Announcing Winner of Malaysian Medical Student T-Shirt Design Competition 2011

The winning design for the Malaysian Medical Student T-Shirt Design Competition 2011, as voted by the Malaysian medical students, is

Congratulations to Ng Juin Yi, medical student from UKM, who has won an iPod Touch.

This design will be the official T-Shirt design for the Society of MMA Medical Students (SMMAMS).

Nominations for SMMAMS Committee 2011/2012

The following are the latest list of the nominations received for the the election of SMMAMS Committee 2011/2012.

1) Ataullah Abd Latib (USM)

2) Yeap Hsiao Hui (UTAR)

3) Nur Izzaty binti Abu Bakar (UKM)

4) Deenish Muniandy (PMC)

5) Jayanthi Selvam (UPM)

6) Carl Samuel (PMC)

7) Naim bin Abdul Malik (UiTM)

8) Carol Lee Pei Shin (Melaka Manipal Medical College)

9) Izza Arsyika (Melaka Manipal Medical College)

10) Priya Dashene Raj (Monash)

There are still pending nominations from other universities. A reminder to all that the election process will be conducted during the Head of Delegates meeting, and the official installation will be done during the Gala Dinner.

The following is a brief outline of the organizational structure of SMMAMS. The latest organizational structure has been adopted following our status now as an IFMSA member.

Organizational Structure

Note : We have received comments of problems with accessing the nomination forms. If you would like to run for position, but had encountered such problem, do email smmams1011@gmail.com in order to process your nomination.

SMMAMS - BMJ Learning Competition - First Question!!!! You could win an iPod Touch!

Can you interpret a chest Radiograph?

Have a go at the first question below to test your knowledge, and then complete the module.
Our first BMJ Learning question is….

A 77 year old man presents with fever, a productive cough, dyspnoea, and pleuritic chest pain over two days. He is a heavy smoker. On examination his respiratory rate is 35 breaths per minute, his temperature is 38°C, his pulse is 110 beats per minute, and his blood pressure is 100/55 mm Hg. He was orientated in time and place. He has coarse crackles anteriorly on the right.

Results of investigations are:
• Arterial pO2: 7.3 kPa on room air
• pCO2: 7.0 kPa on room air
• Blood urea: 10.2 mmol/l• C reactive protein: 480 mg/dl
• White cell count: 18 x 109/l
• His chest radiograph is shown below.

What is the most striking abnormality on the chest radiograph?

a. Right upper lobe consolidation

b. Right middle lobe consolidation

c. Right pleural effusion

d. Right lower lobe consolidation

Don’t worry if you don’t know the answer straight away…Click on the learning module Chest radiographs: a guide to interpretation to learn more. Complete the module and pass, then send your answer to contest.apac@bmjgroup.com.

If you have trouble with the link above – you can search for the module on the website instead: www.learning.bmj.com/international

REMEMBER! You need to register with a Malaysian Medical Association Voucher code to enter this contest. To request for a code, email smmams1011@gmail.com.

Closing Date: 27 May 2011

GOOD LUCK!!!

BMJ Learning Contest Updates

Some colleagues approached me today and apparently there are some miscommunication between us and MMA.

Ok, we have sorted out with BMJ Learning, and those who are interested to participate, can send us an email to request for the voucher code. Email us at smmams1011@gmail.com or send us a message via Facebook.

Please kindly specify your:

a) NAME

b) INSTITUTION

c) YEAR OF STUDY

d) MMA MEMBERSHIP NUMBER

e) EXPIRY DATE

First questions will be sent out on 23rd May 2011. Please register now to win an iPod Touch from BMJ Learning.

Thank you.

Regards,

SMMAMS Committee

BMJ Learning Contest for MMA Medical Students Members

SUBJECT:

EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND PLAY FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN AN IPOD TOUCH

Dear Students,

We have been working with Malaysian Medical Association to bring you an exciting opportunity to win an iPod Touch whilst making the most out of the BMJ Learning resource provided to you as part of your membership with the association.

