Meeting global standards
IN its unceasing efforts to evolve, the MBBS curriculum at Quest International University Perak (QIUP) has been aligned to prepare students for the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), inking a memorandum of understanding with Kaplan Medical, which will see QIUP as the Examination Centre for the northern region of Malaysia for the USMLE.
Chief operating officer Nicholas Goh elaborated this is in line with QIUP’s persistent efforts to ensure its programmes are of global standards.
“This also enables international students pursuing medical studies in Malaysia to secure their residency in the US and realise their dreams of becoming a specialist as they are not allowed to pursue housemanship here,” added Goh.
With limited seats, QIUP has received overwhelming response all over Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak and international students – the university’s MBBS Screening Committee has to debate to select only the best.
Although the minimum entry requirement as set by the Malaysian Medical Council is a CGPA of 3.0 in the Foundation in Science or other related programme, over 75% of the candidates surpassed this criterion.
Faculty of Medicine dean Prof Dr Abdul Rahim Md Noor pointed out that academic excellence was not the only requirement for selection, “We do not want students who only excel in studies but lack the attitude to become a passionate doctor. That is what we look for in the pre-admission interview.”
QIUP’s medical curriculum emphasises on soft skills and how to be a compassionate healer. This is evident in activities carried out as part of its curriculum such as early clinical exposure and visits to hospitals in the first semester itself.
Other activities include visits to underprivileged communities to perform medical checkups to put into practice what students learn in class and also to learn to be compassionate.
Faculty of Medicine deputy dean (PreClinical) Prof Dr Ranjith Mehenderkar pointed out QIUP has equipped itself with the necessary teaching staff and facilities required to produce competent doctors.
QIUP’s medical facilities ensure students have everything needed to put theory into practice. In Year 2, the students learn all about body systems. For each system, they practise relevant procedures in the clinical skills lab. More importantly, they also visit hospitals to observe how patients are examined and managed even at this early stage of training.
Deputy dean (Clinical) Prof Dr Lee Mun Seng stressed that the unique feature in QIUP’s curricula is the “theme-based” laboratory visits to hospitals, which correspond with the various modules that students study at the time.
Interestingly, most applicants state the reason for choosing QIUP to pursue their MBBS course as recommendation from a friend or relative currently pursuing the programme.
The duration to complete the MBBS course is five years, done fully at QIUP. This includes a pre-clinical curriculum of two years and a clinical curriculum of three years.
Currently, registration for intake is open.
■ For details about the programmes, call 05-249 0500, e-mail enquiries@qiup.edu.my or log on to www.qiup.edu.my