It’s tough even for those who qualify

READING medicine is “no joke”. Students “will definitely struggle” if they aren’t ­academically qualified, Society of MMA Medical Students (SMMAMS) honorary secretary R. Thanashree, 28, believes.

The society has 2,000 members from over 30 medical universities in the country.

“I’ve seen many students pursuing medicine despite their poor results. They fare badly, lose hope and drop out.

“This usually happens in private institutions that look at whether a student can afford the fees rather than academic ­requirements.

“Students must be properly qualified because doctors and dentists serve the community, save lives, and build trust,” she says.

The fourth year medical student, who’s also the Asia Metropolitan University (Muar Branch) student council president, thinks that to get the “right candidates”, an assessment or entry test for medical and dentistry programmes must be conducted.

SMMAMS chairman P. Puventhiran, 24, blames the medical schools.

If students dream of pursuing medicine or dentistry, they would do anything to fulfil it, he points out, arguing that the onus is on medical schools to maintain the quality and standard of students.

“If medical schools don’t compromise on the minimum entry requirements and don’t accept students solely for profit, this wouldn’t happen. In the end, it’s the students who suffer. They might go into depression or drop out,” the year five AIMST University student from Selangor stresses.

He, however, doesn’t agree that all unqua­lified students will struggle. A lot also depends on hard work, dedication and perseverance, he suggests.

“We all start from zero. It doesn’t matter how great your SPM or STPM results are ... if you work hard and have basic knowledge of the sciences, you’re on your way to getting a medical degree,” he says.

Arts stream students, however, will struggle if they insist on pursuing medicine, he feels. Even those with passion struggle. Rather than waste time and money, he ­advises students to really think things through before taking the leap.

Students choose medicine for many reasons – passion, their parents, they think it’s a cool profession or they’re just unaware of other career opportunities.

School leavers need guidance, he says. Otherwise, they won’t know to look beyond the norm of medicine, engineering and law.

SMMAMS vice-chairman and University of Malaya third year student G. Navinnash Kumar, 22, is disappointed with students who “take the short cut”.

While it may lead to them realising their ambition, how good they are as doctors later on is questionable, the Perakian thinks. He’s heard of many cases where unqualified students go abroad to study.

Whether someone is qualified or unqualified, however, is a “mere label”, he thinks. No one is barred from studying medicine – the entry qualification is a mere indication that he or she should be able to make it in this demanding field, he offers.

Having observed friends – once top ­students in ­secondary school – struggle to pass their exams in medical school, he believes studying medicine creates new ­challenges and experiences for everyone, regardless of past achievements.