Over the next 6 weeks (23 May to 30 June) we will be sending out three questions relevant to your medical studies. The answers to these 3 questions will be hidden in 3 BMJ Learning modules which you must complete and pass.

You will send your answer each week to contest.apac@bmjgroup.com with your FULL NAME, EMAIL and TELEPHONE NUMBER.

BMJ Learning is an e-learning platform, which offers a wide range of learning resources which deal with everyday issues in primary care and hospital medicine.

• BMJ Learning is accessed via registration with a voucher code (Please request this code from cpd@mma.org.my)
• Go to http://learning.bmj.com/international. You will need to register on the site by clicking the Redeem Voucher Code button on the top right hand corner of the page, but once you have completed the registration you are free to access the website from any location.

A quick note about the Rules:

Each participant must complete each module successfully. The BMJ will check the completion of modules and we will select the winning student who has clearly understood and completed each module, and has submitted their answers by the given deadline.

Look out for the first question coming soon!

From,

SMMAMS Committee

SMMAMS Executive Committee 2011-2012 Nomination and Election

[Nomination Guidelines] [Higher Council Nomination Form] [Committee Members Nomination Form] [Message from the SMMAMS Chairman] [Message from Chairman Elect]

Important Note: Please kindly read the Nomination Guidelines carefully before you begin the nomination process. If you have further questions on the nomination and election, please do not hesitate to contact: smmams1011@gmail.com , president.smmams@gmail.com or narxiss@yahoo.com


If you have problems downloading the files above, please contact president.smmams@gmail.com for the files to be sent directly to your email.

The Election will be held during the SMMAMS Committee Meeting with the Head of Delegates. [**Head of Delegates MUST be elected among the conference delegates, and preferably if he/she is a member of your school's students' association/ council, so that he/she can represent the standpoint of your institution.... SMMAMS Committee who present is not the Head of Delegates]

Below are the confirmed attendance so far for the meeting:

(a) International Medical University (IMU)

SMMAMS Committee: Chairman Justin Lee

Head of Delegates: Adrian Low Sheng Kian

(b) Melaka-Manipal Medical College (MMMC)

SMMAMS Committee: Sheela Josephine John and Vincent Khor

Head of Delegates:

(c) Monash University Malaysia

SMMAMS Committee: Priya Darshene Raj

Head of Delegates: Pari Shanmugaraman Gurusamy

Penang Medical College (PMC)

SMMAMS Committee: Jeffrey Lee Huang Shen

Head of Delegates: Deenish Muniandy

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

SMMAMS Committee: Chairman Elect Mohd Lutfi Fadil Lokman

Head of Delegates:

Universiti Malaya

SMMAMS Committee: Loo Kar Yee and Melvin Loh

Head of Delegates: Sia Leng Cheng

UMS

SMMAMS Committee: Yap Wai Leong (absent)

Head of Delegates: Eddie Lim Wei Ming

UNIMAS

SMMAMS Committee: Nurul Shahirah Binti Abdul Shukor

Head of Delegates:

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman

Head of Delegates: Yeap Hsiao Hui

For the above institutions who yet to have elected their head of delegates, please kindly do it fast and let us know who is the head of delegates, so that the election committee can do their work.

The Head of delegates him/herself can be nominated as the candidate. But in that case, he/she will need to bring an extra representative of his/her school to attend the meeting. If the Head of Delegates are not nominated as the candidate, then the candidate should present the meeting together with the SMMAMS Committee and the Head of Delegates.

For further information on the nomination and election, please do not hesitate to contact the SMMAMS Chairman, Justin Lee on president.smmams@gmail.com.

Attendance to the meeting will be confirmed once you had registered for the conference.

MIMSC 2011 at The Historical City of Melaka - updates

36 days more, the 3rd Malaysian International Medical Students Conference (MIMSC) 2011 will be held at Melaka-Manipal Medical College, from 2nd - 5th June 2011.

