Penang Medical College

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Penang Medical College is a partnership in medical education between the Penang State Government (through the Penang Development Corporation) and the Irish Medical Colleges of the National University of Ireland (NUI): the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the University College Dublin (UCD). The purpose is to deliver a medical programme that combines the best of both worlds: an Irish medical degree (the MB BCH BAO conferred by NUI) where graduates are well versed in the disease patterns and the healthcare system of the country in which they will eventually practice: Malaysia. It is a nonprofit institution committed to developing professionals capable of independent practice.

Students spend the initial 2½ or 3½ years in Dublin undergoing their pre-clinical training with our partner colleges in Ireland. They subsequently return to Penang Medical College to complete their clinical training.

The college has grown from strength to strength as from 1996 and culminated in the 10th Anniversary Celebrations on 1st July 2006 which saw a grand gathering of leading academic leaders of both UCD, RCSI and PMC and the Penang State Government led by the Honourable Chief Minister YAB Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, the Director General of the Ministry of Health , Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican and other dignitaries from the Medical Fraternity and Government.

Since 1999, 6 cohorts of students totaling 242 students have graduated and are now serving as Medical Officers and Specialists in Malaysia and various parts of the world. Some foreign graduates who have returned to their countries of origin are already making great strides in the medical environment as researchers, medical specialists and even as government administrators and teachers.

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[edit] Partnership

PMC is a partnership with two of the oldest and most respected medical schools in Ireland, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and University College Dublin (UCD). PMC students undertake their pre-clinical studies at either RCSI or UCD, where they gain a comprehensive understanding of the biomedical sciences necessary to enter clinical training. Upon successful completion of their pre-clinical studies, students return to pursue their clinical training in Penang. During their period of clinical training in Penang, the students remain registered as full-time students of either RCSI or UCD.

[edit] Clinical training

Clinical training is undertaken at the PMC Campus as well as at the Penang General Hospital, the Seberang Jaya Hospital and other approved clinical centres in Penang.

The Clinical School comprises the departments of

  • Medicine
  • Surgery
  • Obstetrics & Gynaecology
  • Psychiatry
  • Paediatrics
  • General Practice
  • Public Health and Epidemiology

as well as Anaesthesia & Critical Care Medicine, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Radiology and Legal and Forensic Medicine & Ethics.

The internal standards and quality are ensured through the office of the Academic Dean and full-time Heads of Department at PMC as well as Heads of Departments from the Penang General Hospital.

External standards and quality are assured by periodic review by the Malaysian Accreditation Board (LAN) as well as the IMC (Irish Medical Council). The Sri Lankan Medical Council also accredited PMC in 2002.

[edit] Degrees

Upon graduation, students of PMC will be conferred with the MB BCh BAO degrees of the National University of Ireland (NUI) as well as the Licentiates of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

[edit] International recognition

The MB BCh BAO degrees are recognised by the IMC (Irish Medical Council), MMC (Malaysian Medical Council), Sri Lankan Medical Council as well as other regulatory bodies throughout the world. The degrees allow the holder to pursue postgraduate training worldwide.

Penang Medical College is also listed in the World directory of medical schools published by the WHO as well as IMED (the International Medical Education Directory).

PMC is committed to providing quality medical education with an emphasis on clinical training appropriate to the environment in which the majority of its graduates will practise.

[edit] Registration

Medical graduates will obtain their full registration when they have served one year as resident medical officer at a hospital or hospitals recognised by the Malaysian Ministry of Health and the Malaysia Medical Council. Thereafter, they are required to serve an additional three years as medical officers in a government hospital.