Career pathways for Malaysian medical graduates

I graduated from the medical course of Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia in August 2020 and completed House Officer training at Kluang hospital in January 2024. Currently, I am a Medical Officer at Klinik Kesihatan Ibu dan Anak Limbang under Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia.

Here, I would like to share some information on the career pathways for graduates of Malaysian medical schools.

All Malaysian medical schools that are recognised by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) are also recognised in UK, Australia and Ireland. However, that does not automatically enable you to practise Medicine in that country, as there are other requirements that you will need to fulfil.

Career pathways in Malaysia:

After graduating with your medical degree, you may apply for Provisional Registration with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC).

If your medical school is recognised by the MMC, you are exempted from taking the Examination for Provisional Registration (EPR). If your medical school is not recognised by the MMC, you have to sit for the EPR as part of your application for Provisional Registration. The EPR consists of a theory exam in the form of Single Best Answer questions and a clinical exam.

You then have to join House Officer training at a public hospital under Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM). It usually takes around 1 to 3 months to get a place. You may choose the hospital for House Officer training, subject to availability of places. Note that only Malaysian citizens are eligible to join House Officer training in Malaysia.

House Officer training in Malaysia is 2 year long with 6 postings, each lasting 4 months, in Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Surgery, Paediatrics, Orthopaedics, and either one of Emergency Medicine, Anaesthesiology, General Practice or Psychiatry. Extensions of training may be required in the case of unsatisfactory performance in a posting.

After completing House Officer training, you will gain Full Registration with the MMC and Annual Practising Certificate (APC). You will then have to complete 2 years of compulsory service as a Medical Officer at a public hospital or Klinik Kesihatan under KKM. You may choose the specialty and hospital or clinic, but the final decision will be made by KKM.

After completing compulsory service, you may continue practising as a Medical Officer, move to the private sector, or apply for Master's or Parallel Pathway programmes for specialty training. Note that applications for specialty training Master's programmes are very competitive.

Since 2023, Master's and Parallel Pathway programmes for specialty training in Malaysia have mostly consolidated under the Hadiah Latihan Persekutuan (HLP) scheme. You have to fulfill certain requirements to qualify for the HLP. The specialty training will be conducted at designated hospitals or clinics. After completing specialty training under the HLP, you have to serve a certain number of years as a specialist under KKM.

Career pathways in UK:

After graduating with your medical degree, you may apply for Provisional Registration with the UK General Medical Council (GMC) and apply to join the UK Foundation Programme (UKFP). After completing UKFP, you will gain Full Registration with the GMC and may proceed to applying for locum posts or specialty training programmes in UK.

Alternatively, after completing House Officer training in Malaysia, you may apply for Full Registration with the UK General Medical Council (GMC) and apply for locum posts or specialty training programmes in UK directly.

Graduates of Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia and RCSI-UCD Malaysia Campus are exempted from taking the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) exam. Graduates of other medical schools in Malaysia are required to take the PLAB exam as part of the application for Provisional Registration or Full Registration with the GMC. The PLAB exam consists of PLAB 1, a Single Best Answer exam, and PLAB 2, a clinical exam.

With the exception of Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia graduates, you are required to take IELTS Academic or Occupational English Test (OET) Medicine. For UKFP, you have to get a minimum Band score of 7.5 for each component in IELTS Academic or a minimum score of 400 for each component in OET Medicine. For GMC Full Registration, you have to get a minimum Band score of 7.5 overall and 7.0 for each component in IELTS Academic or minimum grade B for each component in OET Medicine. 

Note that applications for UKFP and specialty training programmes in UK are very competitive. The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 stipulates that places for the UKFP and specialty training programmes must be allocated first to applicants who graduated in UK or Ireland with majority of their undergraduate training done in UK or Ireland; additionally, places for specialty training programmes are allocated first to applicants who completed UKFP.

Career pathways in Australia:

Graduates of Monash University Malaysia are eligible to apply for Provisional Registration with the Medical Board of Australia without having to take the AMC examinations.

For graduates of other medical schools in Malaysia, there are 2 pathways to apply for Provisional Registration with the Medical Board of Australia, the Competent Authority Pathway and the Standard Pathway.

The Competent Authority Pathway is only open to graduates of Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia or RCSI-UCD Malaysia Campus who have completed Foundation Year 1 (F1) in UK or Medical Internship in Ireland. The Competent Authority Pathway does not require taking the AMC examinations.

Those who do not fulfill the requirements for the Competent Authority Pathway are only eligible for the Standard Pathway. The Standard Pathway requires taking the AMC CAT MCQ Examination and the AMC Clinical Examination.

In all cases, you are required to take IELTS Academic or Occupational English Test (OET) Medicine. You have to get minimum Band score of 7.0 for Reading, Listening and Speaking and 6.5 for Writing in IELTS Academic or minimum grade B for Reading, Listening and Speaking and C+ for Writing in OET Medicine.

After gaining Provisional Registration with the Medical Board of Australia through the Competent Authority Pathway or Standard Pathway, you can join internship training in Australia.

After completing 12 months of internship training, you will gain General Registration with the Medical Board of Australia and may proceed to applying for locum posts or specialty training programmes in Australia.

Career pathways in Ireland:

Graduates of RCSI-UCD Malaysia Campus are eligible to apply for Medical Internship posts in Ireland. After completing Medical Internship, you will gain General Registration with the Irish Medical Council.

Graduates of other medical schools in Malaysia are not eligible to apply for Medical Internship posts in Ireland. However, all Malaysian medical graduates may apply for General Registration with the Irish Medical Council after completing House Officer training in Malaysia.

You are exempted from taking the Pre-Registration Examination System (PRES) test as part of your application for General Registration with the Irish Medical Council. However, you are required to take IELTS Academic or Occupational English Test (OET) Medicine. You have to get a minimum Band score of 7.0 overall and 6.5 for each component in IELTS Academic or a minimum grade B for each component in OET Medicine.

After gaining General Registration with the Irish Medical Council, you may apply for locum posts or specialty training programmes in Ireland. Note that applications for specialty training programmes in Ireland are very competitive and places are allocated first to applicants who are citizens of Ireland or EU countries.