On the hospital us students have to go for check-up

Frankly.... It's crap.

Doctors in the hospital at Kievskaya are crap. Underpaid and probably overworked... So they don't quite care to do their job properly. I'm talking specifically about the physicians/therapists (терапевт) there.

So... How does the system work, you ask?

Every student is required to pay $175 (yes, it's in USD was $150 but well... inflation) for medical insurance(RESO). We've each got to collect the RESO card from the student agency (Mos-Lanka Investment) before heading to the designated hospital to either get our general check-up or get prescriptions if we're sick, etc.

Other hospitals are good. The hospitals that us students go to for our classes(clinical years 4 - 6) have superb doctors who're well-versed in their medical knowledge and are quite quite good - Tho some might be a bit lacking in the teaching department.. But they know their stuff inside out. How medical doctors are supposed to be like.

NOW... This hospital at Kievskaya. It's for us MMA students and I suppose, normal staff of MMA? It's RESO guaranteed - so technically we can go there for medical purposes. Like say if we're sick or what-not.

HOWEVER... Like I mentioned, these doctors - the ones at the ambulatory clinics (that's equivalent to what we Malaysians know as clinic doctors) DO NOT do their jobs properly. It is IMPOSSIBLE to auscultate a heart or the lungs in milliseconds and determine whether everything's ok.

And blood pressure? Dammit.. You can pull that trick on a normal civillian, not a medical student who KNOWS how to take blood pressure readings. No matter how pro you are, it's impossible to get a correct reading when you release the air all the way within 1.5 seconds. And my BP is not 120/80. Really.

And the drugs they prescribe? Seriously. I give up. YOU BLOODY WELL ASK BEFORE PRESCRIBING! There are contraindications for asthma, you dumb fuck!

How can a doctor NOT know that and KNOWINGLY prescribe contraindicated drugs to someone who very clearly said he has asthma? Dumb fuck.

So yeah....

You get what you pay for. In this case, despite paying for your medical insurance, you get crappy half-assed doctors who probably forgot why they became doctors in the first place. Doctors who can't even remember that asthma has contraindications. Pffft. Don't even want to think about what cardiac pts might be prescribed with.

On a separate issue.....

The Student Council is performing splendidly.

I, like many I presume... Did not choose to vote for the current committee. Something that I actually do regret to this day. Because they've done what the other previous committees haven't/didn't try hard enough to do. THEIR FREAKING JOB!

So this is kudos to the current committee. For an awesome job and for actually making more than just an effort.

Forget how they got their positions and focus on how they're DOING something. I mean, they didn't cheat or anything... But for the other party to forfeit... Well. Macam tak syiok je. Tho that's history and this committee has more than proved themselves.

=) Keep up the good work!

What the agents don't tell you about Moscow.

Like a Russian once told me, Moscow is a place for WINNERS.

Moscow is a cold, unforgiving place. To the misinformed, living in Moscow would be like living in a nightmare. What with the language barrier, the seemingly cold and unfriendly Russians, the horrible post-communist mentality and the incredibly crazy skinheads to name a few...

The phrase "No Money, No Talk" rings true especially here in Moscow.

What most students who come to Russia fail to realize is the importance of learning Russian!! Just because one studies in the English medium doesn't mean it's ok to claim to know little Russian. I mean, it's like going to Japan or China and expecting everyone there to know English! The same policy works everywhere - Like the saying goes "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" or "Masuk kandang kambing mengembek, masuk kandang kerbau menguak". A very simple concept that most here don't seem to comprehend or are unwilling(a.k.a plain lazy) to put into practice.

Although (Soviet)Russia was a former superpower, one should not come to Russia expecting it to be like the United States or United Kingdom or any other European country. The reality is that the communist mentality is still very much present (albeit to a less severe extent) - smoldering at the very core of the Russian community. And the result? Incompetent administrative systems, rampant bribery and nonsensical bureaucratic red-tape.

Regardless of what the agents say, despite MMA offering a 6-year English medium medical course, there are quite a few subjects that'll be taught entirely in Russian. And recently the dean's office has come up with a notice that some of the lectures(which were originally given in English) will be delivered in Russian. (It's like Malaysia implementing the whole teaching Science and Maths in English except that this time, the students have a choice - and guess what does the majority do? Skip!! 'Ponteng' lectures simply because their understanding of the Russian language is almost non-existent.)

And also, REGARDLESS of what people have said and the bad image portrayed in the media, Russia offers quality education. (As I've constantly mentioned) There just seems to be a problem in managing the ever opportunistic students who're more interested in getting high marks without actually getting a good grasp of the syllabus.

Why POTS' blog might not be of concern to MMA graduates. YET.

Yes, in the past few posts I've been going on and on about the whole cheating culture in MMA.

Yes, what POTS wrote in the blog really did strike a cord.. Although, this is proof as to how immature some of the students in MMA can be. Pfft.

But.... (back to the point)

If one were to thoroughly think and take into account the number of graduates that have actually GRADUATED from Moscow Medical Academy, one would realize that there actually haven't been that many who have graduated.

