medical: yes or no

I was called to jot down the changes made by JPA, SPA and KKM regarding the intake for medicine course in the future. And yeah everything that I'll write here are based on what I know and what the people around me experiences. You can always ask the respective people-in-charge for further clarification,

First, regarding the scholarship. As far from what I know, starting this year, 2015, new intake in medical course won't directly received scholarship. You have to apply for JPA scholarship after you've done your first semester exam excellently. So, while waiting, you have to support yourself and your study either by using PaMa's or perhaps PTPTN. The thing is, I would admit that it is not easy to score in medicine. We use the minus-marking scheme, in which your mark will be deducted for every wrong answer you gave. So, two things will happen, either you'll score excellently and get your scholarship or you'll have to get support from PaMa's or PTPTN for the rest of your study. Weighing the period of study, six or seven years depending on university course (mine is seven years), so do you think it's worth it?

Second, regarding the intake for housemanship. Some significant changes were already made by SPA effective from August 2015. First, you've to register everything on your own as opposed to what had been practiced before in which university student affairs will do everything for you. Once your registration is complete then only you'll be called for an interview. For an application to be completed, you've to have convocation scroll with you which means that you won't be called for an interview before your convocation day. And as everyone knows, your convocation day would always be around October or November. As opposed to what had been practiced before, the candidate will go for an interview before they graduate from the university. Longer months of waiting for the new intake I believed.

Third, after you go for an interview, you'll be graded as pass or fail. If you fail, you've to apply for another interview and wait again for next interview session and as far from what I had been told, the interview session will only be held once in two months time. So, higher probability to remain jobless longer. And for remarks, the interview scoring system is not based on your CGPA because different university have different CGPA system, so the interview grading would be based on interview itself. It's about your confidence level, how do you actually speak and present yourself in front of people.

Actually, there are many more significant changes made by the KKM itself for the next level of employment. I just write down things that have something to do with my current situation. The higher probability to remain jobless longer. So, for my juniors or anyone who're thinking of medicine as your field of choice, think again. It is not that I'm discouraging all of you, but think deeply before you admit yourself to this field. If you really have big interest in this field, just proceed, considering the pros and cons of it. If you think that you're not really into medicine and all those stuff, better opt for another course that suit your interest. Humbly, medicine is interesting, you met people, you learn many things about life but it consumed much of your time and energy. So, if you think that you're not really into medicine, then think again before submit your application. Good luck!