Post by NMA on Dec 16, 2007 1:15:43 GMT
AA,
alright, this is kinda weird, because there is already a thread on this subject, but it is very different. The other thread sort of evolved as I was out there, and at one point was almost going to be like a blog, but then internet access was a little poor at times, and things didn't happen. This thread is simply an introduction to Malaysia as an electives destination. I am almost tempted to ask for the other thread to be deleted or archived, as I think it's better people follow this structure, but anyway, thats up to the mods to do.
This is a brief summary of an elective in Malaysia. It is based almost entirely on my own experience, some 2 years ago, but may still be relevent. It was a great experience, and I made some good friends.
Overview: I went to Malaysia for my final year elective during the second block. It was a rushed elective in terms of organising things... I think everything fell into place perhaps hours before the deadlines. I studied at IIUM - International Islamic University of Malaysia, in their new medical facilities (still under construction) in Kuantan. They have an amazing vision for their campus there, and I was joined with one of their final year groups, who would become one of the first year groups to qualify there. During weekends, sometimes prolonged weekends, I travelled around the country, covering most of 'mainland' Malaysia, Singapore and also managed to squeeze in a trip to Borneo, and Mt Kinabaloo. At one point I almost crossed the northern border into Thailand, but that was an accident. I also made it out to some of the smaller islands, which were nice, and of course, trekked in the rainforest.
I guess I should start with Medicine in Malaysia. As this is about medical electives and all. In terms of organisation, Malaysia is very similar to England, pre, um, reforms. They are actually fairly close to the form of medical education here that our current consultants enjoyed/ endured, depending on your perspective. This is hardly surprising, as most of the top docs over there seem to have trained in this country. Malaysia was until fairly recently a British colony, afterall, and hence there is much similarity. In terms of disease spectrum, this is best understood by considering the socioeconomic status of the country. Ok, I promise not to use any more long words. They tend to be difficult to spell correctly =). There is ahuge spectrum in Malaysia, from the ultramodern city centre of KL, which is almost futuristic at times, to the VERY traditional mud and wood huts of the native tribes, and the complete spectrum in between. This means that aswell as seeing tropical conditions, like Malaria, you also have a large concern with diseases like diabetes, heart conditions, COPD- conditions often brought on by excess and good living. The Medical know- how and practice is of a very high standard, or certainly was from what I saw. However, because of the reluctance of the population to generally present to the hospital, disease were picked up late. From an educational perspective, this meant that we could actually see the signs that the textbooks talk about. Also, as screening is a little beyond their ability, conditions that we pick up and treat early here, like some cancers, are still rife over there. In the hospital I was attached, a lot of the locals would prefer to see their 'medicine men' first, before coming to the hospital, and educational campaigns were an important part of delivering healthcare.
In terms of travel, well, I have already alluded that I had pretty much criss- crossed the country. I travelled by train, plane, boat, car, bus, and yes, on foot. Oh yes, and by elephant, mustn't forget that. Again, if I had planned it better, I am sure I could have squeezed more in, but I made some elementary mistakes. For example, I stayed my first week of elective in London, to finish Ramadhan and spend Eid with my family. I flew out and landed in Malaysia to find... a bank holiday, for prolonged Eid Celebrations. I also found that had I booked and arranged things earlier, I would have had a smoother time, with better connections. What I can say is it certainly is easy to travel there, the country is really trying to push both cultural and eco tourism, and tourists are a huge part of its economy, so that is easier. All travel is pretty much based around Kuala Lumpur which acts a s a big terminal, so not going to a KL hospital did hinder me a little. On the plus side, I had many visits passing through the capital :-) I also discovered that to some places they will charge tourists more than locals for admission, but I guess I can understand that. Like in England, they drive on the left, so it is easy to drive there, although to some extent 'easy' depends on which road you are on. The modern cross country highways are easy, some of the smaller, older 'A' roads were more a test of skill, and that's just because of the potholes- the flooding and aquaplaning also added to the excitement. Ah, wonderful memories. Buses also vary dramatically in quality, comfort and travel time. In terms of cost, well, it wasn't very expensive, but easily could be. Malaysia is generally split between the international brand names you will recognise, at equivalent prices, and the local competition, some 6 times cheaper. Food is all halal, well mostly, and by law has to be clearly marked if not, and also relatively cheap, only do be aware some of the cooking conditions would not meet the UK standards for cleanliness, I am sorry to report. Still, take some antibiotics with you if needed, and soon you will adjust, or be a little smarter where you get your food from. But food is also fairly cheap. I saved money on accommodation by sleeping or at least dozing whilst traveling whenever possible- with the double benefit of giving me more time at my destination. I thought it was generally very safe over there, although I am not sure I can recommend sleeping in public to everyone- I have the advantage of being a big chap, and generally stood a foot taller than most over there. When we did get accommodation, well, lets just say it was varied in quality, so it does pay to look around and book places in advance. That said, some of the smaller places don't always honour bookings, as I found out.
Well thats a general overview. What else can I tell you about? The weather- I expected hot and humid, and thats what I got, although I actually aclimatised very quickly, and despite the monsoon we had a good share of hot, sunny days. Of course, when it rained, it poured, and I think there was one spell of about 10 days of torrential rain. The towns are set up for this though, with huge storm drains, so flooding isn't such a problem. Of course, you can get soaked in a matter of seconds if you are caught in a downpour.
