Thirty-seven students have become Macao’s first batch of locally-trained doctors, after receiving their diplomas for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) during a graduation ceremony that was organised by the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) yesterday.
Launched in 2019, the six-year MBBS degree is Macao’s inaugural Western medicine undergraduate program, giving aspiring doctors the opportunity to study the subject in the city for the first time.
In her address, Sophie Ian Pui Si, the student representative of the first class of MBBS graduates, said “We the class of 2025 are making history today, not just as graduates, but as the pioneers who helped to build this medical program from the ground up.”
Ian mentioned that when she and her classmates began the program, “we had no idea what our journey would entail.”
She highlighted the challenges that were faced during the Covid-19 period, with the inaugural class having to adapt to remote learning. “Those difficult years taught us medicine’s first unwritten lesson – adaptability,” Ian said.
[See more: Macao’s medical graduates may struggle to find local jobs, admit health officials]
With the removal of pandemic restrictions, the MBBS representative said that the class’s opportunities “reopened,” allowing the students to once again train in a variety of venues, including local medical clinics and the advanced medical centres in the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Speaking to TDM, another local MBBS graduate, surnamed Lei, said that she “really wanted to practise medicine in Macao,” but pointed out that to accomplish this, she would first need to undertake a qualification exam, undergo a one year internship in Macao after passing the exam, and sit another test to obtain her doctor’s license.
“Medicine is something that requires persistent study and continuous learning,” Lei said, adding that she may take her work to the Greater Bay Area in the future.
The dean of MUST’s Faculty of Medicine, Manson Fok, also addressed the graduates, telling them that he hoped they would contribute to the medical field in China and Macao in the future, whether it be through work, study or developing the body of specialised knowledge.
In total, 403 medical students received their degrees at yesterday’s medical sciences division graduation ceremony. These included 89 doctoral scholars, 92 masters students and 222 undergraduates.
