Page 26 - Nursing Education in Malaysia

NursiNg EducatioN iN Malaysia

means that to teach mental health nursing, the lecturer must have in-depth knowledge and
extensive experience in mental health. The same could be said of every other clinical
specialty. It is saying in otherwords that a lecturer with a Bachelor of Nursing and a Masters
degree in education (for example) is not qualified to teach mental health nursing, unless
she/he has indepth knowledge and extensive experience in the specialty (in this case, mental
health) to be taught. It means that whilst it is ideal to be skillful in the teaching process
(Masters degree in education), it cannot compensate for the lack of teaching content.

graduate Education

The minimum requirement for graduate education is the Bachelor of Nursing degree.
Nurses can pursue graduate education leading to:

1. Postgraduate certificate and postgraduate diploma in nursing
2. Masters degree in nursing
3. Doctoral degree in nursing or related fields
4. Continuing and In-Service Education

Postgraduate certificate and postgraduate diploma in nursing
Based on the assumption that not all nurses want to pursue Masters qualification or
that some may not meet the entry requirements into the Masters programme, postgraduate
certificate or diploma courses would offer the best alternative. The future holds that, to be
a Head Nurse in a specific clinical setting or to teach in a diploma programme, the nurse
must be specialized in that area of management or academic content (see Figure 1).

All universities with hospitals or affiliate hospitals are encouraged to establish
postgraduate programmes. Currently, only UKM (since 2000) has such a programme,
namely postgraduate diploma in Nursing (Midwifery) and soon to be expanded to include
Oncology Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Infection Prevention and Control and Patient
Care Management.

The principle to go by is that all postgraduate certificate programmes will offer six
month (24 week semester) courses worth 20 credits and these may include: Renal Nursing,
Neonatal Care Nursing, Emergency Care, Intensive Care Nursing, Coronary Care Nursing,
Spinal Nursing, etc; and that all postgraduate diploma programmes will offer one-year
(two semesters) courses worth a minimum of 30 credits and these may include: Midwifery,
Mental Health Nursing, Community Health Nursing, Infection Prevention and Control,
Patient Care Management (general wards, OR, Day Care, Home Care, etc), Oncology
Nursing, etc.

1