We have received warm response from various universities. The registration will still going on until 15th May 2011. If your school has not received anything from the conference committee, and you would like to attend the conference, you can directly register with us, by contacting us on phone (012-9208624) or by email (mimsc2011@gmail.com or betty.san@gmail.com)

Here are some updates on the conference:

(a) Scientific Presentation - Oral and Poster Presentation:

Those students who love to present your study in public health posting or your individual research study, you can submit your abstract to us. If you cannot submit by now and need some time, you can always email to the Scientific Chairperson, Ms. Sheela.

Best Presenter Award and Best Poster Award will be presented to the winner during the Gala Dinner. Paper submission will be selected by the committee to be published in an International Online Journal.

[For more information, please login to our website]

(b) Medical Quiz

There will be a preliminary round in the first day, in MCQs format. Topic includes Pre-clinical sciences, clinical sciences and medical trivia. The final round will be on the 2nd day, include the above and also trauma topic. RM1000 worth medical books will be awarded to the winners during the Gala Dinner. Rules and regulations will be announced during the registration day.

(c) Fellowship Nite:

(d) Melaka City Night Tour:

On the 3rd June 2011, the delegates will be brought to the center of the Melaka City for a night tour. Delegates will be dropped at there, and they are free to walk around there under the guide from the organizing committee.

More updates will be available soon. If you have not registered yet, please contact us as soon as possible. Registration is opened until 15th May 2011. See you soon in Melaka!

For more information on the conference, visit our official conference website.

AIMST 1st Preclinical Medical Quiz 2011

A Preclinical Medical Quiz was recently held at AIMST University on 8th and 9th April 2011. This event was organized by the Faculty of Medicine, AIMST University in collaboration with AIMST University Medical Students' Association (MedSA) and Society of MMA Medical Students (SMMAMS).

A total of 9 teams participated for this event including a home team (AIMST University), followed by representatives from, International Medical University (IMU), University Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Allianze University College of Medical Sciences (AUCMS), University Tunku Abdul Rahmah (UTAR), Taylor's University College, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and neighbouring country National University of Singapore (NUS).

The participants were brought for a tour to the Anatomy Museum and Clinical Skills Centre (3rd floor of medical building) whereby they were given a briefing on the various METI simulation facilities present in AIMST.

The event was then inaugurated by the welcoming speech by Deputy VC Student Affairs, Prof. Harcharan Singh whereby announced that he would donate a Challenge Trophy in the next Preclinical Medical Quiz. Participants were also reminded to take this quiz as an opportunity to know each other better instead of focusing the sole purpose of winning the quiz.

This was followed by the Preliminary Round 1 whereby all the teams were given a 45 minutes time span to complete 30 MCQs. From there, a total of 6 teams proceeded to the next round which included AIMST, NUS, IMU, AUCMS, USM and USIM.

These teams proceeded into the verbal round of Preliminary Round 2 on the same day and the Preliminary Round 3 on the following day. For each of the rounds the top team was allowed to choose their quiz table. Only 4 teams proceeded from the Preliminary Round 3 which was the team from AIMST, NUS, IMU and USM. Here, the finalists were tested at different stages which included the Leeuwenhoek Round, R.V.RAASH Round and the Laennec Round. These rounds not only tested cognitive knowledge but also psychomotor skills of interpreting histology, microbiology, pathology slides and also radiographs.

The NUS team emerged as the champion, followed closely by AIMST at 2nd place and IMU at 3rd place. The team were given a trophy, medals and winning certificates. Other teams involved were given the Certificate of Participation.

The event also boasted a special segment called the Quiz King or Queen whereby each team was requested to norminate a king/queen whom was tested by various questions probing into their opinions on Medical Ethics, Reasoning Skills, and also Communication skills. A representative from USIM won the Quiz Queen award for this segment.

The prize giving ceremony commenced with the speech from Prof. Dr. Sethuraman (Dean of Faculty of Medicine) and Deputy VC Academic and International Affairs. He thanked the organizing committee for making this a huge event a great success and especially congratulated Dr. P.K. Rajesh (Deputy Dean for Preclinical and Organizing Chairperson of the quiz ) for making his brainchild (the quiz) a memorable event. The Preclinical Medical Quiz 2011 was officially closed with a vote of thanks from Mr. N. Naga Bharathi Nesan, the President of MedSA and student organizing committee.

