Objectives: This paper reports the outcome of Session With Carer, one of the activities in the Year 4 Personal and Professional Development (PPD) module in the new integrated curriculum of the Undergraduate Medical Programme at the Faculty of Medicine,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Methods: This activity involves groups of 14 – 15 students sitting in with family members of individuals with mental illness. The session starts with the carer giving his or her perspective of patient’s care and the challenges involved. This is followed by a question and answer session. Finally, the carer provides a written feedback by way of scoring certain items as well as brief comments. After the session, each student is required to prepare an individual report in the form of reflective writing. Results: Out of a total of 224 students, the reflections of 126 students were reviewed to assess what they had learnt from the Session With Carer. Among the more significant findings were: 100% learnt about the various challenges faced by carers. 31.7% learnt the importance of
faith/spirituality of the carer in caring for a mentally ill family member. 29.4% learnt the importance of family and others’ support. An equal number, that is, 26.2% learnt that it helps for the carer to have good mental health and a positive attitude, as well as good
knowledge of the illness. Those who became aware of the benefits of the carer having patience and determination made up 23.8% of the total reflections reviewed. Conclusion: The findings show that the Session With Carer is very educational, and helps create more
awareness of the importance of the carer’s role in patient management and support. In other words, carers can act as teachers in creating more public awareness about mental illness and
ultimately, help in gradually removing the stigma associated with mental illness. Therefore, carers should be utilized for this purpose.