Defence Services Medical Academy (Burma)
Encyclopedia
The Defence Services Medical Academy (DSMA) , located in Mingaladon
, Yangon
, is the University of Medicine of the Myanmar Armed Forces. One of the most selective universities in the country, the academy offers M.B., B.S.
(equivalent of the M.D.
) degree programs. Upon graduation, most DSMA cadets are commissioned with the rank of Lieutenant
in the Myanmar Army Medical Corps
. The military physicians are to serve the healthcare needs of rural people when they are assigned in the country's remote regions where access to healthcare is poor.
The DSMA was founded in 1992 as the Defence Services Institute of Medicine (DSIM) to develop physicians to serve in the Tatmadaw Myanmar Armed Forces. Prior to the founding of the academy, the Tatmadaw had recruited its medical and dental officers from civilian medical school graduates, who had to undergo a month-long basic military training program at the Medical Corps Center. While the medical corps of the Tatmadaw had always been short of physicians, by the early 1990s, the shortage became more pronounced as the military government
, fearing student unrest, had shut down most civilian universities, following the 8888 Uprising
in 1988. Most civilian universities were closed off and on for much of the 1990s. The military run universities essentially became the only venue for those who wished to continue university education inside the country.
The DSIM was operated by the Ministry of Health
and the Ministry of Defence. The purported "aim of the DSMA is to produce good Medical officers endowed with brilliant physical and mental ability to safeguard The Three Main National Causes" espoused by the military government.
The first batch of 47 cadets from the DSIM were commissioned as lieutenants on 17 December 1999, after six years of study and a year as house-surgeons. Through nine intakes, the DSMA produced a total of 1525 medical officers. As of 2008, the DSMA had produced seven Doctor of Medical Science degree holders. The academy is only source of medical officers for the DMS. In terms of Master of Medical Science, by the early 2008, the DSMA had produced 335 specialists, including 48 physicians and 41 surgeons.Nowadays, many army doctors' clinics can be seen in Yangon and specialists of army hospital are also practicing at many private hospitals and clinics. Army doctors are serving the country both in rural and urban regions in the form of private and public practice.
The selection criteria are:
The entrance selection including physical fitness tests, teamwork and comradeship screening, psychometric assessments and general interviews process takes about five to seven days at Officer Testing Team (OTT). Only those who pass all the tests and steps above are admitted to the DSMA. Students are eligible for various state scholarship programs. The benefit of being a student at DSMA is to get a stipend as soon as after acceptance to the school and the faster career development than the civilian medical doctors. The salary is also higher than civilian doctors.
The DSMA offers courses for both basic and advanced degrees in medicine and surgery, and runs 20 graduate programs in medical sciences.
Nowadays, many army doctors are studying in public health master degree locally as well as internationally.The new generation army doctors are likely to take the duty at Ministry of Health and influence the Myanmar health system set up.
The DSMA is equipped with lab materials, modern textbooks, and training resources. As intern surgeons, the students must take a field practical tour of duty at military hospitals, where they get field training from professional surgeons. The academy is open year round, and is in session for eleven months of study in an academic year—ten months of medical science coursework plus a month of military science and military leadership. Some DSMA graduates continue their post-graduate education in the UK, India, Thailand and Singapore.
Second M.B.,B.S.
Third M.B.,B.S.
Final M.B.,B.S. Part I
Final M.B.,B.S. Part II
Students study the allied specialities, namely, eye, ear, nose & throat diseases, urology, neurology, tuberculosis, venereal diseases, orthopaedics and traumatology, skin diseases, mental health and psychiatry,oro-maxillo-facial surgery, radiology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, anaesthesiology, thoracic surgery, and paediatric surgery.
House Surgeon Training
All students, after a successful completion of Final Part 2 MBBS Examination, continue on to hands-on training for a period of one year as house surgeons in the recognized teaching hospitals in Yangon and/or the State and Division Hospitals. Training periods are as follows:
Only after the completion of house-surgeonship, is the student awarded the M.B.,B.S. degree.
Every DSMA cadet also studies military science and military leadership for one to two months per year from First MBBS to Final M.B.,B.S. Part I. After graduation, every medical officer has been trained as a platoon commander.
Mingaladon Township
Mingaladon Township is located in the northernmost part of Yangon, Myanmar. The township comprises 31 wards, and shares borders with Hmawbi township in the north, North Okkalapa township in the east, Insein township and Shwepyitha township in the west, and Mayangon township in the south...
, Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, is the University of Medicine of the Myanmar Armed Forces. One of the most selective universities in the country, the academy offers M.B., B.S.
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae , are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries...
(equivalent of the M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
) degree programs. Upon graduation, most DSMA cadets are commissioned with the rank of Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Myanmar Army Medical Corps
Myanmar Army Medical Corps
The Myanmar Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the Myanmar Army which provides medical services to all Myanmar Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
. The military physicians are to serve the healthcare needs of rural people when they are assigned in the country's remote regions where access to healthcare is poor.
