Emergency medicine is a branch of the global medical industry that deals with acute illnesses and life-threatening conditions. Medical emergencies would arise from various unforeseen conditions, consequently, patients treated in emergency departments may be of any age or gender and may be dealing with various health problems. It is pretty obvious that emergency physicians with such a broad patient portfolio would need extensive medical residency. Below is a detailed explanation of how to become an ER doctor, including information about ER doctors’ medical education.
What does being an ER doctor mean?
Emergency room physicians, also called ER doctors, are licensed physicians in emergency medicine who mainly work in emergency departments and provide healthcare for patients with acute and life-threatening health problems. Emergency medicine doctors must be able to stabilize and treat patients at any given time. Thus, the physician needs to be well focused on observing the symptoms to detect the problem correctly. To make a correct diagnosis ER doctors can use various medical tests and devices. After diagnosing the condition, the ER doctor either starts the appropriate treatment or refers the patient to a fully equipped hospital. You can view more jobs here to get a sense of the roles and responsibilities for ER Physicians.
Useful skills to gain before entering medical school
Being an emergency medicine physician could be challenging and overwhelming during some periods. To handle the heavy pressure of emergency medicine and to adapt to the career dynamic easily, it is better for medical school students to have the below-listed personality traits before medical school:
- Ability to work under heavy pressure
- Multitasking
- High communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Teamwork
- Organizational skills
- Patience and composure.
It would be useful for prospective medical students to gain listed skills before ER schooling to avoid challenges during and after medical school.
How to become an emergency room physician?
As a student wishing to have a career in emergency medicine, there are some ER physician requirements such as a medical degree and years of clinical rotations. Here is the insight on how to become an emergency medicine doctor.
Here is your starting point: MBBS
Medical residency may have different requirements depending on the region or even the country. Medical school students who are eager to become a doctor in Malaysia must start having their MBBS degree which may last 4 to 6 years.
To be able to have MBBS training, prospective medical students need to pass the medical college admission test. MCAT aims to foresee whether the candidate is proper to have a medical education or not. MCAT is applied once a year in exam centers which are located inside several colleges and universities. Students who managed to pass the medical college admission test can have MBBS education which includes 2 years of pre-clinical and clinical training. During pre-clinical education, medical students would gain broad theoretical knowledge of medical sciences while clinical training aims to bring medical students clinical experience. After completing their MBBS, medical students can have a provisional medical license with MMC.
The approximate cost of earning an MBBS degree in Malaysia ranges between a total of RM 250,000 and RM 650,000.
The Foundation Training
Physicians having completed their MBBS would continue onto their medical residencies with 2 years of practical training called foundation training. Hospital foundation training equips medical students with clinical skills and broad medical knowledge. Foundation training is an important part of ER physician education that lets them be competent in managing and treating patients with acute illnesses and injuries. Training for emergency physicians improves work ethic, team-working, and communication skills, benefiting their professional lives.
Physicians must pass SPM/SPMV/O-Level with at least 5 B credits, including math, physics, biology, and chemistry, before foundation training. Medical school admission in Malaysia may require proficiency in English and Bahasa Malaysia, depending on the university.
After one year of foundation training, the Malaysia Medical Council grants physicians full registration to practice medicine. The estimated cost of the foundation training can vary from RM 9900 to RM 11495.
Clinical rotations within the compulsory training
Prospective medical school students must complete compulsory training, which involves serving the government for two years. This mandatory service mainly takes place at hospitals located in rural areas of Malaysia such as Sabah or Sarawak. Compulsory training for physicians is required by the Medical Act to ensure equal access to healthcare for citizens as it is considered a basic need. Compulsory training exposes students to diverse patients and conditions, preparing them for future job scopes.
After completing weeks of rotations, medical students would become general practitioners. Compulsory training is the final stage for medical students pursuing a career as a GP. After compulsory service, students become medical officers and can work independently or for a medical firm as a GP.
An additional emergency medicine residency should be taken if you want to explore this field. To become an ER doctor, a 4-year master’s program in emergency medicine at a university is required.
