UTAR alumni share life experiences
SINCE its establishment on 16 November 2009, the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) has aspired to be the preferred centre of education and research for medical and health sciences.
FMHS is devoted to producing competent, professional, compassionate and ethical graduates who are committed to clinical practice, research, lifelong learning and improvement, as well as the welfare of the community and the environment.
Today, it has become a highly recognised faculty for nurturing well-trained doctors, nurses and physiotherapists.
The community of faculty professors, researchers, staff, students and alumni is dedicated to excellence, quality and engagement, helping to build FMHS as a premier learning and teaching institution that continues to set standards of excellence in the academic and medical fraternity.
As a result, UTAR’s medical graduates are extremely wellreceived by hospitals, and more than 250 of them have obtained clinical training and employment thus far.
In view of the 11th anniversary of FMHS this year, faculty has gathered its Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) alumni to share their experiences of working in the medical field.
They shared their professional experience, challenges encountered along the way, personal views regarding healthcare workers and much more.
Dr Sara Ruth Zachariah is one of the graduates of FMHS. She had been working in the medical field for five years.
When asked what inspired her to pursue this field, she said: “I chose to become a doctor because of my family. I was inspired by stories I heard about my grandfather, who worked as a medical assistant at a remote clinic in an oil palm estate. I was further inspired at the age of 12 when I helped my parents to look after my grandmother when she fell ill.”
UTAR alumnus Dr Eugene Tan was among the third batch of students in the FMHS.
He has been serving as a doctor for almost three years now. He chose this profession as he finds it challenging, yet humbling and fulfilling at the same time.
According to him, new information is constantly made available and new protocols are constantly introduced, hence making changes inevitable in the medical field.
“One of the most challenging aspects of the medical field is that it is always changing; what may be relevant in the recent past may not be so today. So I believe adaptability is a quality important to all doctors in this respect,” he said.
“I’ve been working as a doctor for the past five years. I chose this profession because I wanted to help others. Indeed, being a doctor is not the only way to effectively help people in need, or the most efficient. However, for me, being a doctor means being equipped with knowledge that helps to do more good than harm,” said another UTAR alumnus, Dr Tan Loong Hui.
When asked why he chose this profession, Dr Cheah Yu Wei, from the pioneer batch of FMHS, recalled an interesting event that took place during his preadmission interview to UTAR FMHS.
“Interestingly, that was one of the questions Prof Dr Alan Ong Han Kiat asked me during the pre-admission interview to UTAR. Well, it had been my ambition since primary school. My final aim is to become a nephrologist, running my own clinic or dialysis centre in the private healthcare sector,” said Dr Cheah.
UTAR alumna Dr Ang Jie Ying started her life as a medical student in May 2010.
She took five years to complete the MBBS course and two years to complete her houseman training at Hospital Sultanah Aminah Johor Bahru.
She was among the first batch of MBBS students in UTAR. Currently, she is serving in Tawau, Sabah, as a medical officer in the Medical Department.
“Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, was highly capable and he brought UTAR to its high peak. This attracted me to select UTAR for my MBBS studies.”
Besides that, UTAR also gives consideration to parents by providing affordable fees for their children. If I were given a chance to go back to the year 2015, my choice would still be the same,” she said.
UTAR is reputed as one of the fastest growing private higher education institutions in the country since its inception in 2002.
From only 411 students, the university now has about 22,000 students, with campuses located in Kampar, Perak, and Bandar Sungai Long, Selangor. UTAR has graduated over 67,000 students since its inaugural convocation in 2005.
The university currently offers more than 110 programmes from Foundation Studies to Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degrees in the fields of Accounting, Business, Finance and Economics, Actuarial Science, Mathematics and Process Management, Agriculture and Food Science, Arts, Social Sciences and Education, Chinese Studies, Creative Industries, Digital Animation, Multimedia and Design, Engineering, Technology and Built Environment, Information and Communication Technology, Life and Physical Sciences, and Medicine and Health Sciences.
UTAR is ranked #501-600 in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2021 and #157 in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings 2021, and awarded Self-Accreditation Status by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA). For more information, go to www.utar.edu.my or call 05-468 8888 (Kampar Campus)/03- 9086 0288 (Sungai Long Campus).
I chose to become a doctor because of my family...I was further inspired at the age of 12 when I helped my parents to look a6er my grandmother when she fell ill. Dr Sara Ruth Zachariah One of the most challenging aspects of the medical field is that it is always changing; what may be relevant in the recent past may not be so today. Dr Eugene Tan I’ve been working as a doctor for the past five years. I chose this profession because I wanted to help others. Dr Tan Loong Hui Interestingly, that was one of the questions Prof Dr Alan Ong Han Kiat asked me during the pre-admission interview to UTAR. Dr Cheah Yu Wei Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, was highly capable and he brought UTAR to its high peak. Dr Ang Jie Ying