Monash Malaysia Medical Curriculum Development Meeting

3 newly hired lecturers from Monash Malaysia (imported from UM) came 2 da Centre 4 Medical n Health Sciences Education (CMHSE ) 2 obtain feedback bout da medical course (ie suggestions n concerns of da students)..meeting took place at 5 pm in Room 105, CMHSE..

Outcomes of meetings (aka issues students brought up..)

1. Contents of Health, Knowledge & Society (Medical Sociology, Theme 2) module should be more relevant 2 Malaysian context..(Example: 4 Perspectives on Position & Discrimination based on Social Class, Australia has a prominent example in da form of La Trobe Valley asbestosis / mesothelioma patients..Malaysia mayb do sumthin like diseases due 2 contaminated water resulting from toxic waste from some negligent factory bla bla bla..etc) Dr Aroni wil come 2 Malaysia n interview ppl (eg kampung folks, Drs, Malaysian AIDS Council President) 2 find out how 2 tailor da syllabus 2 suit our needs..
2. Both Malaysian n Australian medical law will b taught..
3. Exams will b more relevant 2 Malaysian context..
4. Anatomy..A few years ago, Monash tried 2 abolish dissection, but it was met wif resistance as students petitioned against da move, so they called it off..but they still had da last laugh by reducing da number of hours spent on anatomy..Dis year, rumours has it dat da med faculty ppl r determined 2 do it again n replace it wif prosection..anatomy learning hours might b reduced even further (we r already currently at 100 hours per year, used 2 b 250 hours)..more learning wif reference 2 potted specimens, computer-aided learning n models.. Suspected reasons: a) Monash medical faculty is probably run by socialists n da dean is a physician, so mayb importance of anatomy not deeply appreciated. b) Da perception dat anatomy is not really dat important (u spent so much time learning how 2 cut up dead bodies in ur 2nd year, but when u r in hospital dy later u would b so bz wif mostly clinical stuff dat u would haf 4gotten ur dissection skills n stuff dy..so da question which arose is dat, 'Is it time worth spending?' c) Rumour has it dat since many medical students today r suffering from burnout in later years, Craig Hassed n Ken Jones wanted 2 include more stuff from theme 1 and 2 (medical sociology, lifestyle n stress management program aka meditation, exercise n healthy nutrition) d) Cost: 1 cadaver costs between AUD6000 - 20,000... Response from da Drs: they need 2 seek clarification..if da worse case happens, we persuaded them 2 at least haf 1 or 2 cadavers 4 observation purposes plus touch n feel..was informed dat we might b importing plastinated bodies from China..
5. Everybody agreed dat Health Enhancement Program is fun n should b continued..
6. Somebody suggested PFE (aka pub outings as da locals here do)
7. Timetable 2 b better structured 4 convenience (we protested dat we haf 2 stay back so late 4 lectures due 2 logistics problems when our day could haf finished earlier..)..Monash Malaysia medical students will be getting a custom-made 166 seating capacity state of da art lecture theatre all 4 nobody else but ourselves, muahahahah...
8. Opportunities 4 Australian students 2 study wat we study in Malaysia.. (aka cross-cultural exchange)
9. Language barriers 4 international students n 4 'banana' like myself..especially when goin 4 rural posting..international students mayb required 2 do an introductory course in BM..translator or a student who knows BM or orang asli dialects may b paired 2 an international student who doesn't..
10. 2 ensure program is up 2 standard, Clayton lecturers will come over from time 2 time..
11. Teleconferencing will not b done now i terms of lecture delivery but mayb considered 4 future use in other areas..
12. Students were concerned bout patient contact how many patients we get 2 c, take history n what procedures we can / cannot do.. Drs response: in Australia few patients, but many doctors, so most students will b hunting down patients in large groups dat patients get fed up n doctors n nurses kena scolded (eg. Student: woi, here got patient wif Cushing's disease leh..every 1 wil b running n packing da ward juz 2 say hi)..in Malaysia, many patients, few doctors..Hospital Sultanah Aminah JB has 1000 beds..compare dat wif 50 of us..every1 gets bout 20 patients each n da whole hospital 2 ourselves 2 roam in without UM, UKM or IMU students..yeah!! (other smaller hospitals 2 b used as teaching locations include Kulai, Pontian n Segamat..)
13. Accomodation in hospitals: Provided (may not b FOC)..basically Eat hospital, sleep hospital, everything hospital..
14. Students r urged 2 form a representative group 2 ensure student support n academic needs r well-taken care of..
15. AMC staff will be visiting Sunway 2 evaluate 4 accreditation purposes. once AMA grants accreditation, MMC will follow suit.. let's keep our fingers crossed :-)

Meeting ended at 6.15pm wif Photo session..Drs actually commented last time during Q&A sumbody asked them whether da clinical skool library wil contain books..as if they were being asked 2 study medicine on treetops n dissect monkeys..