Master’s Programs in Emergency Medicine
MBBS, housemanship, and the compulsory training program are common requirements for all prospective medical students in Malaysia. Yet, having a master’s in emergency medicine, a challenging and complicated medical field, is a specific ER physician education requirement. To become a specialist in emergency medicine, practitioners must complete an estimated 4 years of master’s program at medical universities. A few of those universities are:
- the University of Malaya,
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
- Universiti Putra Malaysia,
- Universiti Sains Malaysia,
- the University of Warwick,
- Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Emergency medicine master’s programs aim to let you become familiar with current theories and practices in various medical fields within the context of emergencies, while at the same time teaching you about various medical tests and devices. A master’s in emergency medicine also equips physicians with better judgment skills, technical abilities, and ethical values to become ER doctors. The curriculum planning of the training would be similar to the following structure:
- First year: Basic medical sciences in medicine and surgery / Fundamental knowledge of medical emergencies and traumas
- 2nd and 3rd year: Emergency medicine residency or clinical duty in ophthalmology, gynecology, pediatrics, elective and dissertation, internal medicine, surgery, intensive care, and anaesthesiology
- 4th year: Advanced cardiac life support & completing dissertation
To have a master’s course in emergency medicine, medical students must have a bachelor’s degree in medicine and a minimum of one year of full registration clinical experience. Besides, students need to be registered physicians under the Medical Act of 1971 to be able to have a master’s in medicine in Malaysia.
Physicians who have managed to complete the training above, have earned a master’s degree, become licensed doctors in emergency medicine, and are able to start working as emergency room doctors in Malaysia. There are dozens of job vacancies for emergency medicine doctors with board certification in the country.
So, how long does it take to become an ER doctor in Malaysia?
Medical education in emergency medicine would last 13 years, including 5 years of MBBS, 2 years of housemanship, 2 years of compulsory training, and 4 years of a master’s program in emergency medicine.
The journey to graduation can be a long and exhausting period for emergency medicine doctors. Is pursuing EM specialization worth the challenges and investment of youth? And, is being an emergency resident even a good career choice for you? Before you decide, see the notes below detailing some key aspects of working as an emergency room doctor.
What to do after your medical residency graduation?
Upon completing EM schooling, physicians can work in ERs with an annual salary range of 83,100 to 282,500 MYR. However, there are a variety of job opportunities for specialists in urgent care. Here are several career opportunities.
Alternative Career Paths in Emergency Medicine
The main goal in emergency medicine is to stabilize patients dealing with unforeseen conditions and accurately diagnose them. Correct diagnosis is super important to detect the appropriate treatments for the patient. ER doctors usually work in the emergency departments of hospitals yet they also hold positions in intensive care units, urgent care clinics, and other equivalent medical institutions. Here are some of the possible jobs for ER doctors:
Paramedic
Paramedics are physicians who provide urgent medical care to patients outside of the hospital. They provide advanced health care to patients with acute conditions. Paramedics use basic medical procedures to stabilize patients until they can be treated in a hospital setting since they usually lack various medical devices. Paramedics are usually directly or remotely guided by a qualified ER physician. The average salary for a paramedic working in Malaysia is approximately RM 2271 each month.
Emergency medicine technician
ER doctors also have the opportunity to work as emergency medical technicians who are medical professionals offering first-aid to injured patients away from a hospital setting. Paramedics provide comprehensive healthcare for immediate ailments, while EMTs specialize in first aid. EMTs primarily transport patients quickly to the nearest medical facility. EMTs can work with rescue teams, yet commonly, they shift in ambulances. The average salary for EMTs in Malaysia is 51226 MYR per year per economic research institute.
ER nurse
Emergency room nurses work in ER departments and they help ERs to treat emergency room patients. Duties include patient communication, documentation, and triage for urgent cases. ER nurses would earn an estimated RM 96696 a year per salary expert.
Emergency department manager
As a manager working in an ER department, you will have responsibilities to keep the efficiency of the clinic operating at high levels. ER department managers care about maintaining healthy relationships between doctors of the department and emergency room patients. To start working as an ER department manager, one must have discipline and people management skills. The median pay for a manager working in emergency rooms is MYR 192000 for a year in Malaysia per world salary.
