Melaka-Manipal, the brand of excellence

education
l May 18, 2014
l the
D5
post
Melaka-Manipal, the
brand of excellence
WITH the stamp of proven academic
excellence and an enviable record of
accomplishment in providing quality
medical education, it comes as no
surprise that Melaka-Manipal Medical
College (Manipal University) –
MMMC, received 6-Star ratings at the
2012/2013 MyQuest Ratings announced
earlier this year.
Not only did MMMC retain the
coveted honour of the highest possible
6-stars, for the second time running in
the Health & Welfare cluster, she did
it aplomb by being the only Medical
College to do so.
And the accolades did not stop there
as MMMC was bestowed also with
Six Stars for International Student
Readiness. Being renowned for its
high standards, MMMC has been
growing from strength to strength in
the delivery of its courses as evidenced
by the recognition gained from the
Malaysian Medical Council, which
bestowed MMMC in 2009 with the full
accreditation for a period of 5 years,
a then-unprecedented honour for a
Malaysian private medical school.
MMMC is unique in having their
campus located in two countries, India
and Malaysia.
The twinning programmes of
Medicine (MBBS) and Dentistry
(BDS), both of five-year durations,
require students to complete a preClinical phase in our Manipal campus
before returning to Malacca to complete
their clinical training.
The courses are carefully designed
to extract the best that both countries
have to offer to aspiring medical
students – highly regarded Indian
medical education and thorough clinical
training in Malaysian hospitals where
its graduates would eventually practice.
This successful formulae has seen many
of its graduates perform very well
judging from feedback received from
the hospitals, many being appointed
Head Housemen in their postings.
MMMC has produced over 2617 top
notch MBBS alumni since its inception
with the maiden batch in 1997, and
alumni of MMMC are found to living
and working all over the globe including
the USA, UK, Australia and Singapore.
The flagship medical programme
was complemented by a Bachelor
of Dental Surgery (BDS) in 2009,
and its popularity has been beyond
expectations, with applications
thronging over 2 ½ times the number of
seats available for each intake.
For the past two years running, the
vacancy for the BDS was filled up
nearly a year before the intake.
Indeed, it is a given that aspiring
dentistry applicants must go through
MMMC’s pre-University programme
to have any chance of getting into the
BDS programme.
In 2012, this pre-University course,
the Foundation in Science was launched
and again proven to be very popular. It
is unique in two respects; one, in that
it is designed mainly to stream students
into MMMC’s own MBBS and BDS,
and two, it incorporates the basics of
medical and dentistry subjects in its
curriculum so that students who move
onto the degrees find it easier there.
It must have been a master stroke, if
the imitation of the design of the course
is anything to go by.
The foundation programme
is designed to give the student a
comprehensive prelude to medical
and dental studies, enabling a smooth
transition to the MBBS and BDS
programmes of Melaka-Manipal.
This has been accomplished
by including discipline-specific
combination of medicine and dentistry
subjects in the Foundation curriculum.
MMMC has now grown by leaps and
bounds so much that a satellite campus
will be completed in Muar, Johore by
mid-2014, complete with teaching and
library facilities, student hostels, staff
and faculty residences and recreational
facilities.
This will enhance the student’s
learning experience with less time spent
travelling and more on clinical training
in Muar, Segamat, and Tangkak in
addition to Melaka hospitals. Other
ancillary medical establishments such
as the rurally located Klinik-klinik
Kesihatan around Melaka are also the
venue for students to get their hands-on
learning.
It is this ‘hands-on’ clinical clerkship,
honed over six semesters, that really
seem to produce the better skilled
medical professional that the MMMC
graduate is. Melaka-Manipal takes pride
in the excellence of their education.
With the support from experienced and
enthusiastic teachers, the programme
Subjects are intentionally selected with the aim of imparting essential
knowledge to students that will allow FiS students to sail smoothly
into the first year of medical and dental school, giving a distinctive
head-start when they move into medicine and dentistry studies.
runs in a highly conducive and
vibrant learning environment.
It has a youthful, energetic
and dynamic foundation
academic team which facilitates
in developing study and
learning skills of the student,
and delivers this with utmost
professionalism.
Skilled and knowledgeable in
their respective subject matter,
the academic team of highly
qualified faculty is dedicated
in smoothening the path to
educational and professional
excellence.
Perdana University School of Occupational Therapy
The teaching philosophy at
Perdana University is motivated
by an ambition to become one of
the world’s premier institutions
for medical education, research
and service.
“We strive to develop
practitioners with critical thinking
skills, dedicated to the acquisition
and creation of knowledge and
with a desire to serve humanity
with the highest professional and
ethical standards,” explains vice
chancellor, Prof. Dato’ Dr Sothi
Rachagan.
Perdana’s flagship graduate
entry medical programme is
offered in partnership with the
Johns Hopkins University School
of Medicine in the US and follows
the latter’s Genes To Society
curriculum. Perdana University
also offers programmes in the
fields of Occupational Therapy
and Bioinformatics.
Perdana University School Of
Occupational Therapy (PUScOT).
Why they are needed?
There is a global demand
for professionally trained
occupational therapists, and this is
also the case in Malaysia.
Currently, Malaysia has about
1,200 registered occupational
therapists with only two thirds in
practice.
This means, an occupational
therapist has to provide services
to almost 25,000 individuals
There is a global demand for professionally trained occupational
therapists, and this is also the case in Malaysia.
needing occupational therapy.
By 2015, Malaysia should have
5,000 occupational therapists to
cater to the needs of a Malaysian
population that would have then
reached 30 million.
These figures indicate the
acute shortage of occupational
therapists and an urgent need for
them in Malaysia. The Statistics
Department of Malaysia had
stated that Malaysians aged 65
years and above are projected to
increase more than three fold of
the 2010 population.
This means, quality of care for
disabled persons and an ageing
population are needed to ensure
the prosperity of the country.
According to Professor E.
Sharon Brintnell, the President
of the World Federation of
Occupational Therapists
(WFOT), the needs of people
with comorbidities are functional,
and this is an area an occupational
therapist can assist.
There is also a growing need
for mental health in community
based services that could extend
people’s lives, and enable them
to age healthily. Occupational
therapists contribute to the
environmental changes people
face and provide strategies to keep
people living in their home as
independently as possible.
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