I have purposefully avoided detail here, but by all means feel free to ask specific questions below. I would love to show you some of the photos, but then, I have spent 2 years thinking about making a website for that, and never gotten around to it. What I can say, to finish off, is that it was an incredible journey, a life affirming and medical affirming experience and I would love to go back sometime, actually, the sooner the better. I hope any of you who visit Malaysia have as good a time as I did.
wslm
NMA
alright, this is kinda weird, because there is already a thread on this subject, but it is very different. The other thread sort of evolved as I was out there, and at one point was almost going to be like a blog, but then internet access was a little poor at times, and things didn't happen. This thread is simply an introduction to Malaysia as an electives destination. I am almost tempted to ask for the other thread to be deleted or archived, as I think it's better people follow this structure, but anyway, thats up to the mods to do.
This is a brief summary of an elective in Malaysia. It is based almost entirely on my own experience, some 2 years ago, but may still be relevent. It was a great experience, and I made some good friends.
Overview: I went to Malaysia for my final year elective during the second block. It was a rushed elective in terms of organising things... I think everything fell into place perhaps hours before the deadlines. I studied at IIUM - International Islamic University of Malaysia, in their new medical facilities (still under construction) in Kuantan. They have an amazing vision for their campus there, and I was joined with one of their final year groups, who would become one of the first year groups to qualify there. During weekends, sometimes prolonged weekends, I travelled around the country, covering most of 'mainland' Malaysia, Singapore and also managed to squeeze in a trip to Borneo, and Mt Kinabaloo. At one point I almost crossed the northern border into Thailand, but that was an accident. I also made it out to some of the smaller islands, which were nice, and of course, trekked in the rainforest.
I guess I should start with Medicine in Malaysia. As this is about medical electives and all. In terms of organisation, Malaysia is very similar to England, pre, um, reforms. They are actually fairly close to the form of medical education here that our current consultants enjoyed/ endured, depending on your perspective. This is hardly surprising, as most of the top docs over there seem to have trained in this country. Malaysia was until fairly recently a British colony, afterall, and hence there is much similarity. In terms of disease spectrum, this is best understood by considering the socioeconomic status of the country. Ok, I promise not to use any more long words. They tend to be difficult to spell correctly =). There is ahuge spectrum in Malaysia, from the ultramodern city centre of KL, which is almost futuristic at times, to the VERY traditional mud and wood huts of the native tribes, and the complete spectrum in between. This means that aswell as seeing tropical conditions, like Malaria, you also have a large concern with diseases like diabetes, heart conditions, COPD- conditions often brought on by excess and good living. The Medical know- how and practice is of a very high standard, or certainly was from what I saw. However, because of the reluctance of the population to generally present to the hospital, disease were picked up late. From an educational perspective, this meant that we could actually see the signs that the textbooks talk about. Also, as screening is a little beyond their ability, conditions that we pick up and treat early here, like some cancers, are still rife over there. In the hospital I was attached, a lot of the locals would prefer to see their 'medicine men' first, before coming to the hospital, and educational campaigns were an important part of delivering healthcare.
In terms of travel, well, I have already alluded that I had pretty much criss- crossed the country. I travelled by train, plane, boat, car, bus, and yes, on foot. Oh yes, and by elephant, mustn't forget that. Again, if I had planned it better, I am sure I could have squeezed more in, but I made some elementary mistakes. For example, I stayed my first week of elective in London, to finish Ramadhan and spend Eid with my family. I flew out and landed in Malaysia to find... a bank holiday, for prolonged Eid Celebrations. I also found that had I booked and arranged things earlier, I would have had a smoother time, with better connections. What I can say is it certainly is easy to travel there, the country is really trying to push both cultural and eco tourism, and tourists are a huge part of its economy, so that is easier. All travel is pretty much based around Kuala Lumpur which acts a s a big terminal, so not going to a KL hospital did hinder me a little. On the plus side, I had many visits passing through the capital :-) I also discovered that to some places they will charge tourists more than locals for admission, but I guess I can understand that. Like in England, they drive on the left, so it is easy to drive there, although to some extent 'easy' depends on which road you are on. The modern cross country highways are easy, some of the smaller, older 'A' roads were more a test of skill, and that's just because of the potholes- the flooding and aquaplaning also added to the excitement. Ah, wonderful memories. Buses also vary dramatically in quality, comfort and travel time. In terms of cost, well, it wasn't very expensive, but easily could be. Malaysia is generally split between the international brand names you will recognise, at equivalent prices, and the local competition, some 6 times cheaper. Food is all halal, well mostly, and by law has to be clearly marked if not, and also relatively cheap, only do be aware some of the cooking conditions would not meet the UK standards for cleanliness, I am sorry to report. Still, take some antibiotics with you if needed, and soon you will adjust, or be a little smarter where you get your food from. But food is also fairly cheap. I saved money on accommodation by sleeping or at least dozing whilst traveling whenever possible- with the double benefit of giving me more time at my destination. I thought it was generally very safe over there, although I am not sure I can recommend sleeping in public to everyone- I have the advantage of being a big chap, and generally stood a foot taller than most over there. When we did get accommodation, well, lets just say it was varied in quality, so it does pay to look around and book places in advance. That said, some of the smaller places don't always honour bookings, as I found out.
Well thats a general overview. What else can I tell you about? The weather- I expected hot and humid, and thats what I got, although I actually aclimatised very quickly, and despite the monsoon we had a good share of hot, sunny days. Of course, when it rained, it poured, and I think there was one spell of about 10 days of torrential rain. The towns are set up for this though, with huge storm drains, so flooding isn't such a problem. Of course, you can get soaked in a matter of seconds if you are caught in a downpour.
I have purposefully avoided detail here, but by all means feel free to ask specific questions below. I would love to show you some of the photos, but then, I have spent 2 years thinking about making a website for that, and never gotten around to it. What I can say, to finish off, is that it was an incredible journey, a life affirming and medical affirming experience and I would love to go back sometime, actually, the sooner the better. I hope any of you who visit Malaysia have as good a time as I did.
wslm
NMA
