College to offer three new medical courses
PENANG Medical College (PMC) will be offering three new exciting programmes this year – the Master of Science in Health Research, Graduate Diploma in Dermatology and Graduate Certificate in Obstetric Ultrasound.
Its assistant registrar (Academic), Dr Claire Lacey, said the two-year Masters programme has been tailored to the career development needs of full-time health professionals who wish to advance their skills or pursue health research.
“The course has a general appeal in that it is not only aimed at doctors but at medical, health and social science graduates (bachelor’s degree with a minimum CGPA of 2.50 required for entry) with an interest in health research.
“Scheduled to commence in June, the programme adopts a blended learning approach involving weekend teaching and distance learning by Virtual Learning Environment,” she said.
The course is designed to facilitate students who are working full-time. The research component includes hands-on workshops and designated time for direct interaction with research supervisors.
Successful completion will lead to an internationally recognised Master’s degree by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the National University of Ireland (NUI) with approval of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and Higher Education Ministry.
In 2007, it secured significant funding from the Health Research Board, Ireland, to develop structured PhD programmes involving relevant taught modules and laboratory rotations.
The Diploma in Dermatology and Certificate in Obstetric Ultrasound are in collaboration with University College Dublin (UCD).
The former will focus on general practitioners (GPs) and would be of direct benefit considering that 25% of their cases are skin condition related.
PMC has been providing quality medical education since 1996 in partnership with RCSI and UCD, two of Ireland’s oldest and most prestigious medical schools.
Over a thousand doctors have graduated since 2001 to join a global community of world-class doctors.
Students spend the first two and a half years at either RCSI or UCD in Ireland before returning to PMC to complete their clinical training.
Successful graduates are awarded medical degrees from NUI and Licentiates of RCSI and RCPI (Royal College of Physicians of Ireland).
Founded in 1784, RCSI is one of the world’s leading international medical schools and the largest undergraduate medical school in Ireland.
Dr Lacey said PMC students are assured of the highest possible standard of medical training as the programme is continuously and rigorously evaluated by professional external examiners from around the world, and is accredited by both the Irish and Malaysian Medical Councils.
The college was placed among the top medical schools in preparing graduate doctors for their early careers by the House Officer Performance in Malaysia 2009-2011 report (Institute for Health Systems Research, Kuala Lumpur).
The PMC campus is centrally located on two sites within a fiveminute walk to the Penang General Hospital, where most of the clinical teaching takes place.
For details, call 04-226 3459, e-mail admissions@pmc.edu.my or log on to