The Malaysian Association for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (MATCVS) Council would like to reaffirm our continued support for all postgraduate medical training programmes which meet the standards of the National Postgraduate Medical Curriculum – both from the Parallel Pathways and Universities.
We strongly support the recent press statements from the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia, College of Surgeons of Malaysia, College of Physicians of Malaysia, Malaysian Medical Association, Malaysian Urological Association, and Malaysian Family Medicine Specialists’ Association, among others.
These press statements have demonstrated a consensus within the medical fraternity that the Parallel Pathways for Specialist Training in Malaysia must be allowed to continue and co-exist with the Master’s programmes run by Universities.
Rather than to be discontinued, the Parallel Pathway must be further strengthened to ensure that it continues to be of the highest standards to meet the health care needs of the country and complies with regulatory requirements.
The MATCVS Council is very concerned with numerous pieces of misinformation that have been spread on social media by certain individuals concerning the Cardiothoracic Surgery Parallel Pathway training and qualification. While we are unable to address every single piece of misinformation, it is important that we correct some of these.
The Cardiothoracic Surgery Parallel Pathway does not make use of the FRCS International examination or qualification. Our candidates take the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCS Ed) Joint Specialty Fellowship (JSF) examination in Cardiothoracic Surgery, the same and the only examination taken by candidates from Singapore and Hong Kong for more than 20 years.
Only candidates who satisfactorily complete the required duration of specialist training and acquire the competencies in Cardiothoracic Surgery can take this examination.
The qualification awarded is the Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (FRCS Ed) in Cardiothoracic Surgery. This qualification is recognised in Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei and the United Kingdom. It was also recognised in Malaysia until 2021.
There are two Malaysian Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeons practising in Malaysia who are on the National Specialist Register with this qualification.
Graduates from the Cardiothoracic Surgery Parallel Pathway are able to access the UK Specialist Register with this qualification as it is recognised by the UK General Medical Council. The Cardiothoracic Surgery Parallel Pathway Curriculum is the same as the UK Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum for Cardiothoracic Surgery.
The training centres for the Parallel Pathway in the Ministry of Health Cardiothoracic Centres, Institut Jantung Negara, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, and Hospital Cancellor Tuanku Mukhriz Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia are accredited by the RCS Ed together with the Ministry of Health.
In addition, the Annual Review of Competence and Progression of the Parallel Pathway trainees are conducted by the RCS Ed according to the standards in the United Kingdom, providing the quality assurance. The trainers involved in the Cardiothoracic Parallel Pathway training do so voluntarily and do not receive any payments or honorariums.
We urge individuals without the full knowledge of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Parallel Pathway training to refrain from making inaccurate and misleading statements as these are causing concern to our trainees, the medical fraternity, and the general public.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
