Ebola Essay

"If your friend who doesn't have medical knowledge asked you about The Ebola Outbreak, how would you explain it to them?" 

Friends, I wish to share with you a story:

“I woke up in the morning, looking for my mother, wanting a pacifying warm hug, for I had a nightmare yesternight about an unknown, realising that she’s no longer there…

Just 2 weeks ago, she fell very sick; she became extremely exhausted never like this before.  Her body was very hot and she was in great pain! I cared for her like what she did when I was sick last time.

I remembered there was mystery men in horrifying white costume came to my house and brought my mother away to the hospital. They told us that she might have got “Ebola Viral Disease”. I think I’ve heard of it, many of my neighbours were brought away by the same white car with a bright red cross, but most of them never came back… I have seen a dying man abandoned by his family at the road side. I am so afraid!

Deadly, Killer Disease, Bleeding, Painful, No Cure, No Vaccine, Highly Infectious, Filovirus, Uncontrolled Outbreak... These big words are more than what a 10 year-old boy can handle. I pray to God that this is not real; there mustn’t be any disease…

Last week, my mother passed away. I was in grief. I couldn’t get closer and caress my mother for the last time during her funeral, like what I did for my grandmother few years back. Contact can spread the disease, they said. Will air, water and food do the same to me? Is it true that by simply washing my hands the deadly disease can be prevented? I was confused!

Again, the nurse came into my cubicle and replaced a new bag of fluid that hung on icy cold metal stand beside my bed. I can’t see her face, it was tightly covered, but I bet it was fill with fear, as most of them who seen me. I heard they said something about me; I am a positive case of Ebola Viral Disease.

Deadly, Killer Disease, Bleeding, Painful, No Cure, No Vaccine, Highly Infectious, Filovirus, Uncontrolled Outbreak... My mind was blank, and these words kept bugging me. I was lost and did not know if tomorrow’s bright sun and the future still belonged to me. I felt dizzy, my vision gone blurred and gradually everything became dull and black out.

If only Ebola remained known as the motherly river that flows peacefully, nurturing her children at the northern land of Democratic Republic of Congo... I prayed. ”

I hope that silent prayers of West Africa can be heard by my friends, knowing that Ebola Outbreak is not “just another wave of infectious disease” per se, rather it triggers our consideration on how harmonious humankind advancement can be attained in midst of intense conflict between human and pathogen. Everyone in this world has the responsibility to take dynamic and radical action for ensuring a sustainable tomorrow, for we are dealing in the same biosphere, our motherly Earth.We can hardly short of any accessible, comprehensive description of a disease but the motivation that drives us there. 

Physiology rhyme : Inspire Me !

Inhale, exhale, the air must flow!

Brings in O2 and CO2 is thrown.

Diaphragm contracts, thoracic volume grows,

Atmospheric air then happily follows. 

Quiet breathing, passive exhalation is kinda slow.

During exercise, gases are actively blown.

Cardio-Respi Integration, healthy men are well endowed.

‘CELLustomer’ servers –the hemoglobin working to and fro,

The subtle relationship is Bohr-ing, not boring that we all should know.

Efficient blood gas hemostasis is what our fitness owed,

Without which we all will definitely be K.O.!

Physiology Rhyme: Physiology + Understanding : PhUn

“Have ‘PhUn’ with physiology” is indeed a pun.

Understanding physiology can be a real big fun.

Many ways to throne of physiology, it’s not all or none!

Reading, Phyinking, Singing, Physcussing, a lot of more can be done.

Classroom learning is augmented by activities under the warm, red sun.

Overt integrative physiology presented to us when athletes run.

How many “Phyinking” attempts we had begun?

To propagate the excitement in learning, together we shout out “let’s have PhUn!” 

Physiology Rhyme: Physiology + Think : P.H.Y.I.N.K. !

Physiology scrutinizes phenomenon of life.

Humbly I steer through challenges with my mind.

You live and learn! Obscure yet sublime truths, faithfully I find.

Ignorance, arrogance impedes your try and you’ll stop asking “Why?”

Negative, positive feedback promote homeostatic learning, this you can’t deny.

Keeping low threshold, high sensitivity in our physiology learning, misconceptions may us descry.

医学系第二年：迷茫再迷盲！

迷迷糊糊度过了第二年医学系，也许最大的收获是 自己知道了当医生是什么一回事。第一年的傻冬瓜只管看戏太多，以为戏里的医生就像真实的那样拉风。

第二年可说是忙盲茫。参与的好多好多的活动，不懂是 出自于自愿还是为满足他人需求。刚开始，就参加的结业典礼展览会。真的好傻！基础病理学是多么的重要！我整整逃了一个星期的课。欣慰的是可以亲眼看到学长们毕业。不过有得重来，我会选择，只出席 结业典礼。

接着就是一连串学会活动，办了怪吃力的，大概是没什么兴趣，而又不小心 参与这么多活动！若大学宿舍不必拼积分，我大抵也不会这么活跃于校内的活动，有些办得并不很有意义，反之我会更专注于课业上的研究与探索自己未来的动向——这是第三年要做的事情。也许朋友花钱买积分的举动，虽然无意义，不过这不是在迎合校方的需求 ？

再接着就是承办所谓能够团结华人的活动（对某班人来说也许是对的 ），其实大家都挺压力的。为达到他人的期望而掏心掏肺，苦了自己，也达不到初衷。多少个不眠之夜？多少个需要迎合活动顾问的需求？而且，真的有意义吗？真的能传达中华文化吗？有没有做背景资料的查阅？把现代元素搬上舞台扭曲的原有的价值。也许我们不该这么守旧。算了，事情过了就算了 。专心读书吧。

迷迷糊糊的就过了半年，下半年还算平静，不过就一直在追赶之前所遗漏的知识，而且也不懂的很好的温习。考完了，就忘了，怎么考专业考试2 ？给第三年的备忘录，记得勤劳温习功课，而且要着重于思维，让自己更能记住知识。

问诊体检可是糟糕透顶，穿上白袍就有像要躲起来的惭愧。怎么努力还是达不到所期待的水准——给第三年的自己，要努力再努力！每次临床教学都是心惊胆跳的经验。遇到苛刻的导师，被骂了没关系，就担心他只管骂他的，没有给我们什么教学，遇到超级随和的真的二话不说的就结束了模棱两可的教学。

对于小组讨论，同学们都也还没什么习惯这类教学模式，学习进度很慢！可我们又能怎样？束手无策！也许我要求高，不过这不是一个未来医生的准则？教学大纲是以前定制的，现在的需求当然会要更高。

到了最后还来个，斋戒月上课自习周，结果大伙们出来成绩差强人意！我算了，大概有一半了人当掉了。自己的成绩我也不怎么庆幸，那是考试前拼出来的，根本没有很深入的掌控到知识。真的怕怕专业考试2咯。

不过，感觉上专业考试2会很快的就挨过了。

第二年，淡淡的一股沧桑。

Microbe and us

again, bacteria existed in this world long before us. The dynamics relationship between human and bateria never get equilibrium or reach steady state. How human be selected naturally by these microbes? What limits our growing capacity?

