Lifelong learning in medicine

AFTER many years of study, exams, courses, clinical practical training in wards, and even more courses, students finally graduate from medical school.

Armed with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) or Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) scroll, all they want is to settle down and start working in a hospital, utilising their knowledge and passion in their chosen vocation of healing the sick.

However, graduates of MelakaManipal Medical College (MMMC) are not let off that easily. It is impressed upon them that they have just stepped on the first rung of the medical profession.

As the cliché goes, learning is a lifelong endeavour, and this is true in the medical arena.

Progress in the medical field has been startling in the past decade or two, which means that professional versatility and agility are imperative.

In this age of technology, skills that are distinctly human will be among the most valuable, and it is these skills that are enriched through postgraduate study.

Considering how vital this is, MMMC organises workshops for USMLE, PLAB and various Royal Colleges at its campus in Melaka.

Attended generally by doctors who are unable to enrol on full-time postgraduate courses, these types of programmes will enable them to develop skills in specific areas of interest, and gain industry relevance for today and tomorrow.

Postgraduate qualifications also aid in developing skills, giving career options and, not least, monetary rewards.

Since its inception, more than 3500 medical and more than 200 dental surgeons have been delivered to the Malaysian and international health systems.

Feedback from healthcare professionals on the quality of MMMC graduates has been very good, and it intends to continue in the same way.

Melaka-Manipal was launched in 1994 and commenced with its flagship MBBS with its first batch in 1997. In 2009, the BDS had its first cohort, followed by the Foundation in Science (FIS) in 2012.

Twinning with the iconic Indian institution, Manipal, the degree programmes require students to complete their pre-clinical studies in its Manipal Campus in India and then return to Malaysia to complete the clinical training.

The year-long FIS is completed entirely in the Melaka Campus, aiming to stream students to its own MBBS and BDS programmes with the inclusion of medicine and dentistry modules in its curriculum.

Students with MMMC’s FIS are also able to apply to allied health science programmes in other institutions.

Since its inception, MMMC has successfully integrated the Manipal ethos into its Malaysian curriculum, its faculty and its students. The philosophy of providing quality education, balanced with individual life pursuits, has been successfully replicated in the Melaka campus and twinning programme.

The facilities in the Manipal and Melaka campuses fully provide for holistic education, academically as well as socially.

The precise structure of the course and the facilities in the Melaka campus have been designed to leverage on Manipal’s extensive experience in providing medical education for over 55 years.

For more information, visit the campus or call the Marketing Department at 06-2896662 (extensions 1005/1142) or log on to www.manipal.edu.my