KPJ Healthcare Berhad

Training doctors to become specialists

AS one of the biggest health conglomerates in the country, KPJ Healthcare Bhd will tap on the skills of its specialists as it expands into the postgraduate training of doctors.

trained in the specialty.

He stressed that the degree awarded would be by KPJ International University College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and is not a franchise programme.

Citing Johns Hopkins University, Duke University Hospital and the Mayo Clinic in the United States as examples, he said these institutions are not limited to being hospitals.

“They have the best teachers to teach the younger doctors and researchers who produce new knowledge. They have new treatment modalities.

“I took on the challenge here as I believe in the potential of KPJ Healthcare, the institution and the ability to work together with the specialist hospitals. My mission is to blend the three — excellent service, good education and research in KPJ,” he added.

Prof Lokman is an ENT specialist and one of the country’s neuro-otologists. He was seconded from UKM where he was the former dean of the Faculty of Medicine and director of the UKM Medical Centre.

“As for the delivery of lectures and tutorials, all KPJ hospitals will be well-equipped with tele- and videoconferencing facilities.

“What we will do is to get the specialist who is delivering a lecture to use these facilities. This would then be connected live to all the trainee specialists in different hospitals,” he added.

Giving an example, he said if the lectures were from 8am to 9am, trainee specialists would follow these lectures through tele-video conferencing. They would then be following the specialists doing ward rounds or attending clinics from 9am to the afternoon. Later, they would be on-call at night together with the specialists.

Prof Lokman said he had been meeting the specialists in all the hospitals, explaining that their practice would not be disrupted as they did not need to move around.

“The best trainers are practising specialists. What we do differently from a traditional approach where a large number of trainee specialists would need to be physically at a university hospital is that we at KPJUC attach a small number of trainee specialists to a large pool of KPJ specialists so that they will get close supervision and personalised training,” he shared.

As the institution is offering postgraduate clinical specialist programmes, approval is needed from the Malaysian Qualifications Agency and the National Conjoint Board of Studies,” he said.

If approved, intake is expected to start at the end of this year.