Exactly two weeks have passed since the newspapers informed us of a 'plan of the RCSI to open a private medical school in Malta'. In those two weeks, a lot of things have happened, but very little has been made known through official channels.
However, a fair bit of information seems to have leaked. Some of it we've heard on the grapevine, and some of it has been posted on this very blog by a handful of anonymous contributors. Now, I have no idea who those people are, and how reliable what they have posted is. So it's in the hands of the visitors of this blog to judge how reliable this information is.
But it's in my hands to protect two things that I consider as basic human rights : freedom of speech and access to information. So feel free to post any comments or information that you might have anonymously. It's the only way to safeguard the above two rights in a small place like Malta.
Having said that, I've noticed that the comments posted are becoming increasingly harsher towards the MMSA. One of the visitors has -eponymously- criticised those anonymous contributions, and I can really see his point.
So if you'll allow the resident twit to use the words of a most prominent wit, and make a request to all of you : "Don't shoot the pianist ! He's doing his best !". So, instead of criticising MMSA, be a bit more constructive and post some ideas and suggestions on how the medical student body can deal with the issue.
Anyway... Onto the main part of this post : I have taken some time to prepare a compilation of all the information I have at this point, for the benefit of anyone interested :
The Facts (sources : The Times, MMSA statement)
- The RCSI is really interested in establishing a medical school in Malta. They have already submitted a proposal to the Maltese government and negotiations are at an advanced stage.
- The medical school will admit students that already have a bachelor's degree in their possession and will be a private institution, charging considerable tuition fees.
- The duration of studies will be 4 years, and upon graduation the students will be given a degree equivalent to the MD degree offered today by the University of Malta.
- The students will be trained using state-of-the art equipment.
- The medical school will employ both Irish and Maltese lecturers.
- 'Advanced stage' means that the RCSI proposal has actually been accepted by the government, and the only thing that remains is to settle the details of the deal.
- The proposal was kept secret until two weeks ago. No-one consulted the UoM Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, MAM or MMSA about it.
- A committee will be formed, to decide on the final details of the RCSI deal. The UoM Faculty of Medicine and Surgery will be part of that committee, but MMSA will not.
- The RCSI is willing to share it's high-tech teaching toys with the University of Malta and also provide post-graduate facilities and research opportunities for the UoM students.
- In exchange, the RCSI wants full access to the patients in Mater Dei.
- Only 20% of the faculty members of the RCSI medical school will be foreign.
- The RCSI plans to recruit the best lecturers from the University of Malta, by offering them significantly higher salaries than the ones they currently have.
The Reactions (sources : visitor comments, MMSA statement, Pawlu's blog, the grapevine)
- The board of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery had an emergency meeting last Tuesday.
And we all wonder : what does this mean ? Does the faculty agree with the deal ? Someone posted a comment on the same blog, asking for clarification. But the reply he received was even more enigmatic.
One of the readers of this blog posted that the faculty considers the proposition of the RCSI as a "good opportunity" ! Could it be that the faculty members are mainly interested in the research funds which the RCSI will allegedly provide ?
What about the effect of the deal on the quality of teaching ? Will the high-tech resources of RCSI be enough to compensate for the significantly reduced exposure to patients that the UoM students will get ?
- Yesterday, MMSA publicised a short text, describing their concerns.
"...the Faculty is in concordance vis-à-vis our concerns, and is looking to secure discussions with the bodies responsible for decisions regarding this issue, i.e. the Ministries of Health and Education, the NCHE Steering Committee, and the University Administration. We have been assured that any talks will be held with the students' best interests in mind, and that they are open to further comments and concerns of the students."
So have we agreed to sit back while the faculty does all the work ? Has the faculty specifically requested that, due to some reason that hasn't been made public ? Wouldn't it be better if our colleagues at the MMSA EB asked for a student representative to attend the discussions ?
And I am not suggesting this because we don't trust the faculty (on the contrary, those people have taught us all we know about medicine, and much more ! so they certainly have our highest respect !). It's just that I believe that two -synchronised- voices are always better than one !
[UPDATE : According to a comment posted by Pawlu, MMSA was simply not allowed to participate in the discussions. Which means that no-one really cares about the opinion and the needs of the students. Certainly not good news, then... Is there something that we can do for this ? ]
- The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery has sent a letter to the Ministers of Health and Education.
"The numbers of students being admitted to our medical school every year is frequently disproportionate with the resources and facilities available to sustain high quality teaching and training. Indeed, an in-depth study by the Board of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in 2004 states that the optimum number of students per clinical year is 54. The average number of students per year currently exceeds 60, and the intake for the MD Degree course in 2007 was 81. Whoever enters into any agreement with another medical school on behalf of the Government of Malta has a clear responsibility to safeguard the interests of the University of Malta Medical School. Nothing must be done to compromise the teaching facilities of this school and indeed these assets should be protected by all means possible."
I have no idea whether this extract is authentic or not. Does anyone know ?
[UPDATE : The authenticity of the letter has now been verified. Could the person who contributed the extract also share the rest of the letter with us ?]
- MAM has planned an urgent meeting, to discuss the issue.
Is this true ? I have absolutely no further information on this. Can anyone help ?
