We, the students of the 2024–25 Year 3 MBBS batch, would like to express our concerns regarding the recent changes to the clinical rotation structure. It has come to our attention that students may no longer be rotating between hospitals and cities during the postings, and will instead be remaining stationed at a single hospital for the entirety of the posting.

We understand that there have been a couple of complaints regarding the logistical challenges of rotating between hospitals, specifically the transport, and we are grateful that these complaints have been taken into consideration.

However, the new arrangement might create a clear sense of unfairness, as some students will be posted at home in the Klang Valley for the entire 8 weeks, while others will be sent to Muar or Manjung for the same duration. This puts a significant financial burden on those not placed in Klang Valley, and many of us will struggle to afford and maintain accommodation in two separate places at the same time for two continuous months. A large portion of the batch simply cannot manage this financially, and we feel like the arrangement is imbalanced and deeply discouraging.

The majority of us believe that the hospital rotations are a fundamental aspect of our training and a followed part of medical teaching worldwide. It ensures equitable exposure and experience, and equal learning opportunities for all students. Each hospital offers unique clinical encounters, teaching styles, patient demographics, and environments that contribute significantly to our growth as future doctors. However, being limited to a single hospital disallows this and restricts our ability to gain a well-rounded clinical experience.

We recognize the challenges involved in managing clinical rotations. But we believe that these challenges are a part of the medicine journey we willingly undertook in pursuing this degree from the very beginning.

Restricting hospital rotations risks creating discrepancies and bias in students’ clinical training and overall competence. Moreover, it also creates financial burden on some students more than the others making the system inherently unfair. Therefore, we kindly request you to please take our perspectives into serious consideration and revise this decision. We want the rotations to remain as it is and are not in favor of any changes that will make us stay in one place for the whole rotation.

Thank you for your time and understanding. Looking forward to a favorable response.

Yours sincerely,

Year 3 MBBS students