Aim
The creation of a four year structured post-graduate training program in Plastic Surgery.
The creation of a four year structured post-graduate training program in Plastic Surgery.
The School of Medical Sciences, USM, was established in 1979 to train undergraduate medical doctors. This evolved into developing post-graduate training in Medicine, which begun in 1987. Presently there are more than fifteen specialty post graduate training programmes being conducted by The School of Medical Sciences, USM.
In the year of 2000, there were only 33 Plastic Surgeons to provide for the Plastic Surgical care and needs of our 22 million Malaysian population. The training of Plastic Surgeons was originally based on an apprenticeship of three years after a general surgical fellowship or Masters in Surgery qualification. There has been an acute shortage and long-term deficit of trained Plastic surgeons in Malaysia. In 2000 there was a deficit of 147 plastic surgeons and by the year 2002 this increased to 340.
The School of Medical Sciences USM, in collaboration of the Ministry of Health of Malaysia, was given the task to start a training program in Plastic Surgery. A structured training programme, Masters of Surgery (Plastic Surgery), was proposed and approved. The M.S. (Plastic Surgery) programme commenced in July 2001.
The training is divided into 3 phases.
The curriculum is divided into 2 parts. (Appendix II)
a. Basic surgical sciences
b. Basic principles of plastic surgery
Phase | Year | Curriculum and Training Place | Assessment |
I | 1 | – Basic surgical sciences – Basic principles in plastic surgery – Clinical responsibility at plastic surgical services – Log book |
– Continuous supervisor assessment – Professional examination I |
Phase | Year | Curriculum and Training Place | Assessment |
II | 2&3 | – Clinical responsibilities in plastic surgical services – Cases reports – Log book – Dissertation (starting in year 2) – Learning of plastic surgical topic in packages. (A series of seminars will be organized twice annually) – Research activities, CPC and attending conferences – Elective posting for 6 months (external training center ) |
– Continuous supervisor assessment – Annual viva-voce examination |
Phase | Year | Curriculum and Training Place | Assessment |
III | 4 | – Clinical responsibilities in plastic surgical services – Learning of plastic surgical topic in packages. (continuation of phase II) – Log book – Case report |
– Professional examination II |
Various modes will be used to achieve effective learning objectives.
The medical school will appoint a qualified plastic surgeon to be a supervisor for each candidate. The supervisor is responsible for the progress report of the candidate.
Assessment during the course is divided into 2 parts
Continuous assessment
a. coursework
b. supervisor report
c. case reports
Professional examination I….…….100%
MCQ……………………. 30%
MEQ……………………. 30%
OSCE…………………… 40%
Continuous Assessment
a. log book
b. supervisor report
c. annual viva-voce examination in year 2 and 3
Passing this component of phase II assessment is a prerequisite for admission to Phase III.
Professional examination (end of year 4)
Theory: Essay/MEQ………………………40%
Clinical: …………………………………….60%
Long case (20%)
Short case (10%)
Viva (30%)
Repeat examination
Failing the professional examination, the candidate may appear in the examination after 6 months or 1 year upon approval of the University senate.
As part of our Plastic Surgical training programme, we conduct a Microsurgical course and Flap Dissection course annually for our Masters students. The courses are the result of collaboration between the various training institutes and medical devices companies. We often invite overseas Plastic Surgeons to complement our local faculty, to conduct these courses for benefit of the participants.