The participants congratulated the University for the outstanding efforts placed in organizing this Quiz and was greatly impressed by the excellent modern facilities used and it's management throughout by the Preclinical Medical Quiz 2011. In the feedback collected from the participants they expressed their gratitude to the organizing committee for putting together a meaningful and exciting event and assured that they will return the following year.

Reported by,

INDERPREET KAUR

Secretary of Student Organizing Committee

SMMAMS T-Shirt Design Competition - Update

T-shirt Design Competition Update :

The voting for the design was closed as of 25th of March 2011. A total of about 150 unique votes were received. Currently, results are being calculated. The winner of the competition will be contacted by the 1st week of May, and the results will be announced publicly by the end of May.

Do contact vote.smmams@gmail.com if you have any queries.

9th Inter-Medical School Physiology Quiz on 22nd and 23rd July 2011

The annual Inter-Medical Schools Physiology Quiz is back now! This year, the Physiology quiz will be held on 22 and 23 July 2011 at Universiti Malaya.

Prepare to take over the champion trophy from UM? (UM was the champion in the 8th IMSPQ). Find your team mates, and register your team now. Challenge the previous champion and take back to the trophy and make your medical school proud!

Deadline for registration is 30th April 2011. You can always contact Professor Dr. Cheng (details shown in the poster) for more information on the registration.

Download : [Registration Form in 4shared]

See you in July !!!

Saturday Teach-In : Hepatology on 23 April 2011

The College of Physician, Academy of Medicine Malaysia is organizing the next "Saturday Teach-In" with the topic on HEPATOLOGY on the 23rd April 2011.

The program of the day includes:

(a) 1000 - 1050 -

Management of common complications of liver cirrhosis (ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and variceal bleeding) - by Dr. Syed Redha

(b) 1050 - 1140 -

Current Management of Chronic Hepatitis B - by Dr. Tan Seok Siam

(c) 1140 - 1230 -

Current Management of Chronic Hepatitis C - by Dr. Haniza Omar

(d) 1330 - 1530 - Concurrent Workshops:

(i) Approach to Jaundiced Patient - by Dr. Chan Yee Ming

(ii) Approach to abnormal liver function tests - by Dr. Mohd. Shamsul

(iii) Approach to Fatty Liver especially Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Diseases

- by Dr. Dennise Khoo

Registration Fee is RM 20 if registered before 15 April 2011; and RM 30 if registered after 15 April 2011.

For more information, please visit the College of Physician website; and register individually.

Medical Protection Society (MPS) Application - for Medical Students

Many medical students have email and asked regarding the insurance for their medical electives (which is required by some of the countries) and many of them are unclear about how to purchase the MPS (Medical Protection Society) Insurance from the MMA.

ABOUT MPS:

MPS (Medical Protection Society) is the leading indemnifier of healthcare professional, and also one of the world largest medical defense organization.

Members commonly seek help with legal and ethical dilemmas arising from professional practice/clinical negligence claims / complaints / disciplinary procedures/ police investigations / medical council inquires and inquests.

Medical students posted for electives in certain countries like UK, Singapore requires MPS insurance. MPS will provide advisory services to the medical students during their clinical training.

They also publish a series of educational publications like Casebook, New Doctor Magazines and GP Registrar.

Subscription of MPS Insurance for all MMA Medical Student Member is FREE. This is one of the privileges that the members enjoy.

If you are intending to do electives in country which need MPS Insurance, you can apply for MPS Membership Application from MMA for free.

For more information, you can always email us on smmams1011@gmail.com or call up MMA office on 03-40411375 for more information.

I hope you find this information useful. Thank you.

MPS Malaysia Website: www.medicalprotection.org/malaysia/students

[Malaysia MPS Subscription Rate]

Regards,Vincent (SMMAMS Webmaster 2010-2011)

Clinical Hypnotherapy Workshop - Invitation by London College of Clinical Hypnosis

Greetings from the London College of Clinical Hypnosis - LCCH (Asia).

