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Academic standards and changing patterns of medical school admissions: a Malaysian study

Tan CM

Med Educ, 1990 Jul;24(4):319-27.
PMID: 2395423

Changing social demands made it necessary for the Medical Faculty of the University of Malaya to accommodate students with a wider range of academic experience than before. However, teachers sought to achieve comparable academic standards to those in the West by striving to maintain a close resemblance to the Western model of medical education in other respects. As a result teachers failed to adapt their teaching methods, assessment techniques and curriculum design to meet the educational needs of the students, thus compromising academic standards. Many students lack basic academic skills and do not know how to learn effectively. In order to help students overcome their learning difficulties innovative teaching was required during the first year at university, designed to foster the joint development of knowledge and basic skills. In the case of less well-prepared students who lack self-confidence, a caring and supportive learning environment is crucial to the achievement of meaningful learning. Lecturers needed to become facilitators of learning rather than transmitters of knowledge. However, teachers' objective to retain international recognition of the degree, which presumably reflected the importance of teaching, was not operationalized in terms of its incentive structure such that teachers were constrained not to try to fill the new roles demanded of them. It was assumed that academic distinction accrued through scientific research was essential for the achievement of academic excellence. However, under the prevailing circumstances the two aims were mutually exclusive and incompatible and teaching quality deteriorated.

Matched MeSH terms: Universities/organization & administration
Pharmacy student-led health education campaign initiative

Lee SWH

Curr Pharm Teach Learn, 2019 03;11(3):292-295.
PMID: 30904152 DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2018.12.010

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To describe the development and assessment of a health education campaign and determine its potential for integration into a bachelor of pharmacy curriculum.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Pharmacy students developed a "hands-on" health campaign for delivery to university students. A health promotion topic was chosen and delivered each year for 2015-2017; sexual health, diabetes, and antimicrobial resistance, respectively. All health campaign participants were screened for cardiovascular risk factors. University students who participated in the health campaign in 2017 also completed a questionnaire assessing their understanding and knowledge of antimicrobial resistance.
FINDINGS: In the three health campaigns conducted from 2015 to 2017, 1010 university students and adults were screened. Pharmacy students expressed a high level of professional achievement and satisfaction and felt that the activities provided a meaningful learning experience. Similarly, supervising pharmacists reported satisfaction with students' competency.
SUMMARY: The use of a health education campaign is an alternative model to educate pharmacy students on communication and critical thinking skills, as well as provide an opportunity for service learning.

Matched MeSH terms: Universities/organization & administration
Factorial validity and reliability of the Malaysian simplified Chinese version of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS-SCV) among a group of university students

Guan NC, Seng LH, Hway Ann AY, Hui KO

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2015 Mar;27(2):225-31.
PMID: 23449622 DOI: 10.1177/1010539513477684

This study was aimed at validating the simplified Chinese version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Support (MSPSS-SCV) among a group of medical and dental students in University Malaya. Two hundred and two students who took part in this study were given the MSPSS-SCV, the Medical Outcome Study social support survey, the Malay version of the Beck Depression Inventory, the Malay version of the General Health Questionnaire, and the English version of the MSPSS. After 1 week, these students were again required to complete the MSPSS-SCV but with the item sequences shuffled. This scale displayed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .924), high test-retest reliability (.71), parallel form reliability (.92; Spearman's ρ, P < .01), and validity. In conclusion, the MSPSS-SCV demonstrated sound psychometric properties in measuring social support among a group of medical and dental students. It could therefore be used as a simple screening tool among young educated Malaysian adolescents.

Matched MeSH terms: Universities/organization & administration*
The results of a worksite health promotion programme in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Moy F, Sallam AA, Wong M

Health Promot Int, 2006 Dec;21(4):301-10.
PMID: 16963785

The worksite is one of the key channels for the delivery of interventions to reduce chronic diseases among adult populations. It provides easy and regular access to a relatively stable population and it encourages sustained peer support. This paper reports a 2-year follow-up of the impact of a worksite health promotion programme on serum cholesterol and dietary changes among employees in a city in Malaysia. A quasi-experimental study was conducted among Malay-Muslim male security guards, with those working in a public university in Kuala Lumpur comprising the intervention group, and those working in the teaching hospital of the same university as the comparison group. They were comparable in socio-demographic characteristics. The intervention group received intensive individual and group counselling on diet, physical activity and quitting smoking. The comparison group was given minimal education on the same lifestyle changes through mail and group counselling. The intervention group showed a statistically significant reduction in their mean total cholesterol levels as compared with the comparison group, with an intervention effect of -0.38 (95% CI = -0.63, -0.14) mmol/l. The intervention group also reported a reduction in the amount of cigarettes smoked. The worksite was shown to be an effective channel for health promotion. The adoption of the new lifestyle behaviours should be supported and sustained through modification of work policies.

Matched MeSH terms: Universities/organization & administration*
Investigating the Feasibility of Exergame on Sleep and Emotion Among University Students

Wan Yunus F, Tan XZ, Romli MH

Games Health J, 2020 Dec;9(6):415-424.
PMID: 33301386 DOI: 10.1089/g4h.2019.0077

Sleep deprivation and emotional problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression commonly occur in university students. Exercise is beneficial to ameliorate those problems; however, university students are not serious to take up physical activity. Commercially available exergame such as Xbox® 360 Kinect is one of the alternatives. This study aims at investigating the feasibility and the potential efficacy of using Xbox 360 Kinect game among health care undergraduate students. A pilot two-armed parallel randomized controlled trial was implemented. A total of 36 undergraduate students was recruited and randomly allocated into the intervention group (playing Xbox 360 Kinect) or the control group (continue with normal daily routine). The intervention group received 30 minutes of Xbox Kinect activity, three times per week for 6 weeks. Information on psychology (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21) and sleep (Functional Outcome Sleep Questionnaire-30) status was collected at pre- and post-experiment. The researcher-developed feasibility questionnaire was given to the participants in the intervention group at post-experiment. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to investigate within-between group comparison, and significance value was set at p ≤ 0.05. The analysis found potential improvement on sleep (p = 0.039) and psychological health (p = 0.002-0.067). The intervention protocol is feasible and highly accepted by the participants. The required optimum amount of dosage, sample size, and the use of outcome measures are suggested from the findings. This pilot and feasibility study supports the use of Xbox 360 Kinect games in practice and to be implemented for future research.

Matched MeSH terms: Universities/organization & administration