As it is, the current graduating batch (2009) consists of only 50-70 students. Last year, roughly 70 students graduated. The earlier the batch, the less the number of graduates.

So... technically the MMA graduates probably consist of 10%(or less??) of the current Russian + Ukrainian graduates. (CSMU churns out few hundred students per year. Was it 400? 500? or even 600 students?). I know - I'm pointing the finger at poor ol' CSMU graduates. Of which I'm VERY sure some will turn out to be excellent doctors.

Actually.... on a bigger note...

If one were to take time to sit back and notice one's surroundings... One might realize that in all actuality - you're never really alone in this world.

EVERYONE CHEATS. Regardless of what and where you study, be it law, business, engineering, computer science, medicine in Russia, India, US, UK, Australia, China or Malaysia.

The only difference is... to what extent?

Don't get me wrong - cheating is still pretty bad and the end doesn't always justify the means. Reason why I'm placing so much emphasis on the whole cheating culture here in Moscow is because this is not just any specialty we're talking about. It's MEDICINE.

Graduates of Moscow Medical Academy will not just be graduates. We are FUTURE DOCTORS! By cheating now.... Chances are that you would be cheating a patient of his life!

And although I believe that eventually everyone does catch up and has the potential to be a good doctor, the main difference between one who cheats to score and one who doesn't cheat and still scores well... is the pile of bodies behind them.

I rest my case.

You cheat, I cheat, we all cheat!!

And so the story begins...

Where does this all start?? Who's to blame? I mean, there's GOT to be SOMEONE to blame, no?

Time and time again this question has been posed and time and time again we arrive at the same conclusion - It's all individual. It's all up to the choices we make and our willingness to suffer the consequences.

Before I begin, I'm very well aware of the fear many have that disclosure of the details of what goes on here might well lead to the derecognition of MMA.

HOWEVER, do note that MMA is still one of the better medical schools out there with a wealth of knowledge to depart to those who are willing to reap the benefits. Derecognizing MMA would be pointless if Malaysia is going to continuously churn out students who lack drive, ambition, direction and substance.

Before I digress, I should at least try (from my own perspective) to make sense out of this cheating culture.

Note that not all start out with cheating. Many arrive in Moscow full of hopes and dreams of grandure. Moscow unfortunately, is a cold, unforgiving place for the ignorant and naive. I would have to admit to being just that when I first arrived - ignorant and naive. But that's a story for another day.

In the initial few months, the idea of cheating and being able to get away with it slowly diffuses amongst these fresh faces. And although many still stand by their principles, the more neutral naturally opt for the easy way out - TO CHEAT. And so we have an estimate ratio of
anti-cheaters : neutral ones : cheaters - 3 : 4 : 3

As months go by, more and more realize that rules here are lax and life in general becomes easier if one were to just do what almost everyone else is doing anyways - CHEAT! Mind you, this process only takes a few months to destroy what most Malaysian schools have spent years trying to instill - that cheating is intolerable and would bring immediate suspension.

Naturally the neutral ones are the first to go. However, by the time you hit 3rd or 4th year, 90% would have been "converted" to the world of cheating and most would have mastered the art of cheating as well as the art of "intelligent bullshitting". Needless to say, everyone eventually passes.

Of course, there are a number of determined teachers out there who go all out to try and curb this warped culture. But as the years go by and faced with the steadily increasing number of students whose sole purpose in class are to cheat off each other... It's no wonder that they eventually give up and reap the benefits. Note that if a student is unable to complete certain subjects within their current semester(meaning unable to sit for the finals), he is given a grace period of another semester to complete these subjects - on a basis that he must PAY TO RE-SIT these colloqs. So for these few subjects at least - the students here are bound to know some if not most of the syllabus.

In situations like these - these teachers are labelled corrupt, biased and even troublesome. Such is the mentality. Instead of preparing for exams using textbooks, students rely 100% on seniors' notes - claiming ignorance simply because what was asked was not in the notes.

How la, Malaysia?

Of course... again- not all are like that. There are a small minority who work hard to get where they are. I would go so far as to say that the amount of knowledge between these few students could possibly equal the amount of knowledge present in the other 90% who - after so many years have become complacent and care-free.

Renewed vigor!

In light of the recent posts posted by POTS about the lack of competence of some medical graduates from Russia and Ukraine, I have decided to renew my long abandoned efforts in writing about the current condition of students in MMA, from my point of view.

Undoubtedly, the previous 2 posts were written almost a year ago. Lack of time, determination and willpower to maintain a blog such as this led to its almost instant demise.

Within these past few months, I have grown and gained insight on many things. My personal struggle between what's right and wrong will undoubtedly be a life-long journey. I can only hope that by creating this blog, I can make a difference - if only to a single person - it would have served its purpose.

The situation now remains just as grave if not worse - with students going all out to repeatedly "steal" the mcqs that have constantly been re-done by the lecturers. Note that these mcqs were not previously handed out and have been constantly re-structured whenever any foul-play was suspected.