Page 28 - Nursing Education in Malaysia

NursiNg EducatioN iN Malaysia

Doctoral degree in nursing or related fields
The need for nurses with doctoral degrees is increasing. Expanding clinical roles,
continuing demand for well-educated nursing faculty and new areas of nursing specialties,
and the need to conduct research in nursing, are some of the reasons for increasing the
number of doctorate nurses. The Department of Higher Education has clearly stipulated
that by 2020, there should be 30-50% PhD holders in a nursing faculty (QA Division, JPT
2003).

In nursing, there are two ways in which nurses can gain a doctoral degree: one is
through profesional doctoral programmes eg. Doctor of Nursing Science (DNS) or Doctor
of Nursing Practice (DNP). The programme prepares graduates to apply research findings
to clinical nursing. The other doctoral programme emphasizes more basic research and
theory and award the research-oriented Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing. The
programme prepares graduates with nursing background to apply research findings to, for
example, education or management (two areas most chosen by nurses). On the basis that
these graduates (PhD in education or management) are not truly “experts” in education or
management, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing recommended the Doctor
of Nursing Practice (DNP) as the terminal practice degree and required preparation for all
advanced practice nurses in the US by 2015 (Potter & Perry, 2009).

Lessons to be learned by Malaysia in this context are:

(a) The Master of Nursing must be in clinical nursing specialty; and

(b) Doctoral curricullum (by 2015 or sooner) must be in clinical practice to earn
a doctoral degree, “Doctor of Nursing Practice” (DNP). By this time, there
should be sufficient PhD holders to supervise doctoral students to do clinical
research in nursing.

Continuing and in-service education
Nursing is a knowledge-based profession, and technological expertise and clinical
decision making are qualities that the consumers demand and expect. Continuing education
programmes are one way to help nurses remain current in nursing skills, knowledge and
theory. Nurses are compelled to do this if only to renew their Annual Practicing Certificate
(APC).

Continuing education involves formal, organized educational programmes offered
by universities, hospitals (of the Ministry of Health and private institutions), profesional
organizations and healthcare institutions.

For more than 25 years, the Ministry of Health has offered excellent post basic courses
ranging from six months to one year, in all aspects of clinical nursing. The respective
certificates have been widely accepted by universities as part of entry requirements into

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