[Shared] To medical students: We’re all in the same boat

I am an imposter in a white coat. I’m not sure if anyone knows yet, I hope I am good at hiding it. It’s a well-kept secret amongst all medical students. In the hospital, I am at the bottom. I know the least and have the least power. Most patients don’t realize this and look up to me like I’m an all-knowing, wise muse or something of that nature. Sometimes, I seem to play it off well. I fooled them all! They think I’m actually smart! Then the attending asks me a basic question during rounds, and I’m back at baseline thinking I’m stupid and incompetent once again.

This is a cycle medical students experience once they get to the wards. We put on the short white coat that we were once so proud to wear on the day we matriculated into medical school. Now, after completing most of my clinical rotations, I find every excuse not to wear it. It’s not just because I always seem to spill a drop of coffee onto my sleeve every damn morning (of all colors, why white?), but also because I literally feel like I don’t deserve to wear something that presumes such greatness and authority. With it carries a huge responsibility, and I just don’t want to disappoint. Heaven forbids a medical student being a disappointment to society. We’d rather get hemorrhoids and drown in our own blood from our anus.

Every medical student is pretending to be smarter than they are and less stressed than they really are. We study way more than we claim we are, have much less fun than we brag about on Facebook, and are much more insecure than we put ourselves out to be. I know this to be true because I am guilty of this. I’ve been faking it till I make it since the beginning of time. It’s contagious, and it’s toxic.

Why do we put ourselves through this misery? For me, it’s because I have these unrealistic expectations of perfection. We’re a unique group of people, chosen from the top of our class from an elite group of students from each college. We’re used to achieving and striving to be the best at what we do, whether it’s academics, music, sports, art, or drinking. When you put a group of similar high-achieving, neurotic people together, you raise the bar exponentially, as well as individual expectations and competition. Our sense of self-worth, confidence, and thus degree of happiness then plummets. The medical school environment does not alleviate this disastrous outcome, especially since the root cause is us, the students.

It’s not really our fault either. From the beginning, we have been drilled to succeed and rewarded for our academic (and non-academic) achievements. That’s how we got here to begin with. I’m sure some of us did so at the expense of someone else. Not everyone could win first place in that piano competition, be valedictorian, or captain of the soccer team. Some of us are so used to success, that we don’t know how to handle failure. In medical school, many of us experienced our first failures, and many don’t know how to cope with that. We forget what made us truly happy, and why we came to medical school in the first place. It’s easy to get lost in our self-destructive thoughts: “I’m not good enough for this. I don’t deserve to be here. Why is (insert name) so much better at biochem than me? Why did (insert name) get a higher USMLE Step 1 score than me even though I studied so much longer? How come (insert name) has time to publish all these research papers, when I don’t have any? …”

You can tell how vicious this process of thinking can get. I know, because I have been through this.

To provide a sense of comfort to other medical students who feel the same as me, you’re not alone. I’m just as insecure about my abilities as the rest of you despite my determined attempts at hiding it. I hope that one day, this will all be behind me and I will truly be a competent physician who doesn’t have to pretend anymore. I hope that I will stop comparing myself to other “more competent” people who seem to have everything put together. I sincerely make an effort to try to only compete with myself, but some people make that extremely difficult when they are advertising their 250s in public and posting their publications and other vast achievements on social media. (And even after I get rid of Facebook, somehow I still hear about it.)

I genuinely try to feel happy for them, and part of me truly is proud, but there’s always this other side of me that feels jealously and shame towards myself — a nagging voice asking, “Why couldn’t that be you?”

I know I can’t avoid all of this thinking process completely, but I have taken steps to at least calm the waves down. I focus on the positive things in my life and have stopped placing unrealistic expectations on myself. I hang out with similar-minded people who make me happy and don’t patronize others. I reconnect with my old friends who I have seemingly ignored for the past three years. I rediscover the real things in life that make me happy — family, friends, my dog, nature, Ellen Degeneres, and wine.

Don’t get me wrong, I still study my ass off, but am not obsessed about it anymore. When I put on my white coat, I think about how privileged I am to have this incredible and rare opportunity to do so. Instead of feeling stupid after not knowing an answer, I think of it as a positive learning experience — why would I even be here if I knew all the answers anyway? I try to avoid people who can’t stop talking about how many clerkships they honored, how many clinics they started in a third world country, and how many attendings are so impressed by their knowledge of the purine synthesis pathway. I’ll be friends with them once they get over their own insecurities and stop having to constantly prove how “good” they are.

We’re all in the same boat here. Let’s keep the sea as calm as possible until we land.

Serena Zhou is a medical student.

SERENA ZHOU | EDUCATION | MAY 4, 2014

Retrieved from http://medicinemalaysia.com/wp2/?p=3083 at 04/09/2014 on 12:23 noon

回忆过去之钟灵USM传统：十个为什么我要当医生的原因

当年我first year, 2012/2013届的钟灵学长团有 8个 5th year, 13个 4th year, 4个 3rd year 和 6个 2nd year.

现在我third year, 2014/2015届则有 3个 5th year, 6个 4th year, 6个3rd year 还有 6个 2nd year.

传统中，打电话最刺激的环节莫过于娓娓叙说“我要当医生的十个原因”，然后被学长们百针喷血的质疑与批评，可爱的学弟妹们则极力抵抗那天真的十个原因。

今年我第三年，听了两届的电话，我算是苛刻的学长 （心理有点变态 + 妄想症的那种 + 虐待心切的那种 ——〉都说了有“童年阴影”）。打电话时不时会深入探讨学弟妹们的十个原因——〉最近怎么大家都自行大打折扣，基本上，给超过5个原因的人少之又少，而且给的原因越来越可爱了。没关系，该做的要逃都逃不了，把狠话落在前头，欠了债可要分期付款 （又感到头上长魔角了-.-）我又不是故意刁难，我只是想知道更多而已，其实我很慈祥的。

以下是我当年的十个原因 + 如果我现在听到这些原因我会怎样开“枪” （全马力的开，小的看好了，你们中过的只不过是弹灰）这些枪是自己开给自己的，而且功课我也会做了upload上部落交功课给自己。

