Page 19 - Nursing Education in Malaysia

3/ tHE status of NursiNg iN Malaysia

In Malaysia, there are two education preparations for registered nurses-diploma and
bachelor of nursing. In addition, there are graduate nurse education, continuing and in-
service education for practicing nurses.

the Diploma Programme

With the exception of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Malaysia
Sabah (UMS) and Kolej Kejururawatan Universiti Hospital, UM whose curriculum are
uniquely theirs, all other colleges that conduct diploma programmes follow the requirements
stipulated by the Nursing Board of Malaysia. The Nursing Board curriculum design for the
three-year diploma programme comprises the following:

1. Total credits of 90-115 in three years based on the old credit system ie, 14-16 hours
of teacher workload per week;

2. Curriculum components consisting of three core sciences: Health Sciences (10-20%);
Behavioral Sciences (10-20%); and Nursing Sciences (60-80%). There must at least
be 45-55% theory and 45-55% practical.

3. Teaching-learning approaches: lectures, tutorials, practical.

4. Student assessment: Continuous assessment (30-40%) and summative (60-70%) in
the form of exams.

The curriculum must have three outcomes: It must meet the registration requirements;
application of knowledge, skills and attitudes; and production of safe and competent nurses.
Up to 2010, the entry requirements into the programme have been: pass in SPM with three
credits including one science subject and pass in BM and Mathematics (the requirements
from 2010 are A pass in SPM or equivalent with five credits) .

According to the local study, “Basic Nursing Competencies for Recent Diploma
Graduates” conducted by the Nursing Education Task Force, Ministry of Higher Education,
in 2009/2010, some 47% of the diploma graduate respondents (N=814), did not have
science in their entry qualification, therefore, did not meet the minimum Nursing Board
requirement. Of these, more than 14% had technical vocational and “others” qualifications.
“Others” could mean non-SPM graduates.

The same study findings showed that the graduates from diploma programmes
without affiliate hospitals had difficulty getting clinical experience during their training to
the point that their clinical experience could last only three to five days per posting. Many
of these graduates further claimed that they would often arrive late for clinical posting
because of poor transportation system and/or the result of staying too far from the clinical
hospital (source: Basic Nursing Competencies for Recent Diploma Graduates”, Nursing
Task Force, MOHE, 2009/2010).

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