History
The DSMA was founded in 1992 as the Defence Services Institute of Medicine (DSIM) to develop physicians to serve in the Tatmadaw Myanmar Armed Forces. Prior to the founding of the academy, the Tatmadaw had recruited its medical and dental officers from civilian medical school graduates, who had to undergo a month-long basic military training program at the Medical Corps Center. While the medical corps of the Tatmadaw had always been short of physicians, by the early 1990s, the shortage became more pronounced as the military government
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military regime of Burma , which seized power in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General Than Shwe signed a decree to officially dissolve the Council....
, fearing student unrest, had shut down most civilian universities, following the 8888 Uprising
8888 Uprising
The 8888 Nationwide Popular Pro-Democracy Protests was a series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots in the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma...
in 1988. Most civilian universities were closed off and on for much of the 1990s. The military run universities essentially became the only venue for those who wished to continue university education inside the country.
The DSIM was operated by the Ministry of Health
Ministry of Health (Burma)
The Ministry of Health is a national government-run ministry administering health affairs and health care in Burma, including all of the medical schools. It is one of the few civilian-headed ministries in Burma, and its current minister is Dr. Pe Thet Khin, who is assisted by two Union Deputy...
and the Ministry of Defence. The purported "aim of the DSMA is to produce good Medical officers endowed with brilliant physical and mental ability to safeguard The Three Main National Causes" espoused by the military government.
The first batch of 47 cadets from the DSIM were commissioned as lieutenants on 17 December 1999, after six years of study and a year as house-surgeons. Through nine intakes, the DSMA produced a total of 1525 medical officers. As of 2008, the DSMA had produced seven Doctor of Medical Science degree holders. The academy is only source of medical officers for the DMS. In terms of Master of Medical Science, by the early 2008, the DSMA had produced 335 specialists, including 48 physicians and 41 surgeons.Nowadays, many army doctors' clinics can be seen in Yangon and specialists of army hospital are also practicing at many private hospitals and clinics. Army doctors are serving the country both in rural and urban regions in the form of private and public practice.
Admissions
The academy accepts approximately 400 students annually. Unlike at the country's other four civilian medical schools, the selection process goes beyond high university matriculation examination scores. All prospective candidates must be male, and must have high enough college matriculation exam scores to enter any civilian medical university. In addition, the prospective student must sit for another entrance exam as well as physical and psychological exams.. After 2010, the matriculation examination marks are not considered for entrance anymore. Personal interview becomes the most important step for entrance.The selection criteria are:
- Males only
- DSMA entrance exams on: 1. BiologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, BotanyBotanyBotany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and ZoologyZoologyZoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, and 2. EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... - Physical fitness
- Teamwork and comradeship screening
- Psychometric assessment
- General interviews
- Medical checkups
The entrance selection including physical fitness tests, teamwork and comradeship screening, psychometric assessments and general interviews process takes about five to seven days at Officer Testing Team (OTT). Only those who pass all the tests and steps above are admitted to the DSMA. Students are eligible for various state scholarship programs. The benefit of being a student at DSMA is to get a stipend as soon as after acceptance to the school and the faster career development than the civilian medical doctors. The salary is also higher than civilian doctors.
Programs
The DSMA offers courses for both basic and advanced degrees in medicine and surgery, and runs 20 graduate programs in medical sciences.
- Bachelor of Medicine and SurgeryBachelor of Medicine and SurgeryBachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae , are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries...
(M.B.,B.S.) - Diploma in Medical Science (Dip.Med.Sc.)
- Master of Medical Science (M.Med.Sc.); Physiology, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Pathology, Public Health, Forensic Medicine, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pediatrics, Orthopedics, Anaesthesiology,Radiology, Otorhinolaryngology, Ophthalmology, Mental Health, Medical regabilitastion.
- Doctor of Medical Science (Dr.Med.Sc.); Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pediatrics,Orthopedics, Cardiac surgery, Cardiology, Neurology, Neurosurgery,Radiology, Anaesthesiology. Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology, Urology, Renal Medicine, Forensic Medicine, Gastroenterology, Paediatric surgery
- Ph.D.
Nowadays, many army doctors are studying in public health master degree locally as well as internationally.The new generation army doctors are likely to take the duty at Ministry of Health and influence the Myanmar health system set up.
The DSMA is equipped with lab materials, modern textbooks, and training resources. As intern surgeons, the students must take a field practical tour of duty at military hospitals, where they get field training from professional surgeons. The academy is open year round, and is in session for eleven months of study in an academic year—ten months of medical science coursework plus a month of military science and military leadership. Some DSMA graduates continue their post-graduate education in the UK, India, Thailand and Singapore.
