MARCH 5 ― The title could spark a fierce protest among doctors. To be honest, I would never want to offend doctors. By the way, who could do that? That's a matter of life or death!

A renowned doctor once said, “You can choose to come to see me, of God.”

The statement sends a chill to my bone. Am I left with any other choices?

So, without the slightest doubt, my respect for doctors is genuine.

People respect doctors because their profession is both noble and meaningful. But, that does not mean everyone should visit a doctor, and less so to become one.

I saw from the STPM results that we are going to have many top students in this country, and many of these students, along with their parents, will all put their focuses on the medical schools of local government universities.

You don't need a fortune-teller to remind you that very soon, their parents will host news conferences through their political parties of choice to complain about the country's top medical schools rejecting their kids.

I was thinking, the quotas of our public university medical schools are less than 500 a year and there is little the government can do to place all the housemen. With so many people scoring good grades nowadays, not everyone can get his wish fulfilled.

Such supply-demand imbalance is evident in every country on this planet. There are too many who want to get into the medical schools but their quotas will never be able to meet the demand.

If you don't believe in me, go and find out the situations in Singapore, US or China. I am not trying to pour cold water but students and their parents should learn to accept this fact.

Some grumble why their top-scoring children have been rejected by our public universities. If everyone puts only “Medicine” and nothing else on their application forms, they will have nowhere to go if they don't get in the medical schools.

Of course, there are other options. You can always apply for a medical course in a local private university or overseas.

I was told that many so-so students have gained access to local private colleges or oversea universities. All that matters is cash.

The question is, to get in is one thing, to get it through is another. Some have dropped out half way while others struggle through graduation just to get rejected by hospitals for their below par skills.

Moreover, the bill is thick. You will easily need half a million to one million to see your kid through the medical course, here or abroad. This will not be a problem for the well-to-do, but many others might need to borrow, and be prepared to pay through their nose to settle their debts with their meager salaries.

To be a doctor will not promise you great wealth, save for a handful of specialists. Several years ago, a leader at the Malaysian Medical Council said he would never allow his children to become doctors because he had witnessed an acute oversupply of doctors in hospitals and clinics besides the fact that doctors hardly could afford their private lives.

As if that is not enough, a doctor-to-be will have to bury himself in books and lecture notes for at least five year and such pressurising and exhaustive process will easy make a person less normal.

To attend a medical school and become a doctor sound glamorous, but we must never stretch things beyond our ability.

Understand what we really want and how good we are; discover our intrinsic talents and identify a path that suits us best, instead of squarely dreaming of becoming a doctor.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.