Page 51 - Nursing Education in Malaysia

4/ visioN 2020 for NursiNg

Strategies
1. The Ministry of Higher Education will include a plan to reorganize the conduct of
nursing programmes in the following manner:

(a) By 2012, all public and private universities must cease to conduct diploma
programmes and concentrate their efforts on increasing student enrolment into
the bachelor of nursing programme.

(b) By 2012, the entry requirements into the diploma programme must be a pass
in SPM with five credits in Biology, Chemistry or Physics, Mathematics,
Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Inggeris to ensure the probability of the graduates
continuing into the degree programme as part of lifelong learning strategy; in
addition, only colleges with hospitals or affiliate hospitals be allowed to conduct
diploma programmes, to ensure that only colleges with specified capabilities do
so at a controlled student enrolment rate.

(c) By 2015, only qualified teachers in nursing be allowed to teach in private colleges
and universities. Qualified teachers would include meeting the following
criteria:

i. For diploma in nursing programme: only those with the Bachelor
of Nursing and a clinical specialty (postbasic course or postgraduate
certificate or diploma in nursing) plus a certificate or equivalent in
education technology (as required by the Nursing Board of Malaysia);

ii. For Bachelor of Nursing Programme: only those with a Master of
Nursing in a clinical specialty (eg. Master of Nursing (critical care) to teach
critical care nursing) and in due course to continue for doctoral studies,
plus a certificate or equivalent in education technology (as required by the
Nursing Board of Malaysia). By 2020, a Doctorate in Nursing will be the
minimum qualification for a lecturer.

2. The Ministry of Higher Education to develop a viable mechanism for admission of
students, similar to Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU) for public institutions of higher
learning, to ensure all private colleges and universities admit only candidates that meet
the stipulated entry requirements. The presence of such a mechanism will address not
only issues of the number of candidates to be admitted but also the expected quality
of candidates.

3. Nursing organizations, namely, the Nursing Board of Malaysia, the Malaysian
Academy of Nursing, the Task Force for Nursing Education, Ministry of Higher
Education and the Jemaah Kejururawatan IPTA must play a role in enforcing and
monitoring high standards of nursing education in Malaysia.

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