Job types for licensed doctors in emergency medicine vary a lot. If you wish to experience different career paths as an ER, check out Doctor Jobs Today to see your options.
What are the benefits of having a career in emergency medicine?
Being able to help people with their problems and injuries is a rewarding and satisfying job with dozens of benefits such as:
Many learning opportunities
Any shift in the ER department would be different from the previous one. As a result, ER doctors will always deal with new conditions and challenges. With the wide variety of ailments that would thrive physicians have many learning prospects and enhance their medical knowledge.
Collaboration in the working area
ER staff must work together to provide fast and quality care to patients. Each member working in the emergency room is super important for diagnosing and treating patients because the emergency needs to be stabilized instantly. Thus, each medical staff in the ER department needs to be easygoing for the association.
Job Satisfaction
As an ER doctor, you would look after multiple patients of various ages with different ailments or injuries each day. Being able to help a broad range of people dealing with acute illnesses is a rewarding and satisfying feeling in emergency medicine.
Dedicated mindset
Working in the ER department, you need to keep your attention and stay focused during the day. Even the tiniest detail may help you to diagnose an ailment so as to take care of the patient. The constantly dedicated mindset can let you succeed in any optional career path in hospitals or other medical institutions.
What would be the challenges as an emergency medicine physician?
As with all good things in life, the emergency practice has its challenging and even wearisome aspects. Some of the difficulties are listed below.
Excessive stress
While patient diversity and continuity can provide various learning opportunities for physicians, it may, unfortunately, cause intense stress and work anxiety for some ERs. Working in the emergency department can be overwhelming at certain periods, as it requires constant attention and promptness all the time. In order to carry out your career in regularly addressing emergencies in a healthy way, it is highly recommended for you to find yourself a relaxing hobby or an activity to do outside of heavy work.
Emotional pressure
Having a career path in emergency medicine, it is inevitable for medical staff to encounter dozens of tragic cases such as abuses, accidents, victims of violence, or terrible burns. Examining these patients closely and being able to treat them takes a great deal of composure. Especially patients who lose their lives during first aid or before the treatment is completed may create emotional distress for ERs.
Constant movement can be exhausting
There is an intense and continuous circulation in the emergency services because of unforeseen diseases, sudden accidents, attacks, fights with injuries, and similar events happening at any time during the day. Emergency physicians need to be mentally prepared and physically fit to work long, demanding hours with minimal rest. Or else, later in your career, you may endanger your own physical health while aiming to help others.
What should I do to continue my career in a healthy way as an ER?
If you are an emergency medicine professional dealing with one or more of the challenges, the first thing you have to do is try to find ways that would relax both your mental and physical condition to have away from working hours. Your hobby should align with your personal preferences, such as yoga, pilates, acting, dancing, or sculpting. Besides, an ER who is thinking about working in emergency medicine for long years must not avoid spending time with friends and family. The perfect balance between work and your private life would help you continue your profession for longer periods in a healthy way.
Whether you are not able to set the balance between your profession and your out-work life, you may try to find an alternative career trajectory alike to your interests. Just do not forget that your job and your life all depend on you. Just become aware of your satisfaction and think if being an ER is a good career choice for you.
Are you an ER Doctor looking for a new role in the healthcare industry? Here at Doctor Jobs Today, we provide the most reliable and well-curated vacancies from the best medical institutions in Malaysia. You can also access various recommendations and guidelines to help you stay on track. Get your CV ready and find your future career in Doctor Jobs Today, now!
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About Doctor Jobs Today
Doctor Jobs Today is the first job-seeking platform in Southeast Asia dedicated to serving the job searching needs of healthcare professionals. We have created a space to connect employers and medical job seekers seamlessly. As part of the healthcare community, we understand that traditional job portals are not catered toward medical doctors. So we decided to create a portal advertising only the most relevant jobs from the top employers within the industry because we are just as picky as you are!
Doctor Jobs Today has the right vacancy whether you are looking for a higher salary, a better-equipped hospital for your specialization, or even a career shift from patient care.
About Docquity
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