1) 因为我有家人的支持与期望
attack: 别老活在其他人的期望里，这是我的十个原因，不是家人的十个原因。那么家人要怎么支持你？
defence : 老实说，我还真的不懂怎么defence!? 父母不嫌辛劳两地载送我来回槟丹。每一年假期都带我到Kamal Book Store 买书籍? 父母替我拜神算命!? 总之是精神上与金钱上的支持啦。
attack: 这么多支持，自己要怎样学习独立？你要如何更接近社会？毕竟，到最后你还是要到社会服务的。你真的socially functional ?
ONE-HIT-KO
功课：回去想怎样结合你的talent, hobby and medical degree 去让自己支撑自己的生活。找十个然后画出来！

ok next!
2)认为自己有毅力读下去/做下去，有志者，事竟成。<——好萌的想法
attack: LoL 跟我讲一讲你至今为止做过最有毅力的事情！
defence: 我很勇敢的走过matriculation, 在里头哭了两回…… <——超萌的！
attack: 那么你在医学系里头不也要三天两头哭上一遍 ？天天以泪洗脸？（只哭过2次，感谢丹州理大佛学会）
ONE-HIT-KO
功课：找出来历史上10个有毅力的名人，然后跟我讲故事！

next!
3) 符合自己的价值观
attack: 根本都不必 attack, 不堪一击！什么是你的价值观？
defence: 越活越清醒，利用自身的知识帮助他人，提高生活素质，让自己在精神层面上有更高的发展。
attack: 我不懂你现在是不是清醒，不过你最好是。难道你要像孔子说的四十不惑？hahahahaha! 百无一用是SUSAN (书生)，讲你要怎样用你的知识帮助人？帮卖hokkien mee的aunty 算 dy/dx 啊？
ONE-HIT-KO
功课：从现在起要怎样实现你的价值观，不要说到好像未来很远酱，说到好像自己不会有死去的那一天。画出来！

next!
4) 有稳定的收入
attack: ok, 这个我接受，你的稳定是指什么稳定？
defence: ... science student 不会 finance...
attack: 酱，怎样稳定！？
ONE-KIT-KO
功课：找出来医学系毕业后，你领的工资有多少钱，取学要怎样稳定你的收入与开销！science student 不会finance... wahahahaha! 如果你是借钱的要怎样还！如果你是被bond的要怎样bond!

next!
5) 生活可以忙得很充实
attack: 何谓充实？卖 hokkien mee aunty 每天熬虾汤也很充实的。
defence: ... T^T (饶了我吧)
attack: SO!? 还没有跟我讲到什么是充实
ZERO-HIT-KO
功课：给我十个你能力所及的作了有意义的事，能让生活更充实的。

next next next~ 听到耳朵都红了
6) 能从病人与其他医护人员身上体验生活 （生老病死）
attack: 讲很哲学酱， i like it. 要怎么体验？
defence:  O^O''' 用心？
attack: （顿时血洒满地）
Attacker-severely injured
功课：什么是病医关系？什么是同理心？请讲出病人各种不同的心态（对自身健康）。patient behavioural science. patient expectation on health delivery. patient dr. communication skill. 

next
7) 能帮助病人减轻痛苦
attack: 那么你应该去做护理师 (Nurse)
defence: 我选MD wor...
attack: 你不懂medicine 讲究teamwork?!
ONE-HIT-KO
功课：去问一下Nursing student about the role of nurses in health care. Doctor-Nurses partnership. 找出历史上5个帮助减轻痛苦的nurses. 什么是 Palliative care?

next:
8)一个通往国际的职业
attack: good 很有理想。
defence: phiew~ 松口气
attack: (乘胜追击) 你懂怎样么？
ONE-HIT-KO
功课：找出 medicine 可以通往国际的方法。

next:
9) 一门专业的职业
attack: good. 很有专业精神
defence: phiew~ 再松口气
attack: 什么是专业？
ONE-HIT-KO
功课：找出什么是 professionalism ? Professionalism 与Monetary issue 冲突时的ethical and legal issue.

finally...终于！耳朵在这时候已经严重烤焦
10) 规律中有新奇的行业
attack: 哇，你还真有点变态，以后一定不会怎么正常
defence: 夸奖了~~
attack: 酱，什么是新奇？
ANOTHER-HIT-KO
功课：找出来什么专业是规律中有新奇的，and PLAN your pathway towards it. 画出来。

看到功课那么多，那个要做功课的不禁吓得要上厕所小便……

其实，“十个当医生的原因” 对不同的人有着不同的效用，而也许在某些人眼中它根本没什么价值。在我看来，在自己不断审视自己当初的原因后，我们更能够取得更个性化的成功，因为那些是自己当初想走的路。当我们不断阅读不同成功人士的成功故事时，肯定会被那晶光闪烁的成就所瞠着，不过那毕竟是别人的成就，只供观赏借阅。我们还是要问：那我的成功故事呢？ 一年的课业实在繁重，而且会让自己身心疲惫忘了初衷，能够为自己在与自己辩论的过程，寻找乐趣与新的思维，的确是不错的做法。就要记得要把那个当初的自己想成现在”欺负“小的时候那样，要够残忍犀利（这是算哪们儿的欺负？这是升学辅导，赶快给我酬劳！）

每一年我都会让junior写下所有资料在纸上，好让以后的自己查阅。至于有没有人那么做我可就不知晓了。毕竟那是变态的senior 叫做的变态差事。

不过近年来的理由/原因还蛮坑爹的~ 喜欢性荷尔蒙的，喜欢解剖罐装的器官的，无缘无故想读医的（err..无可否认我也使个无缘无故误闯医门的傻子——结果日子读久了就变态了。既然把青春都挥洒在这块儿上了，不如就闯出个热腾腾的夏天！）

well, this is not the end of the story... hiak hiak hiak...

TO BE CONTINUED

Newbies are such adorable and fragile and innocent. Yet they are so malleable and likened that of pluripotent stem cells that endowed with great potential. Well, I always treat myself as newbies.

[Shared] Medical curriculum in Oxford University

Medicine
The practice of Medicine offers a breadth of experiences that it is impossible to find in any other subject. Every day brings different patients with different needs. It’s a great choice for scientists who strive to understand and apply research findings to improve the lives of the patients in their care. It offers a meaningful career that is prestigious, secure and relatively well paid. However, practising Medicine can be arduous, stressful, frustrating and bureaucratic and it’s not suited to everyone. You need to be sure that Medicine is the right choice for you. These pages will help you work that out, but there’s no better way to find out for sure than by gaining insight of medical practice by seeing it in action and talking to those who provide healthcare. Studying Medicine because that is what is expected of you is never a good idea: make sure that your motives for choosing to do so are well reasoned.

Medicine at Oxford

Medicine has been studied at Oxford from as early as the 14th century, although a Clinical School was established as recently as 1936 by a benefaction from Lord Nuffield for postgraduate teaching and research. Clinical student training started during the Second World War when medical students were evacuated from London. Today, the Medicine course at Oxford provides a well-rounded intellectual training with particular emphasis on the basic science research that underpins medicine. We have retained a distinct three-year pre-clinical stage that includes studying towards a BA Honours degree in Medical Sciences, followed by a three-year clinical stage.

