Conditions for annual practicing certs eased for new medical practitioners, says Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): New medical practitioners who are fully registered with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) are now allowed to renew their Annual Practicing Certificates (APC) with a minimum of zero Continuous Professional Development (CDP) points.

MMC president Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the matter was agreed upon at the council meeting on July 27 and applies to graduate medical officers who hold temporary registration status with the MMC and have completed their graduate training.

"The allocation of zero minimum CDP points is given for the first two years of their APC applications after being fully registered.

"The decision was made as the collection of CDP points is not mandatory during graduate training,” the Health director-general said in a statement Monday (Aug 9).

He said the council was sympathetic towards the plight of practitioners who have yet to be exposed to the criteria for APC applications and the reporting period of the CPD, including those who could not fulfil the criteria as they were only fully registered after the CPD reporting period had ended.

The Health director-general urged newly registered medical practitioners to always provide the best level of patient care by attending CPD activities to ensure their knowledge, skills and professional ethics were of the highest standard.

One of the criteria for APC applications is the need for a minimum of 20 CPD points, which need to be collected in the set reporting CPD year, from July 1 to June 30 the next year, in accordance with Regulation 28(6) of the Medical Regulations 2017.

"For example, for applications of APC for 2022, the CPD points need to be collected between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021,” Dr Noor Hisham said. - Bernama