Fatimah (fourth left) launching the conference while others look on.

KUCHING: More males are urged to join the nursing profession to complement their female counterparts in the health and medical services.

Assistant Minister of Human Resources and Training, Datin Hajah Fatimah Abdullah, in making the call said that the industry needed more males because the present ratio was 1:8 in favour of females.

She said this when addressing lecturers, matrons, nursing sisters, nursing staff, and clinical teachers participating in the one-day First Nursing Student Conference organised by the Medical and Health Faculty of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) yesterday.

“Nursing, just like teaching, is a noble profession with tremendous impact on human lives. In the case of nurses and other personnel in the medical profession, their contribution can mean life or death to their patients.

“The candidates must therefore be chosen not only based on their academic qualification but also on their (right) attitude, and after the completion of their training, they must adopt a life-long learning culture, networking, and sharing of information and experience to improve their skills and professionalism.”

Fatimah said that nursing was a growing profession, and it was projected that more than 174,00 of them would be required by 2020. Based on statistics there were only about 75,000 of them now in the public and private sectors.

“The ideal figure is one nurse for every 200 people in the country by 2020,” she added.

The conference carried the theme ‘Sharing The Knowledge’. It was the first time such a conference was held in Sarawak.

The conference was a great opportunity for the students to present their innovative projects in a clinical setting as well as to present free papers based on the theme by other nursing institutions.
Its objectives were to gather student nurses from various (nursing) institutions in the state, sharing of knowledge and experience, and to provide a platform to networking.

The participants included nursing students from UNIMAS, University Technology Mara (UiTM), Health and Allied Sciences College (KSKB), College of Nursing Serian, College of Nursing Sibu, Masterskill, International College and Advanced Technology Systems (ICATS), SEGIi College, and i-System College.

Also present at the opening ceremony were UNIMAS Vice- Chancellor Prof Dr Khairuddin Ab Hamid, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Assoc Prof Mohd Fadzil Abdul Rahman, State Health Director Dr Zulkifli Jantan, UNIMAS’ Dean of Faculty of Medicine and Health Science Tan Sri Professor Dr Mohamad Taha Arif, and Head of Nursing Department Jane Buncuan.

News Taken From : Eastern Times Online, Sunday, February 7th, 2010

(Seated from right)  Law, Niu, Taha, Xu and Piao. Standing (3rd left) is Anam Kour and Ong Teng Aik (centre).

KUCHING: A student and staff exchange programme between Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Fuda Cancer Hospital (China) may soon be realised following a fruitful meeting of great minds from both institutions.

A suggestion for the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was also brought up at the meeting yesterday to realise the collaborative effort of student and staff exchange as well as knowledge sharing.

The meeting at the UNIMAS Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences came about when Professor Xu Kecheng, the Chief President of Fuda Cancer Hospital at Guangzhou, China, led a delegation of specialists from the hospital to pay a courtesy call on the faculty’s Dean Tan Sri Dato Professor Dr Mohamad Taha Arif.

Also present were Professor Dr Anam Kour, Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Hata Rasit, Associate Professor Dr Ong Teng Aik, and Associate Professor Prem Senthil Shanmugam representing UNIMAS, while the visitors included the President of Fuda Cancer Hospital Dr Niu Lizhi, Dr Piao Xiang Hao, Dr Xing Yanlu, Dr Joan Cheng, and Fuda Overseas Director Esther Law.

The turn of event was surprising to say the least because the courtesy call ended up with a preliminary talk of a much closer collaboration and interaction.

Being ‘young’ and expanding (11-year-old UNIMAS Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and 8-year-old Fuda) both sides saw opportunities to work together as well as complementing each other to grow and develop further.

Though young, Taha said the medical faculty had already produced about 600 doctors.

“Our yearly intake is between 60 and 70 students. But this year we have increased it to about 100. Sarawak General Hospital and other hospitals in the state serve as our teaching hospitals,” he added.

He also revealed that the government was now building a new campus for the faculty to complement the main campus at Kota Samarahan. The new campus would be completed by the middle of next year.

“The faculty has about 100 lecturers, whom about one-third of them are contract lecturers from overseas. Besides, we have about 40 trainee lecturers who are being trained in various hospitals,” Taha added.

Fuda on the other hand, which started as a private hospital, is now being promoted to become a model hospital in China. The Chinese government has allocated some 120 acres of land for the hospital’s expansion programme.

On the student exchange programme, Xu said they were willing to take UNIMAS students free-of-charge to undergo a five-week programme.

“No fee will be charged for the practical training, neither will we charge any fee for accommodation, breakfast and lunch. The students, however, will have to take care of their own dinner,” Xu said.

Xu also extended his invitation to UNIMAS to send one of its doctors to attend international medical seminars such as the International Nutritionist Conference which will be held in China on May 1.

“Fuda is willing to sponsor one doctor - by waiving the registration fee, free accommodation, and food for three days,” he said.

News Taken From : Eastern Times Online, Friday, February 5th, 2010

KUCHING: The formation of the state’s information and communication technology (ICT) and media network will be on its way in March this year. Angkatan Zaman Mansang (Azam), Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (Sains) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) are planning to form a network bringing together stakeholders in the information industry, especially the media, to enhance access to information pertinent to ICT and reporting skills.

“The ultimate goal is to improve the media’s ICT reporting skills in the state so they will be able to convey issues on ICT more effectively to the public. We are also building a network as a medium where the media and the sources of ICT development can communicate effectively,” said Azam general manager Rosalind Yang during a brainstorming session with representatives from the media, Sains and Unimas yesterday.

The state feels it’s important to keep the public informed on current ICT issues to keep them ahead of other countries.

“In depth knowledge on ICT development will help encourage positive things such as business competitiveness through ICT and help online entrepreneurs market their product. Therefore, it is hoped that through this network, the media can help disperse ICT matters to the public more effectively,” she said.

Rosalind also encouraged members of the media who are interested in polishing their skills in ICT reporting to join the network this March.

According to Sains head of business development and corporate communications Lucy Wong, Sains and Azam will set up a secretariat team to facilitate a page on Facebook that is set up to create a common venue for network participants.

On measures taken by Sains in promoting ICT in the state, she said Sains is lobbying for more federal allocations to develop network infrastructure.

Sains is also working with mobile operators to help set up Internet connections in rural areas.

“Sarawak came in fourth in Malaysia for internet penetration. Geographically, we are quite secluded from the mainland and the internet highway can be used as a channel to get closer to the rest of Malaysia and truly embrace the spirit of 1Malaysia,” said Wong.