KUALA LUMPUR, Tuesday 14 December 2004 - “To produce graduates who always think of the well-being of their patients and at the same time, their role in the community - that is the essence of the newly-launched Doctor Of Medicine (MD) Programme at University College Sedaya International (UCSI),” says Professor Dato’ Dr Mohd Roslani bin Abdul Majid, who is currently the Dean of UCSI School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing.The MD Programme which will commence in April 2005, will span over five years, the first two years taught at the UCSI campus in Taman Connaught and the remaining three years in Kuala Terengganu. The first cohort will consist of 50 students, as approved by the Ministry of Education

This integrated full time programme will be divided into two phases. Phase 1 will consist of Year 1 & 2 of Pre-clinical training, which includes Basic Medical Sciences training at the UCSI Connaught Campus in Kuala Lumpur. 

Phase 2 consists of Years 3, 4, 5 of Clinical training at the UCSI clinical school in Kuala Terengganu attached to the General Hospital, Kuala Terengganu and District Hospitals and Health Centres within the state of Terengganu. 
The MD programme will be ‘student-centred’ as opposed to traditional didactic teaching. The conventional ‘teacher-centred’ method of teaching employed by most universities in the past use straightforward lectures where the students are mere recipients of facts.
“The lectures in the MD programme will be more geared towards facilitating the learning process, that is, getting the students to think analytically about case scenarios and come up with possible conclusions on their own with the guidance of lecturers,” said Professor Roslani. 
“By using this ‘student-centred’ teaching, we hope to bring out the hidden talents in students as they will be inspired to work, look and understand and through this process, they will acquire techniques of continuing education,” he said.
There will be four professional exams in the whole programme; part 1 of the first professional exam will be conducted at the end Year 1, part 2 at the end of Year 2, the third professional exam at the end of Year 3, and the final professional exam at the end of Year 5. Each exam will consist of two theory papers; one being multiple-choice questions and the other modified essays, as well as practicals/clinicals.
“The exams are integrated and reflective of the knowledge, skills acquisition which include communications, physical examination of patients and procedures, to be acquired,” said Professor Roslani. “In this process, no students will be exempted from any components to be assessed. This is a definite advantage compared to the conventional system.”
“The programme is such that those students with distinction marks are outstanding in every way. They will have in them the discipline to go to the lab, ask questions, contribute to group discussions and presentations as well as perform well in exams,” he said. “We don’t want to overburden the students with dry facts about medical science but rather provide them with a more rewarding experience”.The minimum academic entry requirements are STPM/ A Level with 3Bs in Chemistry, Biology and either Physics or Mathematics or local matriculation with CGPA more than 3.5 or SAM/CPU/UEC or equivalent. 
“In line with the MD programme, UCSI will be a place where the student matures and in an ever-changing academic field, the MD programme will move the university automatically toward being a university par excellence,” said Professor Roslani.

For more information on the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Programme or other programmes offered at UCSI, visit www.ucsi.edu.my or e-mail [email protected]. UCSI’s next Open Day will be on 18 & 19 December 2004.