Although the Medical School at Oxford has expanded in recent times, it remains relatively small, allowing students and staff to get to know one another and benefit from a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Careers

From becoming a GP to training as a brain surgeon, a vast array of speciality training pathways is available after obtaining a medical qualification, ranging from anaesthesia or emergency medicine through obstetrics or ophthalmology to paediatrics or psychiatry.

Of course, you need not remain confined to the surgery or the operating theatre: the lecture theatre or the laboratory could also beckon. Some of our graduates end up leading the education of the next generation of doctors or directing biomedical research. You don’t need to know right now what you want to do when you qualify: the Medical School organises careers sessions for final-year clinical students and helps students learn about and apply for foundation house officer posts.

BM BCh graduates are entitled to provisional registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) with a licence to practise, subject to demonstrating to the GMC that their fitness to practise is not impaired.

Brad, who graduated in 2004, currently works as a Forensic Psychiatrist with mentally disordered offenders at Broadmoor high security psychiatric hospital. Brad developed through tutorials at Oxford the strong academic knowledge base and confidence to challenge ‘received wisdom’. This has allowed him to diversify his clinical career to include roles in leadership and innovation in the NHS.

The standard course (A100)

We have retained a course with distinct pre-clinical and clinical sections that includes studying towards a BA Honours degree in Medical Sciences.

Applicants are initially admitted to the pre-clinical section of the course. Entry to the Oxford Clinical School is competitive; however, currently a joint admissions scheme (under review) is in place with the Universities of Cambridge and London to ensure that all suitably qualified Oxford pre-clinical students will be allocated a clinical school place within the scheme. The majority of students continue their clinical training in Oxford. Upon successful completion of clinical training and the award of the BM BCh degree, subsequent years are spent on Foundation and Specialist Training programmes.

The Pre-clinical stage

The first five terms of this course are devoted to the ‘First BM’ (the 'First Examination for the Degree of the bachelor of Medicine and Surgery'). This addresses not only much of the science that underpins Medicine, but also the clinical problems that arise when systems fail. Students are introduced to the major systems of the body and study all aspects of their structure and function in health and also the principles of disease processes. Students are encouraged to develop an enquiring approach and to consider the experimental basis of the science in the course. Matters of clinical relevance are illustrated from the outset. There are clinical demonstrations in hospitals, and students make regular visits to GP tutors.

The First BM is followed by a four-term BA Honours course (the ‘Final Honour School’) in Medical Sciences. Students specialise in an area of biomedical science selected from one of five options. They will become fully accustomed to working from research papers and primary sources in the literature, and will be encouraged to think both critically and creatively. Students will gain in-depth knowledge of their chosen option, and will improve their technical ability both at the bench and in the use of electronic resources to handle and present experimental results and to search scientific databases.

The Principles of Clinical Anatomy course, delivered at the end of the third year, is designed to teach students clinically relevant aspects of anatomy that will be of immediate use in their clinical years. This is compulsory for students progressing to clinical training at Oxford or elsewhere, but does not impact on the degree classification obtained for the BA in Medical Sciences.

Teaching methods and study support

During the pre-clinical stage of the course, the college tutorial system is a central feature: students see their tutors and are taught weekly in groups often as small as two. This teaching can be tailored to individuals’ needs and interests. Most University lectures, seminars and practical classes take place in the Medical Sciences Teaching Centre in the Science Area. Lecturers are drawn from Oxford’s extensive pre-clinical and clinical departments, all of which have international reputations for excellence in research, and the courses are organised on an interdisciplinary basis so as to emphasise the interrelatedness of all aspects of the curriculum.

Research work

In addition to taking written and computer-based examinations, and submitting practical reports and an extended essay, students undertake a research project as part of their BA course. This will be in a field of interest to the student, and will offer valuable first-hand experience of scientific research. Students have the opportunity to undertake research in a laboratory from a wide range of departments within the University.

A typical weekly timetable

During the First BM, lectures and practicals occupy about half of the time, and the remainder is free for tutorial work, self-directed study and extra-curricular activities. During the BA course, formal lecturing is kept to a minimum, and students are mostly free to pursue their research and to prepare for tutorials and seminars. Strong academic support ensures that students manage their time effectively.

First BM Part 1 - Terms 1-3
Courses Organisation of the body Physiology and pharmacology Biochemistry and medical genetics Population health: Medical sociology Patient and Doctor course	Assessment Three core knowledge computer-based assessments Four written papers Satisfactory practical record
First BM Part 2 - Terms 4 -6
Courses Applied physiology and pharmacology The nervous system Principles of pathology Psychology for medicine Patient and Doctor course	Assessment Three core knowledge computer-based assessments Four written papers Satisfactory practical record
Final Honour School in Medical Sciences - Terms 6–9
Courses Option (one from: Neuroscience; Molecular medicine; Infection and immunity; Cardiovascular, renal and respiratory biology; Cellular physiology and pharmacology) Research project Extended essay Principles of clinical anatomy	Assessment Written papers Submission of extended essay and research project write-up Oral presentation of research project Qualifying exam in Principles of clinical anatomy: computer-based assessment
To progress to clinical training, at the end of Term 9 students take: Course Principles of Clinical Anatomy	Assessment Three computer-based assessments

Progress to Clinical training

In December of the third year, students must apply to be accepted by a clinical school. Currently a joint admissions scheme (under review) is in place with the Universities of Cambridge and London to ensure that all suitably qualified Oxford pre-clinical students will be allocated a clinical school place within the scheme. Of those who choose to apply to the Oxford Clinical School, about 85% have been successful in past years. The rest mostly go to London or to Cambridge. No student is guaranteed a place in Oxford, but there are sufficient places in the system to ensure that all qualified students will find a place for their clinical training. Upon completion of the clinical stage of the course, the subsequent years are spent on Foundation and Specialist Training programmes.

Retrived from http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/medicine at 04/09/2014 at 3:07a.m.

[Shared] Curriculum MBBS Universiti Malaya

Please refer to : student guide book 2013/2014 edition

[Shared] Curriculum of MBBS National University of Singapore - Yong Loo Lin School of Medcine

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.,B.S.)

The undergraduate medical programme is a five-year course leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.,B.S.).

The broad mission of the curriculum is to nurture servant leaders to transform healthcare by producing doctors who are caring, competent, safe, and professional towards patients, who will make a difference to the community and change the practice of medicine for better.

The outcome-focused curriculum establishes a firm foundation in the basic medical sciences while providing students with high quality clinical experiences. Throughout the course, the curriculum emphasises the clinical relevance the basic sciences. Beginning in the first year of medical study, students meet and interact with patients and begin the lifelong process of honing their professional behaviour, communication skills, and understanding of ethics, law and information literacy. The first year of the course emphasises normal structure and function of the human body, underscoring the clinical relevance of what is taught. Progressively in the second year, the course focuses on abnormal structure and function including principles of pharmacotherapy, general pathology including cancer biology, and the body’s defences (immunology and infection). The primary focus from the third to the fifth year is high quality clinical experience in medical and surgical-related disciplines with underpinning medical sciences. Students also have the opportunity to take local and overseas electives during this period.

