Honours to stiffle M'sian Medical Specialist programs

NST: Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh honours health D-G for contributions to surgery

The first posting entitled "FRCS medical training scam?" dated February 14th attracted cynical and criticism comments. 

Most important, more feedback came this way. One is this Facebook status dated February 3, 2018 in which former Director General of the Ministry of Health, Tan Sri Noor Hisham Abdullah received Fellowship Ad Homimem from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd). However, that status is no where to be seen and was removed from his Facebook. 

Apparently a month earlier on January 17th, 2018, there was a launching ceremony for the RCSEd International Office at UKM for the FRCS International program allegedly referred as "scam" program not accredited by the Malaysian Medical Council but pressure is being applied to accredit the inadequate surgery training program. 

When asked by a commentator whether FRCS can now be done in Malaysia, Noor Hisham proudly gave the affirmative and claimed it has been going on since 2016. 

On May 29th 2022, he jubilantly published the successful 8 trainees that passed the Joint Specialty Fellowship Program for Cardiothoracic Surgery. An effort from the Edinburgh accredition visit on June 27th 2015.  To the horror of the trainees, the program was inadequate and rejected by MMC. 

It explains the frantic pressure applied on Minister for MOH by The Malaysian Association for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (MATCVS), Malaysian Urological Association, Academy of Medicine, and other NGOs. All seemed many but are the same group of people with personal vested interest.  

Presumably the influential Noor Hisham may have extended his support as Chairman of IJN and got the media coverage to ensure the program he bulldozed as DG with IJN, UKM, and UM to glorify overseas certs over the already accredited Malaysian programs did not turned out to be an embarassment. 

Is the gratification given by RCSEd to Noor Hisham for shoving their program for the Malaysian market and generate a cashflow for their institution? 

The question that remain unanswered is: How is MMC to give accredition to a fellowship that cannot be accredited for practise in the country it is issued (see the above)? 

Seriously, since when do an NGO or association given such a significant role to be middlemen? 

Read on in Thick as a Brick