Coursework
The M.B.,B.S. coursework extends over six years, and is the same as the major coursework of other civilian medical schools such as, the University of Medicine 1, Yangon, the University of Medicine 2, Yangon.| Year | Duration |
|---|---|
| 1 year | |
| 1 year | |
| 1 year | |
| 1 year | |
| 1 year | |
| 1 year | |
| 6 years |
Subjects
First M.B.,B.S.- BurmeseBurmese languageThe Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...
- EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- Mathematics and Statistics
- PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
- ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
- BiologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, (Botany and Zoology) - Basic Computer Science
- Behavioral Sciences
- Introduction of Human Anatomy
- Introduction Physiology and
- Introduction of Biochemistry
Second M.B.,B.S.
- AnatomyAnatomyAnatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
- PhysiologyPhysiologyPhysiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
- BiochemistryBiochemistryBiochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
Third M.B.,B.S.
- General pathologyGeneral pathologyGeneral pathology, also called investigative pathology, experimental pathology or theoretical pathology, is a broad and complex scientific field which seeks to understand the mechanisms of injury to cells and tissues, as well as the body's means of responding to and repairing injury...
- MicrobiologyMicrobiologyMicrobiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
- PharmacologyPharmacologyPharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
- All cadets are also posted for 18 weeks each to the medical and surgical wards for clinical training at the school's teaching hospitals in Yangon.
Final M.B.,B.S. Part I
- Forensic Medicine
- Preventive and Social Medicine (with three weeks of residential field training in the rural areas).
- Systemic Pathology and haematology
- Students attend lectures & clinics in Medicine, Surgery, Child health, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and posted to the various teaching hospitals, including Urban Health facilities as part of Preventive and Social Medicine teaching.
Final M.B.,B.S. Part II
- SurgerySurgerySurgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
Students study the allied specialities, namely, eye, ear, nose & throat diseases, urology, neurology, tuberculosis, venereal diseases, orthopaedics and traumatology, skin diseases, mental health and psychiatry,oro-maxillo-facial surgery, radiology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, anaesthesiology, thoracic surgery, and paediatric surgery.
- MedicineMedicineMedicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
- Obstetrics & Gynaecology
- Child Health
- A summative examination is held at the end of the Final M.B.,B.S. Part II course. Problem Based Learning (PBL), Community Based Learning (CBL) and Behavioural Science are incorporated, as relevant, in the M.B.,B.S. course.
House Surgeon Training
All students, after a successful completion of Final Part 2 MBBS Examination, continue on to hands-on training for a period of one year as house surgeons in the recognized teaching hospitals in Yangon and/or the State and Division Hospitals. Training periods are as follows:
| Subject | Duration |
|---|---|
Only after the completion of house-surgeonship, is the student awarded the M.B.,B.S. degree.
Every DSMA cadet also studies military science and military leadership for one to two months per year from First MBBS to Final M.B.,B.S. Part I. After graduation, every medical officer has been trained as a platoon commander.
Teaching hospitals
- Defence Services General Hospital, Yangon (1000 bed, Mingaladon)
- Defence Services Obstetric, Gynaecological and Children's Hospital, Yangon (300 bed, Mingaladon)
- Defence Services Orthopaedic Hospital, Yangon (500 bed, Mingaladon)
- Defence Services Liver Hospital (500 bed, Mingaladon)
- No. 2 Military Hospital (500 bed, Myoma Street, Dagon)
- Defence Services General Hospital, Naypyidaw (1000 bed)
- Defence Services Obstetric, Gynaecological and Children's Hospital, Naypyidaw (300 bed)
- Defence Services General Hospital, Pyinoolwin (700 bed)
- Defence Services General Hospital, Meitila (500 bed)
- Defence Services General Hospital, Aungban (700 bed)
See also
-
- University of Dental Medicine, Mandalay
- University of Dental Medicine, Yangon
- University of Medicine, Magway
- University of Medicine, Mandalay
- University of Medicine 1, Yangon
- University of Medicine 2, Yangon
- University of Traditional Medicine, MandalayUniversity of Traditional Medicine, MandalayThe University of Traditional Medicine, Mandalay , located in Aungmyethazan, Mandalay, is a public university of Burmese traditional medicine...
- Defence Services Technological AcademyDefence Services Technological AcademyThe Defence Services Technological Academy , located in Pyin-Oo-Lwin, Myanmar, is the premier technological university of the Myanmar Armed Forces. One of the most selective universities in the country, the academy offers various Bachelor of Engineering degrees to male cadets only...
- Defence Services Institute of Nursing and Paramedical ScienceDefence Services Institute of Nursing and Paramedical ScienceThe Defence Services Institute of Nursing and Paramedical Science , located in Mingaladon, Yangon, is one of military-run institutes of higher learning in Myanmar...