KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry will introduce a new programme for the medical graduates who are waiting for their housemanship.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said the programme, called "tagging", is to let the graduates follow and observe the medical officers carrying out their medical duties at healthcare centres.
The programme, he said, will be carried out at hospitals and clinics that does not provide the housemanship course.
He said the "tagging programme" will be introduced next year as the ministry is still working on the guidelines.
"There are 5,000 medical graduates a year and most of them are still waiting for the housemanship.
"They have to wait for six months to one year to be recruited for the housemanship. While waiting, their skills and knowledge on medical would fade away and this would also lead to incompetency.
"Therefore, to maintain them (skills and knowledge) and to occupy their time, the ministry will introduce a programme called 'tagging'.
"We also want to avoid problem such as housemen failing to complete their housemanship within the set time frame due to their incompetence," he told the reporters at the Integrated Healthcare Internship and Career Day 2017 launching ceremony at Tun Syed Nasir College here today.
However, he said the graduates are not obliged to apply for the programme.
"If they want to learn more, they can apply for this programme. This is also to prepare them for the housemanship," he added.
On the Integrated Healthcare Internship and Career Day 2017 programme today, Dr Hilmi said it was to educate and expose the medical students on the healthcare industry.