Page 18 - Nursing Education in Malaysia

NursiNg EducatioN iN Malaysia

To be classified as a profession, the first criterion is for nursing to have an extended
education for its members as well as a basic liberal foundation. In 2003, the Quality Assurance
Division, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education, through a high
level committee comprising nursing members of public and private universities, Nursing
Board of Malaysia and National Accreditation Board (LAN) developed guidelines in
curriculum design for a four-year Bachelor of Nursing (Honours). To provide the so-needed
liberal foundation, the proposed curriculum design is comprehensive yet proportionately
balanced between three major sciences (Medical, Nursing and Social):

Basic Medical Sciences (15-20%)
Core Nursing Sciences (55-65%) of which 45-50% must be practicum
Humanities & Social Sciences (15-25%)
Scientific (Research) Methods (4-7%)
Electives (2-7%)

The entry requirements for the Bachelor of Nursing include Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran
Malaysia (STPM) or Matriculation or equivalent with minimum pass in Biology and
Chemistry, or Biology and Physics OR a recognized Diploma in Nursing with transfer of
credits to the appropriate level of four-year programme AND credits in Mathematics and
Bahasa Malaysia at Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level AND MUET Band 3 or 4.

These standards and criteria including those of the MQF mark the beginning of a true
upgrading of nursing education in Malaysia. The entry requirements have placed nursing at
par with other profesional programs such as Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy or Engineering
where the pure science subjects (and Mathematics) become the major criteria for admission.
The current scenario in the Faculty of Medicine of several universities where both nursing
and medical students exist and where sharing of resources and interprofessional training
approaches are inevitable, the outcomes are not only competitive but also synergistic in
nature.

The role of pure sciences (biology, chemistry and physics) and mathematics in nursing
is unquestionable. Nurses are confronted with literacy, scientific and numeracy issues at
every facet of their professional life, for example, in the implementation of nursing process,
patient education, medication administration, nutritional requirements, statistical analysis
and all kinds of measurement. This holds true for both degree and diploma programmes.

Thousands of SPM students graduate with pure science and maths every year. They
are privileged to choose to enter nursing (diploma) or matriculation and STPM programmes.
Matriculation and STPM programmes are the best competitors diploma programme in
nursing could ever have, just as Bachelor of Nursing with medicine, dentistry or pharmacy.
Such “competition” is good for nursing.

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