Outcome-focused Curriculum

Phase I	Normal Structure and Function with clinical relevance
Phase II	Abnormal Structure and Function with clinical relevance
Phase III	Core Clinical Practice
Phase IV	Acute and Specialty Clinical Practice
Phase V	Student Internship Programme

Highlights of the undergraduate medical curriculum are:

•	Early meaning clinical exposure
•	Ambulatory and community care experiences
•	Emphasis on developing caring and ethical medical professionals
•	Significant curriculum time devoted to interactive small group teaching
•	Use of cutting edge education technology tools such as the Human Patient Simulator and the Harvey Simulator
•	Option for student electives in local and overseas institutes
•	Student Internship Programme to provide students real-life practical opportunity for clinical care

Broad-based curricular components in the M.B.,B.S. course include:

•	Core content, which includes fundamental science and clinical principles, providing a knowledge base essential for the undergraduate to become a proficient doctor
•	Longitudinal tracks, which begin in Year 1 and continue throughout the greater part of the curriculum, integrated with the biomedical science components and clinical teaching. They include Health Ethics, Law and Professionalism; Medicine and Society; and Information Literacy, Critical Thinking, Evidence-Based Medicine, and Research Methodology.
•	The Patient-Based Programme, which starts with guided patient exposure in a clinical environment in the first year, allows the further training of patient interaction and communication, physical examination and procedural skills in the second year under the Clinical Skills Foundational Programme. The clinical training is culminated in full-day clinical postings in the third through the final year. Such intensive bedside clinical instruction and experience help undergraduates to acquire clinical knowledge and skills in order to be effective house officers and proficient medical practitioners. Retrieved from http://medicine.nus.edu.sg/corporate/education/medicine/med_curriculum.aspx at 04/09/2014 2:45 a.m.

[Shared] Old Curriculum in MD USM : DOCTOR OF MEDICINE COURSE (MD)

INTRODUCTION

The School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia was established in 1979. The enrolment of the first batch of 64 medical students started in 1981. The school initially operated in the main campus in Penang. Beginning in 1983, the school moved instages to the new branch campus in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. By 1990, the whole medical school was based in Kubang Kerian Health Campus. The Health Campus is fully equipped with up-to-date teaching, research and patient care facilities. This is in accordance with the primary aims for its establishment to produce doctors and medical practitioners to meet the nation's needs as well as to upgrade the medical services of the country.

In addition to the undergraduate medical (MD) programme, the medical school also offers Masters of Medicine (M.Med), M.Sc and PhD in most of the medical related specialities.

The School of Medical Sciences has three main functions, which are :-

(a) Teaching

(b) Patient-care services

(c) Research

DOCTOR OF MEDICINE COURSE (MD)

In principle, the course is structured according to a multi-disciplinary approach. One of the unique features of the School of Medical Sciences is its integrated organ-system and problem-based curriculum. Emphasis is given to the holistic approach to a patient's medical problems in relation to his/ her family and community. The course aims to produce dedicated medical practitioners who will be able to provide leadership in the health care team at all levels as well as excel in continuing medical education.

1. OBJECTIVES/PHILOSOPHY

The concept of a competent medical practitioner envisaged by the School of Medical Sciences is a person who upon graduation, having been equipped with a spectrum of medical knowledge, skills and attitudes is able to apply them for problem-solving, be it at an individual or community level. More specifically, the student upon graduation, should be able to:-

(a) Understand the scientific basis of medicine and its application to patient care.

(b) Acquire a satisfactory standard of clinical competence related to the following parameters:-

(i) interview a patient and obtain a relevant case history.
(ii) perform physical examination and basic clinical procedures.
(iii) diagnose common diseases and acute emergencies and formulate their solutions, which entails institution of first line management before referral for specialist treatment whenever necessary.
(iv) acquire satisfactory behavioural and communication skills necessary for establishing rapport with patients and planning their care.

(c) Understand and appreciate the social and cultural background of the patient and his/her environment in formulating a plan of management including follow-up and long-term management.

(d) Understand the broader role and responsibilities of doctors in society and play a leadership role in a health care team and in the community.

(e) Utilise the knowledge acquired to pursue continuing medical education.

2. CURRICULUM

The Doctor of Medicine programme is a five-year course which is designed to be integrated, problem-based and community oriented. The programme is divided into 3 phases namely :

Phase I - 1st year
Phase II - 2nd and 3rd years
Phase III - 4th and 5th years

Activities in Phase I, which is the first spiral, are enlarged and reinforced upon in the 2nd phase which comprises the 2nd spiral and so on. This ‘spiral’ concept enables the school to implement the philosophy of both horizontal and vertical integration of subjects/disciplines. The Medical School in formulating the new curriculum, studied the various problems in established medical faculties parri passu with new developments in medical education. The basic educational strategies adopted by the School of Medical Sciences can be summarised by the acronym 'SPICES'. The SPICES model in this context means that the curriculum has the following features :-

S - Student oriented
P - Problem-based
I - Integrated
C - Community oriented
E - Electives
S - Spiral and Systematic

A. PHASE I (YEAR 1)

The first year programme is designed to provide a foundation course which includes the study of the normal human being and his/her normal responses to injuries. The study of behavioural sciences and exposure to the clinical environment are also incorporated.

The course is implemented based on integrated systems/blocks as indicated below. Teaching is co-ordinated in such a way that related objectives are grouped together in specific blocks.

The systems blocks implemented in Phase I and their duration are as follows:-

Block	Duration (weeks)
Nervous System	4
Musculoskeletal	4
Gastrointestinal	3
Biology Molecul & Pharmacology	2
Haemopoietic and Lymphoid System	2
Endocrine & Metabolism Systems	2
Cardiovascular	2
Respiratory	2
Cell and tissue	2
Urinary System	2
Host and Enviroment	2
Reproductive	1
Nutrition	1
Bioethics and Social Sciences	1
Nursing	1
First Aid	1

B. PHASE II (YEAR 2 AND YEAR 3)

Problem-based learning forms a major educational strategy during the 2nd and 3rd years. The problems are structured around ‘blocks’ consisting of the various organ-systems.

Clinical Sciences courses

The course in Clinical Sciences involves the integration of a number of subjects taught concurrently by various disciplines. The aim is to integrate the teaching of the undergraduate medical sciences both horizontally and vertically so that the understanding of the disease processes is made efficiently.

The following are the blocks included in the Phase II programme.