The LCCH in collaboration with the Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia will be organizing an AFPM Pre-AGM Workshop on Clinical Hypnotherapy - Approaches in Healthcare and Medicine on 15 April 2011 at the Legend Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

For more details, please refer to the attached flyer. Please feel free to contact us if you have further queries.

Thank you.

------Secretariat
on behalf of Sheila Menon
Principal & Director
London College of Clinical Hypnosis (Asia)
207, Block G, Phileo Damansara 1
No 9, Jalan 16/11, Off Jalan Damansara
Seksyen 16 Petaling Jaya
46350 Selangor
Tel : 03-7960 6439
Fax : 03-7960 6449

MMA Foundation Study Loan Application Guidelines

A few colleagues had email us on the Guides on MMA Foundation (MMAF) Study Loan Application. I hope that you find this article useful for the Loan application.

The requirements for the application are:

- Currently enrolled in a recognized medical colleges/ universities

- Good Academic Performance

- MMA Student Member

You need to write an Loan Application Letter to:

Chairman,

Student Loan Committee, MMA Foundation

The Letter should state the reason for the loan application. Together with your copy of your latest university's exam result and email them to: Ms. Linda on mmaf@streamyx.com , and cc copy to smmams1011@gmail.com.

The MMA Foundation Committee only gives out 20 study loan per year, and they prefer 4th or 5th year students, so that they can pay back as soon as they graduate. Although so, junior medical students are encouraged to try if you need the aid.

Thank you. [any info, please email us on smmams1011@gmail.com]

Introducing SMMAMS to your friends ONLINE and Add us at Facebook

Saturday Teach-In on "DERMATOLOGY" by College of Physicians, AMM

Dear fellow colleagues,

The College of Physician under the Academy of Medicine Malaysia, has been conducting "Saturday Teach-In" program regularly for MOs, HOs, GPs and also for senior medical students.

On January 2011, a one-day course on Haematology was conducted, and there were strong support from medical students (especially from Melaka-Manipal, Universiti Malaya, UKM etc). On the coming 12 March 2011, they will be conducting another Saturday Teach-In, with the topic on Dermatology.

Program:

0900 - 1000 hrs: Registration/ Coffee

1000 - 1100 hrs: Common Skin Disorders (Eczema, Psoriasis, Tinea etc)

1100 - 1200 hrs: Adverse Cutaneous Drug Reaction

1200 - 1300 hrs: Dermatological Emergencies (TEN/ Pemphigus/ Acute Erythroderma)

1300 - 1400 hrs: Lunch

1400 - 1430 hrs: Workshop on Topical Application of Creams

1430 - 1500 hrs: Workshop on Wet Dressing/ Soaks

1500 - 1530 hrs: Workshop on Scalp Treatment / Scabies Treatment

Course Fee for Medical Student: RM 20

As place are limited, for advance booking, please contact:

Secretariat, College of Physicians, AMM

G-1, Medical Academies of Malaysia,

210, Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: (603) 4023 4700 ; 4025 4700; 4025 3700

Fax: (603) 4023 8100 [Email: acadmed@po.jaring.my]

Website for Saturday Teach-In: http://www.acadmed.org.my/newsmaster.cfm?&action=news&menuid=80&parentid=39

AIMST University is Organizing a Pre-Clinical Medical Quiz on 8th and 9th April 2011

Dear fellow colleagues,

The Faculty of Medicine, AIMST University is organizing a Pre-clinical Medical Quiz on 8th and 9th April 2011. They are inviting medical students from other institutions to participate in this quiz.

Registration Fee is RM 200 per team. Each participating team will be composed of 4 regular members and 1 optional (staff/ spare member). Minimum of 2 students should be currently in preclinical phase of training. An early bird fee of RM150 if registration done before 14 March 2011.

Entries are accepted until the 28th March 2011.

For further information, you are welcome to contact AIMST Medical Student Association's President Mr. Naga on vostok_nbn@hotmail.com.

Last Call for Early Bird Promotion !!!

Today will be the last day for the Early Bird Promotion for the MIMSC 2011 Registration.

