indians who kena all this lah. i feel for you all. well, look on the bright side, when you study for something that you suck in, fact says that you might not do so well, and then get depressed and all. and the stats highlight that 5 people per month goes cuckoo only wurt. what are the odds. don't get me wrong. i'm not saying that this issue is the sole contributor to depression for medical students. but i think that there's a high chance lah.
anyways, the reason i'm typing so much about this is because i can't help but feel annoyed over this issue. i mean, everybody wants a life of their own, and i think its safe to say that parents need to know that education is not only in their control, but their children's too.
okay. i'm done venting. i wish whoever thats gonna pursue medicine or whatever your parents 'ask' you to the very best.
before i go, here's something that i find quite amusing. i heard from a particular lecturer that one of her students that is really good in science related stuff (usually scores high A), applied to some prestigious uni overseas (then what? m'sia?) to study humanities. i find it funny that people who are good in something wants to study something which they might not be good in. and vice versa. oh world, you are one funny place.
p/s : if you went through all i've written above, i salute you. for one, you've patience. secondly, you don't mind reading crap.
=/
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