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Malaysian medical students take to the country

10 August 2005

Fifty-two aspiring doctors from the Monash University Malaysia Medical School spent last week in the town of Rawson, near Moe in Gippsland, learning about issues unique to rural medicine.

The students -- the first intake of Monash University Malaysia's Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery -- talked to residents, visited local healthcare services and toured local industry to gain an appreciation of rural medicine.

Although all Monash medical students undertake rural placements in their first year, a special program was devised for the Malaysian students that added social activities to their practical experiences.

As well as visiting healthcare providers and residents, the students visited the snowfields at Mount St Gwinnear and a local national park in the hope of spotting Australian wildlife.

The head of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at Monash University Malaysia, Professor Dato Dr Anuar Zaini, joined the students for part of the week.

Professor Chris Browne, head of the medical faculty's international projects, said the program aimed to give the Malaysian students an insight into rural medical facilities while giving them a sense of country Victoria.

"We like all our students to get an international experience, and this is one way we can enhance the Australian experience for our Malaysian students," he said.

In Malaysia, all medical students are sent to country areas to practise once they have completed their degrees. The same will apply for Monash Malaysia medical students.

"The medical facilities in country areas in Malaysia are underdeveloped compared to Kuala Lumpur, so it is appropriate that the students go into country areas that are not as well developed as Melbourne," Professor Browne said.