Due to holiday today, we have decided to extend their the payment due date for early bird registration to this Saturday (19/2/2011). However, you must register your delegates in our computer system by tonight 11.59pm to get the RM50 discount.

For more registration information, please do not hesitate to contact the Registration Director Ms. Betty San.

Official Conference Website: www.smmams.org/mimsc2011

Updates on Perdana University - Berita MMA Interview with Dean, Prof Dr Charles M. Wiener MD - Part II

1) So, when are you ready to take on your first batch of students?

Prof Dr Charles: We're ready to take on our first batch of students in September 2011. We're hoping that students will take the MCAT in spring 2011. There's a board that runs the US MCAT, they have agreed to have additional tests in Kuala Lumpur. Before that we only had one offering then we met them personally and told them about our project, they were so excited about it, they have agreed to open up additional test dates.

2) How many students can the programme accommodate in Malaysia?

Prof Dr Charles: We're planning to accommodate up to 100 students per year and there is only one intake per year which will start in Fall of 2011.

3) What are your plans in terms of faculty recruitment for the Perdana University?

Prof Dr Charles: Right from the start, we're expecting the faculty and students, in my terms, to be at Johns Hopkins standards, which are extremely high standards.

I am talking to a number of faculties in the region and trying to be very selective. I've alreadt preliminarily recruited a number of Johns Hopkins' faculty who want to come out here anywhere from six months to 2 years or even longer.

We will be utilising Hopkins' faculty to come out for 2-week periods of time to deliver specific parts of our curriculum that we don't have covered by instrinsic faculty. We've already started planning for all of these faculty positions.

Another aspect of our mission here which is also quite distinct is to establish a research presence of Johns Hopkins quality. Johns Hopkins research has a tripartite mission: patient care, teaching and research. We're planning on mimicking all three of these missions here at Perdana.

So, we're already recruiting research faculty and what we're trying to do now is establish our initial research initiatives that we're going to focus on. This will most certainly include Bio-informatics which is a strength of this region already and we're going to take advantage of that and also genomics, taking advantage of the unique aspect of South East Asia.

There is a lot of commitment from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore to support, collaborate and take advantage of some of the infrastructure that we've already created in Baltimore to make it easier for us to work over here.

4) What would be the criteria that you are looking for in your medical educators?

Prof Dr Charles: The key is medical educators who are experienced and are opened to a US-style of the "Genes to Society" perspective.

For instance, 3 years ago, the Johns Hopkins faculty didn't know what constitutes the "Genes to Society" perspective. It is important that people are keen to learn our curriculum; they have to be committed to student centric education and/or research that will help this country and this region.

The "Genes to Society" curriculum took us five to six years to plan and 2 years to implement. If you do a public search on my name, in a journal called Academic Medicine published in March 2010, there's an article that we wrote describing the logic and the whole process behind the whole "Genes to Society" curriculum.

5) Will Johns Hopkins or Perdana University be conferring the degree?

Prof Dr Charles: The Diploma will be conferred by the Perdana University. The logo of Perdana University has a line that reads "in collaboration with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine". Essentially, this is a Malaysian university that is meant to improve the health of Malaysia and the region. However, the curriculum and structure of the programme will be exactly the same.

6) Do you have any final words to our readers?

Prof Dr Charles: Everyone in Baltimore is tremendously excited about this project at many levels. There is great enthusiasm for this region and this country. This is a place that already vale education and excellence, and is ready to take on the challenge of having a truly integrated academic medical centre built here. We've seen nothing but positive feedback here and also in Baltimore on this project.

7) What are your channels for communication for doctors and potential students to get in touch with you regarding teaching and research prospects as well as enquiries about this programme?

Prof Dr Charles: I will be starting work in KL mid-January 2011. Enquiries can be addressed to this email (enquiries@acadmedc.com) or to The Academic Medical Centre Sdn Bhd, Suite 5.3, 5th Floor, Wisma Chase Perdana, Off Jalan Semantan, Damansara Heights, 50490 KL. You can also reach us at this telephone number 03-27183888 or fax number 03 20945984.

