Due to rapid urbanization, Malaysia is facing an acute shortage of family doctors. Malaysia’s population is expected to increase by more than 50% by 2030. This will also result in a greater demand for doctors and an increased patient load. There are various training programs that are offered by several universities in Malaysia. These include a six-month internship followed by a one-year residency program and finally, a two-year master’s degree program. Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim society, with predominantly public healthcare. The public healthcare system provides primary and secondary care services. Family medicine physicians are not part of this system but are traditionally trained in a specialty known as family medicine. Malaysia has a predominantly Muslim population, with the majority being Malay Muslims.
Nowadays, most Malaysian citizens reside in urban centers and have adopted Western-style lifestyles that may include certain lifestyle risk factors such as smoking and obesity. This shift in lifestyle has caused an increased prevalence of chronic diseases and increased the demand for family doctors to provide more holistic care to their patients rather than just treating acute illnesses. Family medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with the health care of people in the immediate family and their close associates. Family doctors are physicians who practice primary care. In Malaysia, there are many shortcomings in terms of family doctor training. The lack of career opportunities for practitioners, coupled with the lack of adequate financial support from government bodies, has created a shortage of doctors in rural areas and resulted in longer waiting times for patients seeking medical care.
Family medicine is a field of medicine that focuses on the health of adults and children. It covers a range of topics such as preventive healthcare, mental health, pediatric care, obstetrics, and gynecology. There is nothing specific for Family doctors training in Malaysia or family medicine physicians. They are trained to be general practitioners who can handle any illness or injury without specialization. The Malaysian Ministry of Health has planned to have one year of training for those who want to become family doctors in the future. This paper intends to provide an overview of the existing training system in Malaysia and the challenges faced by students and graduates from this system. The Malaysian government is trying to make it easier for medical practitioners to get into the field of family medicine by providing more opportunities for them.
One way to increase the number of qualified doctors in the field is by providing them with more and better training programs. There are currently a few training programs in Malaysia that have gained international recognition with an emphasis on holistic care, patient-centered care, and compassionate care. Family medicine physicians are doctors that provide care for patients in their own homes and help them prevent illness and disease by promoting health-promoting behaviors like self-care, healthy diet, exercise, and adequate sleep. One of their best skills is providing support to patients with chronic diseases like diabetes or hypertension. They also offer preventive care for children from birth until they are 12 years old.