AS THE Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination ends, the question on everybody’s mind would be “What’s next?”
Students wishing to enter the healthcare profession have an abundance of pre-university choices ranging from university-specific Foundation in Science to STPM to A-Levels. Choosing the right pre-university is never an easy choice as it is the door that keeps all options at undergraduate degree level open.
Manipal University College Malaysia (MUCM), formerly known as Melaka-Manipal Medical College, started its Foundation in Science programme in 2012. A one-year programme, the Foundation in Science is geared towards helping students get a head start in their chosen field of Health Sciences.
Offering a blend of subjects, FIS is the academic bridge specially designed to equip students with the proper grounding of fundamental knowledge to ensure a smooth transition to undergraduate studies.
Focused and specialised
What makes the MUCM Foundation in Science unique for aspiring healthcare professionals is the inclusion of subjects from pre-clinical studies of a health science degree - Basic Human Anatomy and Basic Human Physiology.
Early exposure to Human Anatomy helps students learn the definition of terminology related to anatomy that can be used especially for medicine as well as differentiate the facts, concepts, and principles of anatomy.
Meanwhile, physiology exposes students to the knowledge and understanding of physiology and basic genetics. They will be educated on various physiological processes in the human body. With this, students would be able to understand common disorders resulting from abnormal physiological functions.
According to Ajairam Sivananainda Perumal, FIS student from Batch 20, “The medical orientated subjects definitely helped me tremendously to get a rough idea on what’s to come and prepare myself for MBBS. Although majority of my experience was through online classes, the lecturers evidently gave their best to ensure maximal learning. When it came to face-to-face lessons in campus, it was indeed a very exciting experience especially for laboratory classes due to the well-equipped labs and friendly lab assistants.”
Transitioning from school to university
University life is vastly different from school. This is why MUCM’s Foundation Department organises a mentor-mentee event with each intake. The main objective is to foster friendship among all students and familiarise them with the university environment in a fun way.
Through this event, new students can learn the ropes of successfully navigating their studies from those who have already undergone a semester of studies in the same programme. This event also enables pastoral care from the faculty as they coach their mentees in goal setting, time management, resolving conflicts, developing new skills, appreciating the lasting importance of learning, and of having a sense of purpose in life.
Unique problem-based learning
Another unique feature of MUCM’s Foundation in Science is the POSMED competition, whereby students create a poster that features the students’ research on medical devices from the aspects of Biology, Physics, Mathematics, and Clinical Correlation. As part of this, students are also required to produce a prototype to complement their posters using scrap materials. Creativity remains key to set for the prototype construction.
A stepping-stone to MUCM’s Degrees
Since its inception, MUCM has successfully nurtured over 6000 medical and over 400 dental surgeons have been delivered to both the Malaysian and overseas international health systems, with many alumni progressing successfully into specialist careers of their choosing.
Through the Foundation in Science programme, MUCM hopes to empower young students to become agents of change and gear them towards personal and professional success in the field of healthcare.
*For more details, call 1700 811 662 or visit www.manipal.edu.my
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