Updates on Perdana University - Berita MMA Interview with Dean, Prof Dr Charles M. Wiener MD - Part I

Someone had drop a message in the shoutout box, asking about the new medical school in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University. MMA Berita Editorial recently had the opportunity to interview Prof. Dr. Charles M. Wiener MD, Professor od Medicine & Physiology of JHU School od Medicine. John Hopkins is to establish the foundations of the new Perdana University, the first private graduate medical school and private teaching hospital to be setup in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The Interview with the Dean of Perdana University. [Following article is from January issue of Berita MMA]

1) Johns Hopkins has a number of facilities in this region like in China and Singapore, how are they different from the one in Malaysia?

Prof. Dr. Charles: Johns Hopkins has a clinical oncology unit and a small clinical research component. It does not have any medical education at all over in Singapore.

In China, it is mostly under graduate it's not a significant medical school. Again, this is the first Johns Hopkins' school of medicine International collaboration.......

2) What are your main objectives at this point in time in establishing the medical school in Malaysia?

Prof. Dr. Charles: The objectives right now are to finalise our application for approval from MQA and MMC; start interviewing and talking to faculty members who might be interested in coming to Perdana University; talking about where our temporary facility is going to be; setting up and administration and IT infrastructure, and planning to Master Plan the new campus.

3) What programmes are offered at the Perdana University and how different are they from what is currently offered in medical schools in Malaysia?

Prof Dr Charles:
The important distinction is that this is going to be graduate school of medicine. It is based on the American model where people first obtain their under graduate degree in whatever discipline - whether it is a BA or BSc- it doesn't have to be in science. But you have to complete a set of pre-requisities that are generally covered in the 1st 2 years of medical school e.g. physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics etc.

For instance, I was an economic major in college, not a science major. Within the course of my economic training, I took the basic science subjects that I was required to take for medical school.

4) In the traditional system, a graduate would have to clock in a number of years before one is qualified as a specialist. So, how is this programme different to the model at Johns Hopkins?

Prof Dr Charles: Our system is definitely different, when you graduate from a medical school as MD after four years you immediately start your specialty training whether it is in paediatrics, internal medicine and graudates spend their 3 - 5 years immediately after medical school obtaining their specialty certificates and specialty training. After that they can further do training to sub-specialise in cardiology or an area of their interest.

In our programme, the students are more matured at the beginning. They generally come to an informed decision about what they want to spend their lives doing and allowed to go directly to do that ar our medical school.

In America, the 4th year of medical school is very much similar to the house officer training in the British system.

Another point of difference is our system is that in the "Genes to Society" curriculum, students start clinical exposure on day one of classes. So, interviewing, history note taking begins from day one. In this sense, it is a fairly matured curriculum.

5) Is there an opportunity for students in Malaysia to do practical cross training, say in America under this program?

Prof Dr Charles: The Perdana University will be in collaboration with Johns Hopkins and since Johns Hopkins knows this is a school of high comparable quality to Johns Hopkins, we anticipate no problems for students to do rotations in Johns Hopkins.

In fact, I have already had countless inquiries from Johns Hopkins students asking, can they come to Perdana University for rotations. This applies to Malaysian students as well in terms of rotations as well as postgraduate training in Johns Hopkins campus in Baltimore, America.

6) What are your criteria for student selection into this program?

Prof Dr Charles: The curriculum will be delivered in English and we're expecting all students to take the US Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), take the test of English (TOFEL), or the English language equivalent and have either an under graduate or its equivalent including all pre-medical requirements we expect. Essentially, the pre-medical requirements are the same as what we have for Johns Hopkins. Finally, there will be a personal interview.

Broadly speaking, there are a number of science requirements that are the same in most US medical schools. What we have done in Johns Hopkins, which we are going to mimic here, is that we're asking students that they show they are capable to communicating both in the oral and written form based on the curriculum that they have done and some kind of original research of some sort. Finally, they have to demonstrate they have the team work skills. So, our criteria highlight most of these characteristics.