	Block	Duration (Weeks)
1.	General Block	4
2.	Respiratory	4
3.	Cardiovascular	4
4.	Gastrointestinal	5
5.	Genitourinary	4
6.	Musculoskeletal	4
7.	Haemopoietic & Lymphoid	4
8.	Endocrine	4
9.	Clinical	2
10.	Bioethical & Communication Skill & Komunikasi	2
11.	Nervous System	5
12.	Psychological Medicine	4
13.	Reproductive	5
14.	Communicable Diseases	5
15.	Electives	4

(The complete objectives are set out in the Objectives Book for Phase II).

Introduction To Clinical Clerkship

A series of clinical attachments are carried out in the wards during each teaching block, where closely supervised clerkships are undertaken, designed to introduce students to clinical medicine.

C. PHASE III (YEAR 4 AND YEAR 5)

During this phase, greater emphasis is placed on the acquisition of skills in clinical work. Clinical work and hospital attachments account for a high percentage of the student’s time in these two years. Emphasis will be given to problem - solving, and clinical reasoning rather than didactic teaching. Apart from this clinical exposure, the student is also orientated to health
care delivery services within the teaching hospital and the network of the supporting hospitals and health centres in the region. The aim is to inculcate a sense of professional responsibility and adaptability so that the student will function effectively when posted later to the various health care centres in the country.

The teaching strategy implemented in this phase reflects these approaches:-

(i) Discipline - based

(ii) Multi-diciplinary integration

(iii) Problem - based and problem-solving

(iv) Community-orientated

(v) Clinical apprenticeship

To implement the above teaching strategies, Phase III program is divided into:

(a) Departmental/ Block Posting

(b) Integrated blocks

(a) Departmental/ Block Posting

The main thrust of Phase III teaching is departmental postings of various clinical disciplines. Some of the disciplines are combined together to ensure a similiar length of posting.

The students are divided into small groups. These groups rotate through various blocks. The duration of each block is 6 weeks in Year 4 and 5 weeks in Year 5. The duration of each block is as outlined in table 1 and 2.

The general objective of each rotational posting/ block is to:

(i) allow the student to acquire the competencies appropriate in that discipline both in relation to practice in hospital and in the community.

(ii) to make him/her appreciate the relevance of the discipline in the overall care of patients.

The essence of the block posting will be the apprenticeship model. Learning experiences include:

(i) clerking of patients

(ii) investigation of patients

(iii) participation in the treatment of patients in the wards

(iv) teaching ward rounds

(v) attending out-patient clinics or operation theatre

(vi) attachment to district hospitals, health centers and work in the community

(vii) seminars, tutorials and audit sessions

(viii) self-study

(ix) integrated multi-disciplinary sessions

(x) bioethics rounds/discussions

(xi) ward work

(xii) log books

Table 1 - Year 4 : Specific Blocks

No.	Block		Duration Week
1.	Medicine		6
2.	Psychiatry	Neurobehavioral Science	4	6
	Neuroscience	Block	2
3.	Paediatrics		6
4.	Obstetrics & Gynaecology		6
5.	Surgery		6
6.	Orthopedics		6
7.	ORL	Opthal & ORL Block	3	6
	Opthalmology		3
8.	Electives		4

Table 2 – Year 5 : Specific Block

No.	Block		Duration Week
1.	Family Medicine	Preventive Medicine & Primary Care	3		5
	Community Medicine		2
2.	Medicine		5
3.	Obstetrics & Gynaecology		5
4.	Surgery		5
5.	Paediatrics		5
6.	Orthopedics	Orthopedics & Psychiatry Block	3	5
	Psychiatry		2
7.	Resuscitation Skill	Emergency Medicine, Resuscitation & Anesthesiology Block	1	5
	Emergency Medicine		2
	Anaesthesiology		3

(b) Integrated blocks

The following specific blocks are integrated into various departmental block postings througout the Phase III.

♦ Radiology
♦ Bio Ethics
♦ CFCS
♦ Interdepartmental activities
♦ Resuscitation blocks (Medical, Paediatrics, Emergency Medicine, Anaesthesiology)

Note :

The specific objectives of the departmental postings and integrated blocks are outlined in :-

i) Phase III objective booklet

ii) Departmental guide books and log books

iii) Interdepartmental Activities (IDA) booklet

Phase III committee which consist of departmental representative, regularly meets to ensure the running of Phase III program.

D. THE COMMUNITY AND FAMILY CASE STUDIES (CFCS) PROGRAMME

The Community and Family Case Studies (CFCS) Programme is integrated comprehensively from year 2 to 4 of the undergraduate medical course at the School for Medical Sciences (PPSP). This programme was designed to give students exposure learning experiences whilst interacting with patients, family and the community. Through the programme, students will gain knowledge and understand the social and health problems in the community, and how these affect the members of the community, particularly the family members. In addition, students should link these experiences with the theory learnt during lectures, and clinicals.

Students will also progressively improve their communication and interaction skills with the community as the programme progreses. This will increase self-confidence to discharge the role of a doctor as a professional.

CFCS PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

Phase II : Year 2

Students in year 2 will :

(a) study fundamental knowledge and skill regarding public health (epidemiology, biostatistics, family health, environmental and occupational health, health promotion, health management. Nutrition, medical sociology, research methodology and computer application).

(b) identify and understand personal and environmental factors which can influence the health of a patient, the family and the community.

The Year 2 runs over six weeks which include one posting of five-day duration in the community (residency) to conduct a community survey.

Phase II : Year 3

Students in year 3 will :

(a) study and analyze the above factors in oreder to make a diagnosis in the community, and in the process of doing so, students will apply basic knowledge in public health that they have already learned.

(b) plan and conduct health intervention programs based on the community diagnosis with close co-operation with the local resources, government authorities as well as NGOs and private bodies.

The Year 3 also runs over six weeks which include three postings in the community to conduct the community diagnosis and intervention projects.

Note:
Details of the objectives, programs, schedules, activities and assessment methods in the CFCS Phase II can be referred to the Handbook of CFCS Phase II.

Phase III : Year 4

Phase III activities are conducted through self-access learning by students based on a specific learning syllabus term ‘Contractual Learning’ whereby a student takes on a patient and his family from HUSM as an adopted family, and identifies the health and social problems faced by the patient. The student will enter into a learning contract with a lecturer with the purpose of learning about the health and social problems faced by the patient, followed by suitable measures to overcome them.

Through this learning process, the student will acquire the relevant knowledge, skills and experience that is needed by a competent doctor to address the problems of a patient and his family.

Apart from self-access learning activities students also engage in group activities such as staging exhibitions on health for specific target groups, establishing group support at state level for patients with a range of health problems- thalassemmia, cerebral palsy and Down Syndrome amongst others.

E. ELECTIVE PROGRAM

The program will be carried out by Phase II and Phase III medical students. The duration is four weeks each.

Phase II

Students are free to choose a non-clinical topic. It can be a small scale research that the students are interested in.

The proposal should be submitted in year 2 and will be implemented in year 3 (if the students pass the professional 2 examination).

