KUBANG KERIAN, KELANTAN, 28 July 2016 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has become the first university in the country to offer a full credit system to students of medicine.

“With the implementation of this credit system, the students could clearly see the total credits accumulated in fulfilling the required number of subjects enrolled.”

“The use of the credit system would facilitate the mobility of the medical students between the institutions of higher education locally and also abroad, which has been the aspiration of the Ministry of Higher Education,” said the Deputy Dean (Academic and Alumni), School of Medical Sciences USM, Professor Dr. Mohd Suhaimi Ab. Wahab.

The School of Medical Sciences (PPSP) USM has succeeded in fulfilling the certification requirements of the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) after the supervisory visit by the MQA Accreditation Panel earlier on the 19 and 20 July 2016.

According to Mohd Suhaimi, the visit by the MQA Panel was to look at the preparations made by PPSP on its learning activities for the 2016/2017 academic session, as the initial group of students undergoing the new curriculum for the Doctor of Medicine course would be commencing their clinical session.

“This visit was also to observe the steps undertaken by PPSP in dealing with the 18 ‘areas of concern’ which was listed down during their accreditation visit in 2013.”

“In the visit, the three panellists were satisfied with the 18 ‘areas of concern’ after looking at the relevant documentations relating to the steps taken in dealing with those problems,” he said.

Mohd Suhaimi said that, PPSP has presented the new curriculum on the Doctor of Medicine course to the MQA Panel, in relation to the implementation of the First Phase in the previous two academic sessions and also the preparations being and already made to implement the Second Phase.

“The MQA Panel was satisfied and is confident that PPSP would be successful in implementing its new curriculum effectively.”

“In the upcoming academic session, as there will be an overlap between the students of the new and the old curriculum in clinical studies, the workload of the lecturers in clinical studies is expected to increase by 50 percent,” he added.

According to Mohd Suhaimi, PPSP has and is still making detailed plans to minimise the workload of lecturers, based on the sense of togetherness and earnestness among the staff of PPSP in order to come to a mutually-acceptable decision.

Translation: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin

Text: Nik Sheila Erini Che Mat Kamel / Photo: Siti Nur Syamimi Suhaimi