MONEY is the main factor for switching jobs in any profession. It is a fact that once a medical student completes his/her training, individualism takes over. The target is to pass the MBBS exams, proceed to postgraduate studies and be a clinical consultant. There is no thought of serving the nation.

One reason for the brain drain in the medical-health sector is the lack of post graduate opportunities in Malaysia. A rigid hierarchical system hinders the ambitious from quickly climbing up the career ladder.

Opportunities are denied even more with the increasing number of doctors that we produce each year. What happens is these doctors resort to overseas collegiate programmes which are designed to be “people-friendly” – meaning anybody from anywhere can take the exams. One should realise that these programmes are internationally recognised because of history, past reputation and numbers, not quality.

After spending a lot of money to get the coveted qualification, it is logical to reclaim the money by working there. Unfortunately, due to the financial stability and being in a system which recognises one’s talent; the thought of contributing to the country is lost. In fact, applying for PR or even citizenship comes to mind.

It is the thick colonial thinking we have which encourages the brain drain. This is exacerbated by the Health Ministry’s  rigid policy to not recognise talent. There should be a paradigm shift to change this mindset and formulate a thorough plan to keep the talent pool in the country.

We’ve lost a lot of our talent to Singapore; look at their medical health system which has many Malaysian doctors.

Source: The Sun – August 26, 2009