In School of Medical Sciences USM, there are three types of elective proposal that currently implemented:

(a) Elective proposed by academic staff

(b) Elective proposed by students

(c) Elective abroad

All the proposal will be reviewed by the Elective Committee. Students are encouraged to come out with their own topic useful for their profession as a medical doctor.

At the end of program, the students need to submit the report and compulsorily need to attend for a viva-voce as a part of the assessment. The detail of the program can be obtained from “Buku Panduan Elektif” (Elective Guide Book).

Phase III

The program will be carried out by year 4 medical students. It is a hospital (clinical) based program. The eligible students will be asked to choose their placement in a goverment, University or private hospitals or go to hospitals abroad.

At the end of the program, they will be required to produce a clinical report as an evidence of the implementation as well as assessed by their clinical supervisors appointed by the hospital management.

F. CO-CURRICULUM PROGRAM

The integration between curriculum and co-curriculum activities carries a lot of advantages to the students. The implementation is as line with the School of Medical Sciences philosophy that students should acquire good values, disciplined, smart leadership and high moral values through involvement in sports, recreational activities, uniformed bodies and socio-cultural activities. In additton we would like our students to appreciate the importance of practicing healthy life style and able to use the experience in managing their patients in the future.

The program is made compulsory for all year 2 medical students.

The details of each program can be viewed in “Buku Panduan Ko-Kurikulum”.

G. STUDENT SOFT SKILLS & PROFESIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Introduction

This programme was developed in line with the aspiration of the Ministry of Higher Education to improve soft skills among the university graduates. The pre-existing Bioethic and Communication Skills programme and Student Development Unit were merged to form The Student Soft Skills and Profesional Development Programme (SPDP).

The objectives of this programme are to incorporate professional and personality development skills into the undergraduate medical curriculum. Soft skills are important elements to produce balanced tomorrow’s doctors who will be able to face the global challenges in medical profesion. This programme will also provide the support needed by the students to face the challenges as they go through the medical curriculum. It is hoped that this programme will produce future doctors who excel in academic performance as well as having the professionalism and humane skills that are important to meet the need and demand of modern society.

Module involved:

1. Bioethics & medicolegal

2. Communication skill

3. Leardership and team work

4. Learning and study skills

5. Understanding community and community service

6. Adaption skills

Bioethics and Communication skill

This module has been integrated in the medical curriculum from Phase I, II and Phase III. Its overall objective is to produce a caring and effective doctor with correct attitude, ethics, accountable, empathy, sensitive and respect for patients.

The program objectives are to achieve that at the end of the academic program the students will be able to:

1. understand the importance of bioethics and medicolegal in medical profesion

2. describe the relationship between bioethics and sociocultural sensitivity

3. perform history taking and physical examination with respect, caring personality and effective communication skill

4. react to patients medical issue with ethical clinical decision

Teaching and learning activities include:

1. Introductory lectures, forum and role play on ethic and communication skill in phase I.
2. lectures and forum on specific medical issues such as informed consent, womens health and terminally ill patients in phase II and III.
3. communication skill in history taking exercise using simulated patient in early phase II.

Leadership and team work

Leadership and teamwork are the interpersonal attributes in enhancing human capital development. Therefore, the need of nurturing leadership is inevitable. The program objectives are to achieve that at the end academic program the students will be able to:

1. To improve the knowledge and understanding as an effective group member

2. To understand the concept of leadership and its role in medicine

3. To inculcate team spirit

4. To comprehend the concept of leadership and apply its value

5. To understand the concept of group dynamic and the importance of being in group

An outdoor activity called “Team buiding and trackking (TTA)’ was designed which include team building activities that will promotes group dynamic and leadership. Tracking activity will further enhanced the team work as well as injecting dicipline and self confidences. The session will be ended with reflection session to help the student identify their own potential through the experience in TTA.

The Big Sib program for the year 2 students include induction course to train the students on leadership skill followed by group assignment to help them apply the knowledge into practice.

Learning and study skills

The medical curricular has its unique system that is different from the usual school system inMalaysia. The students needs to understand the medical curricular and modify if necessary their learning styles and approaches to excel in this medical program. Thus, this programobjectives are to achieve that at the end of the academic program the students will be able to:

1. adapt to the teaching, learning and examination technique and method.

2. identify their learning style and reorganized their preparation for examination effectively.

3. improve their academic performance

4. use information technology effectively as learning aids

Activities in Phase I focuses on discovering students own learning style and approaches and help them to reorganized their approaches accordingly. Training on specific examination skills on various assessment method will be held followed by feedback session after each term examinations. Learning approaches for clinic teaching will be does for the phase II and III students.

Understanding community and community service

Training good doctors also means training community oriented doctors. This program objectives are to achieve that at the end academic program the students will be able to:

1. identify various NGOs in the community

2. demonstrate interest for volunteerism

3. inculcate team-building and leadership

An activity called “Community placement” was designed for the Phase I students which involved their community service with various NGOs. This first exposure will be followed by “Community Family Case Study” program in Phase II and III.

Adaption skills

The adaptation skill is not limited to its need in medical study but also upon graduation and at each phases of a person life. Thus this program aimed to achieve that at the end of the academic program the students will be able to:

1. adapt in a new challenging learning environment
2. improve their coping skill and stress management

Activities include asaption to clinical life and stree management.

3. EXAMINATIONS

3.1 PHASE I EXAMINATIONS

(a) Continuous Assessment

In this phase, the assessment is divided into three types:-

	Examination	Examination Type
1.	Continuous Assessment 1	MCQ	Data interpretation	SEQ
2.	Continuous Assessment 2	MCQ	Data interpretation	SEQ
3.	Continuous Assessment 3	MCQ	OSPE	SEQ

(b) Final Examination Phase I comprising :

Examination	Examination Type
Final Examination Phase I	MCQ	Essay	OSPE

Marks from continuous assessments and the Final Examinations contribute to the total marks for year 1.
The weightage is as follows :-

Examination	Allocation
Continuous Assessment 1	10%
Continuous Assessment 2	10%
Continuous Assessment 3	10%
Final Examination	70%
TOTAL	100%

CRITERIA TO SIT FOR END OF PHASE I EXAMINATION:

1. Satisfactory attendance

2. Overall mark from 3 continuous assessment not less than 30%.

CRITERIA FOR PASS PROFESSIONAL I EXAMINATION:

Students will need to obtain overall marks not less than 50% in Phase I Examination to pass and to proceed to Year 2. Students who obtain less than 50% is considered as fail and have to repeat Year I. Students are allowed to repeat only once.

3.2 PHASE II ASSESSMENT

The assessment is based on 2 major components; theory (MCQ and SEQ) and practical (OSCE and clinical).