12 comments:
I'm a first year student and this is the first I have heard about all this. Thanks for opening my eyes. This is going to affect ME!!
Dear Foreigner
Details of the RCSI proposal are outlined in a document dated 4 October 2007, a copy of which MMSA should have. This document briefly lists the benefits to the medical community of Malta and its people of this long-term relationship. These benefits are listed under the following categories: 1. Medical Education: shared teaching facilities with UoM, availabilty of student electives in Ireland, transfer of eLearning expertise. 2. Benefits to local academics: employment for maltese academics, access to medical teacher training. 3. Research: Joint applications for EU, Irish and other grants, access to MSc and Ph.D programmes, reciprocal visits, employment of biomedical scientists. 4. Postgraduate training in Medicine and Surgery. RCSI and RCPI will assist in structuring training programmes and providing relevant courses, including the possibility of a shared curriculum.
The report ends by stating "To achieve all of these targets will require RCSI and the Maltese Medical Community working in unison and this will be achieved by establishing appropriate working committees, joint steering committees and, as referred to earlier, consultation at all levels".
Hope this helps to clarify some issues.
BTW, the PC term is now International Student.
Thank you for your contribution, doctor. I am very happy that this blog has attracted the attention of members of the faculty.
The information you are providing above does indeed clarify many things.
But things seem a bit too good to be true. OK, the RCSI seems willing to share a lot of things with the University of Malta. But why ? What's in it for them ? What makes the RCSI so interested in Malta ?
Maybe I am too suspicious, but I've never seen a company offer something for nothing. In fact, I know that the way in which companies function is the exact opposite...
To be quite frank, the proposal put forward by the RCSI mentions the 'opportunity to share resources', including the clinical skills labs and e-teaching facilities, as was revealed to MMSA in a meeting with the RCSI's go-between. The opportunity is there, but it remains to be seen if they're planning to charge for use.
Quite a good round-up of info, and yes, that extract from letter to ministers is bona fide. MMSA also has copy of this letter, as alluded to by Themis, and this is why MMSA is content to be following in the faculty's footsteps, with shared discussions - our concerns run in parallel.
As for asking for a student rep on discussion boards, it's being looked into.
Dear Dr. Themis, Here is my jaundiced view of the "benefits" of this partnership.
1. Shared teaching facilities with UoM. This could mean we share theirs and they share ours (ie they take over MDH), or it could mean as Pawlu pointed out, that we would have to pay for access.
2. Availabilty of student electives in Ireland: As I understand it, this option is already available to us, so what's the big deal?
3. Transfer of eLearning expertise: As someone has already pointed out, much of this is already available for free.
4. Employment for maltese academics: Most of them already have a job, although it pays peanuts (which is why most of them have to leave the wards as early as possible to make money elsewhere). So why would this be attractive to them? Unless of course they mean "we will pay you much more for the same work".
5. Access to medical teacher training: Now this is one that we DO need given the poor quality of some of the didactic teaching given, especially in the pre-clinical course.
6. Joint applications for EU, Irish and other grants, employment of biomedical scientists: This will attract many of our academics, but let's not forget that research money is hard to come by and it will take many years before anything flows this way.
7. Postgraduate training in Medicine and Surgery. I see this as the only REAL benefit to our medical school of this "partnership". However, this particular point was not elaborated upon at all. I wonder why?
Dear Foreigner, What's in it for them, you ask. Access to good clinical material, that's what. Why do you think they spend millions creating virtual patients?
Dear Pawlu, Good to hear that MMSA has asked for representation on the steering committee. Whether or not you get it, you should still come up with your proposals to safeguard our interests, or should I say the interests of those who come behind us.
As long as our bellies are full and we are entertained by the gladitors then we won't care what the Emperor is up to. True now as it was in the 1st Century. As a student body we simply cannot afford to leave things for others to sort out for us. There needs to be a co-ordinated plan of action to assertain facts and act on them accordingly. I agree with the forgeiner that there is no such thing as a free lunch, so let's not be fooled by the propaganda.
Agreed, dear military tendency. The RCSI proposal is an attack of piracy on our alma mater. I'm sure there's good in it somewhere, but our job as students is to find the flaws (I'm not convinced that the faculty will ALWAYS have OUR best interests in mind) and make concrete proposals that will benefit US.
as a med student, i am offended that MMSA was not included in the discussions, this should not be tolerated!
I would like an update from anyone who knows anything. Please....Oh, and could MMSA please post an update on their site too. Thanks
As far as I know, there's nothing new on the issue (and therefore the government and RCSI are proceeding with the deal).
As regards MMSA, I think you would be better off by emailing them your request...
I have an update on this issue. Apparently the RCSI Business team is currently in Malta looking to either purchase or rent premises. A friend of my father (who is high up in government circles) also mentioned that the memorandum of understanding has been signed, but no-one seems to know what's in it.
What I would like to know is why people on the board feel that the UoM and the student board should be included in any discussions. From what I know about the situation, the "deal" is between the Malta Government (representing Mater Dei) and the RCSI. They will not be using the university for anything but just the hospital which is run by the government. Therefore all you surprised meds can chill as there is no conspiracy, its just not any of your business.
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