Specialist training slots increased to 1,500 beginning this year

The health ministry will increase training slots for the Master of Medicine programme up to 1,500 beginning this year to encourage more medical officers to pursue their specialist studies, especially in critical areas.

Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said this would be done in collaboration with the higher education ministry, to offer 23 specialist areas at eight public universities.

She said training slots under the Parallel Pathway specialist programme sponsored by the health ministry have also been increased to 600 per year for 14 specialist areas.

"The health ministry also offers benefits similar to fully paid study leave and the Federal Training Prize to medical and dental officers appointed on a contract basis through the MoH Specialist Training Programme and MoH Scholarships.

"It is for them to pursue their Master of Medicine, Master of Dentistry and specialist study in the Parallel Pathway at domestic and foreign institutions starting from the 2022/2023 academic session," she said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
 
She was responding to Alias Razak (PN-Kuala Nerus) on the ministry’s initiatives to encourage more doctors to further their specialist studies, especially in critical areas of expertise.

Zaliha said the ministry’s public health programme also offered a public health medical pre-specialty training with a mentor-mentee concept for permanent and contract medical officers who are interested in furthering their studies in the field of public health medicine.

She said a total of 7,993 medical officers were pursuing their specialist studies under the Master of Medicine programme and Parallel Pathway as of Dec 31 last year.

Of these, 4,586 medical officers were furthering their specialist studies under the Master of Medicine Programme while 3,407 others were under the Parallel Pathway programme.