1. The Assessment method and allocation for Phase II Continuous Assessment.

	Assessment Method	Allocation
i.	MCQ	30%
ii.	SEQ	30%
iii.	OSCE	40%

2. The Assessment method and allocation for Phase II Final Examination.

Assessment Method Allocation

	Assessment Method	Allocation
i.	SEQ	60%
ii.	OSCE	40%

3. The Promotion criteria to Phase III

In order to proceed to Phase III, students need to achieve a combination aggregate of  50% in these examinations:

Examination	Allocation
Continuous Assessment 1 (Year 2)	10%
Continuous Assessment 2 (Year 2)	10%
Continuous Assessment 3 (Year 3)	10%
CFCS Examination	10%
Phase II Final Examination	60%
TOTAL	100%

Student has to attain a 50% overall mark (Continuous Assessment and Phase II Final Examination), pass both theory and practical in the Final Phase II Examination.

4. Pre-requisite for Phase II Final Exam.

Student is eligible to sit for the Phase II Examination provided that these requirements are fulfilled:

- Statisfactory attendance

- Pass CFCS examination

- Satisfactory clinical case reports (1 report for each 4 blocks)

- Satisfactory PBL performance assessment (at least mean 2.0)

- Mean of overall marks for all term examination is at least 30%.

5. Borderline Candidate

Borderline candidate is identified as:

(a) Fail one of the components however; the overall mark is  45%.
(b) Pass both theory and practical however overall mark (Term and Professional) must be more than 45% but less than 50%.

The criteria used by the Examination Council to determine the borderline candidate’s result are as follows:

(a) The mean of the overall term examination mark is at least 60%.
(b) Satisfactory attendance.
(c) No disciplinary record
(d) Satisfactory clinical skill assessment (at least a B)
(e) If available, comment from examiner / Academic Advisor.

6. Excellent candidate

Excellent candidate is identified as:

(a) Attain the overall mark of 70%.
(b) Attain a minimum of PBL assessment of at least 3.0.

Excellent candidate will be called for viva-voce to determine the eligibility to “pass with distinction”.

7. Repeat candidate

7.1 Student who failed to achieve 50% aggregate has to repeat one academic year.

7.2 Repeat candidate will be given the choice to attend any 6 blocks in the 2nd and 3rd year after consulting with Phase II Chairperson.

7.3 Repeat candidate is encouraged to sit all final term examination even though it is not compulsory.

7.4 The mark allocation for repeat students in the Phase II final examination is 100%.

7.5 Repeat candidate has to pass both component, theory (SEQ) and practical (OSCE) before considered as pass.

7.6 Repeater has to achieve  50% in their final examination to continue to Phase III.

7.7 Definition of borderline candidate for repeating students.

Failed one component of the Phase II Final Examination; however the overall mark must be  45%.

The criteria used to determine the result of the borderline candidate are as follows:

(a) Satisfactory attendance.
(b) No disciplinary record
(c) Satisfactory clinical skill assessment (at least a B)
(d) If available, comment from examiner/ Academic Advisor.

7.8 Excellent candidate for repeating students :

Phase II Final Examination mark  70%.

Excellent candidate will be called for viva voce to determine the eligibility to “pass with distinction”.

3.3 PHASE III EXAMINATIONS

(a) The Third Professional Examination is held at the end of Year 5.

(b) There is no Professional Examination in Year 4. In order to progress to Year 5, students have to show satisfactory progress in the end of posting/block(s) assessments.

Professional III Examination Format
3.3.1 Year 4

All students shall proceed to Year 5 except those who have not performed satisfactorily in the Year 4 continuous and end of rotational block assessments. Students who failed 1 or 2 blocks will be required to repeat the posting/block(s) during remedial period at the end of year 4. Students who failed more than 2 blocks or failed the remedial posting/block(s) will be required to repeat the Year 4 programme.

3.3.2 Year 5

All Year 5 students must fulfill a set of predetermined criteria before they are allowed to sit for the final professional examination. The total marks of all the blocks exams will contribute 20% to final Professional III exams. The students must acquire a minimum marks 6/20 (i.e. 30%) in total marks af blockexams to be eligible to sit for phase III exam.

To pass the Final Professional Examination, students have to pass both the theory and clinical components separately.

Theory	Clinical
MCQ	OSCE
MEQ	Short Cases
	Long Cases

Note: Paper I for Medical Base and Paper II for Surgical Base

Assessment method and allocation for Phase III Final Examination.

Continuous Assessment	Allocation
Continuous Assessment Block	20%
Phase III Examination	80%
Total	100%

Students who pass the final examination will be awarded the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. Student who failed will have to re-sit the examination six months after the Final Examination.

4. GRADING SYSTEM

The School of Medical Sciences has adopted the following grades :-

MARKS	GRADE
70% and above 60% - 69% 50% - 59% Below 50%	A B C F	Pass Pass Pass Fail

5. STUDENT AWARDS

The awards fall into the following categories :

1. Award for Excellence and Prof. Dato' Mustaffa Embong Award.

This award is based on the academic performance for the whole medical course and the non-academic criteria below:

(a) Obtain an average "B" and above in the professional examinations I, II, III.

(b) Achieve an excellent non-academic performance based on the criteria set by Majlis Penghuni Desasiswa.

(c) Actively involved in recorded extra-curriculum activities

(d) No record of misbehaviour or disciplinary action throughout the course.

2. Special awards

The awards falls into the following categories :

(a) Special Award for Leadership (3 recipients)

Awarded to final year students who have exhibited prominent leadership qualities and have achieved, satisfactory academic performance throughout the course of study.

(b) Special Award for Sports (no limits)

Awarded to any student who has excellent records of involvement and participation in any sports activities based on the standards set by the Selection Committee.

General criteria for Special Awards are :

(a) a satisfactory academic achievemen tthroughout the year of studies.

(b) No record of misbehaviour or disciplinary action throughout the course of study.

3. Community and Family Case Study (CFCS) Awards

(a) Individual Award
The awards, known as the A.W.E Moreira Memorial Award, is given by the Malaysian Medical Association on for the best individual student.

(b) Group Award
Awarded to the 2 best CFCS Groups in Phase III.

4. Elective Award

The Awards fall into 2 categories :

(a) The best elective group according to the criteria of the Elective Committee for the Phase 2 Medical Doctor Course Elective Programme.
(b) The best individual or group according to the criteria of the Elective Committee for Phase 3 Medical Doctor Course Elective Programme.

5. Departmental Award

Awarded to the best students as decided by the respective departments. The departments that currently award students are :

a. Opthalmology Department

b. Paediatrics Department

c. Orthopaedic Department

d. Otorhinolaryngology Department

e. O & G Department

f. Psychiarty Department

g. Medical Department

h. Pharmacology Department

6. Deans Certificate Award

Awarded in two categories to final year students on the medical course. One is awarded to the student who achieves Grade A with Distinction, and the other to the student who achieves Grade A.

Retrieved from http://www.medic.usm.my/undergraduate/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96&Itemid=476 at 04/09/2014 on 2:38a.m.