December 2020

MEDIC@UMS BULLETIN

Never discourage
anyone who continually
makes progress no matter

how slow

-Plato-

December 2020

eISSN: 2716-5280

Table of Contents

Editorial Notes

-Deputy Dean (Academic & International Affair)’s message 1

01 Academic

-Live Webinar on Writing Publishable Clinical Case Reports 2-3

02 Internationalization

-Webinars to Medical Students in Different Universities in United Kingdom 4-5

03 Research & Innovation

-Signing of Letter of Intent with Universitas Abdurrab, Indonesia 6-7
-Da’ Vinci Club Online Week 8-9

04 Clinical Service

-1st UMS International Nursing Conference and 11th International Nursing Student Forum

2020 10-11

05 Public Health

-Cancer awareness: Should we be au fait? 12-13

06 Student Affairs

-National Day Hiking 14

07 Administration & Managerial

-Virtual Appreciation Ceremony 15-16
-Appointment of new staff 17-18

MEDIC@UMS BULLETIN

Volume 2 | Issue 2 | December 2020

Chief Editor Deputy Dean (Academic &
International A"airs)’s
Dr Eugene Wong Hung Chih message
ENT Specialist & Lecturer,
Faculty of Medicine & Health
Sciences, UMS
[email protected]

Editorial board Welcome to Volume 2 Issue 2 of Medic@UMS Bulletin.
members
The year of 2020 has been challenging for both students and
AP Dr Fairrul Bin lecturers due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Masnah@Kadir (Academic)
We had to adapt quickly in this unprecedented times such as
Dr Wan Salman Bin Wan Saudi switching to online teaching and exams, re-scheduling exams
(Internationalization) and conducting academic meetings and coordinations online
in order to help reduce the spread of this infection.
Prof Dr John Arnold Urban
D’Souza (Research & Nevertheless, we managed to adjust our academic activities
Innovation) according to the new norms and guidelines and we have
highlighted some of these activities in this bulletin. I wish
Dr Constance Liew Sat Lin everyone a great year of 2021!
(Clinical Service)

AP Dr Syed Sharizman Bin
Abdul Rahim (Public Health)

Dr Yeap Boon Tat (Student
Affairs)

Mr Hasmi Bin Hashim
(Administration & Managerial)

AP Dr. Fairrul Bin Masnah@Kadir,
Deputy Dean (Academic & International Affairs)
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
Universiti Malaysia Sabah

1

ACADEMIC December 2020

Live Webinar

Writing Publishable Clinical Case Reports

AP Dr Mohd Firdaus Bin Mohd The Department of Surgery and Science Management Sector
Hayati of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), Universiti
Malaysia Sabah organised a live webinar entitled Writing
Deputy Dean for Postgraduate and Publishable Clinical Case Reports on 13th of August 2020. The
Research webinar was delivered by Professor Dr Irfan Mohamad, a
consultant Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck surgeon and
Associate Professor Dr Andee Dzulkarnaen Zakaria, a
consultant Colorectal surgeon, and moderated by Associate
Professor Dr Mohd Firdaus Mohd Hayati. Both speakers are
well-known as the experts in their respective surgical fields
with vast experience in research and publications.

This webinar is a continuation of our highly successful Case
Report Writing Workshop held in UMS two years ago. The
aims of this event were to provide guidance to the participants
on how to choose the correct cases, prepare the manuscript
effectively, responding to reviewers’ comments, as well as
participating in more collaborations in order to ensure
successful publication of the case report, which will then be
translated into better MyRA scores and improved visibility and
international recognition.

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ACADEMIC December 2020

Poster for the webinar During this event, Professor Dr Irfan delivered an enlightening
talk on “Minimizing Rejections: The 15 Avoidable Mistakes”,
whereby Associate Professor Dr Andee gave an important
session on “2R: Reviewers Perspective and Research
Collaborations”.

The webinar was attended by 55 participants, mostly from
FHMS of UMS and Ministry of Health Malaysia, as well as
lecturers from other universities. We opened this event to the
public, free of charge. We have received excellent feedbacks
from the participants, who found the event to be very well
organised and useful for their future academic careers.

To find out more about this event in the future, please contact
me at m_fi[email protected]

3

INTERNATIONALIZATION December 2020

International Webinars

Webinars to Medical Students in Different Universities in
United Kingdom

Dr Eugene Wong Hung Chih Dr Eugene Wong, a lecturer and ENT surgeon from the
Lecturer and ENT Surgeon Surgery Department of Faculty of Medicine and Health
Sciences, UMS was invited to give online webinars for the
medical students in United Kingdom during the worldwide
lockdown in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The webinars were organised by medical students from various
universities, which include “Management of common ENT
conditions for junior doctors” by University of Exeter, which
was attended by over 120 participants and “A day in the life of
an ENT surgeon” by Anglia Ruskin University, which generated
a large number of interest and live questions from the
audience.

All the webinars were 1 hour long via online platforms such as
Zoom or Microsoft Teams, and was approved by their
university’s Student Union.

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INTERNATIONALIZATION December 2020

Dr Eugene Wong was also invited to a live Instagram event to
talk about his experience of relocating from the UK to
Malaysia and Switzerland, as well as his short attachment
experience in South Korea by a medical student from King’s
College London, where the event had over 680 views so far.

The world has certainly gotten smaller since the pandemic
where it has became easier for us to connect professionally
from anywhere in the world. Events like this also help increase
the faculty’s international visibility, where it has already
attracted several interests among UK medical students and
doctors to undergo electives and short attachments at UMS
once international travel is allowed again.

Poster for a live Instagram event on You can find out more about future events via email at
working as a doctor in different [email protected] or Instagram @dreugene.ent
countries

5

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION December 2020

Signing of Letter of Intent

Collaborations with Universitas Abdurrab, Indonesia

AP Dr Paspuleti Visweswara Rao The UMS Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences signed a
Letter of Intent (LOI) with Universitas Abdurrab, Pekanbaru,
Research Coordinator and Head of Non- Indonesia for a joint research and academic collaborations
Communicable Diseases Research Niche between the two institutions in March 2020 at the Chancellor’s
Areas office.

The LOI was signed by Professor Datuk Dr Taufiq Yap Yun
Hin, the Vice Chancellor of UMS and Professor Susi Endrini,
the Rector from Universitas Abdurrab, Indonesia. The event
was also attended by Professor Dr Mohammad Saffree Jeffree
(Dean), Dr Yeap Boon Tat (Deputy Dean of Student Affairs)
and Associate Professor Dr Pasupuleti Rao (Faculty Research
Coordinator and Liaison Officer for this LOI).

Possible future collaborations between the two universities
were discussed at this event, which include student and faculty
mobility, collaborative seminars, webinars and conferences, as
well as collaborative research grants in medical and biomedical

6

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION December 2020

fields such as complementary and alternative medicine,
biochemistry and public health.

The representatives from Universitas Abdurrab also visited the
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Borneo
Medical and Health Research Centre during this event.

The collaboration was kick started with the initiation of a joint
grant for research in the field of herbal and complementary
medicine.

Signing of LOI between the UMS Vice To find out more about the LOI, please contact AP Dr Rao at
Chancellor and Universitas Abdurrab [email protected]
Rector

7

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION December 2020

Da’Vinci Club Online Week

Innovative online activities during Covid-19 lockdown

AP Dr Maher Fouad Sefein The members of the Da’Vinci Club of Faculty of Medicine and
Beshay Health Sciences, UMS took the initiative to hold a Covid-19
themed, online event, which started on 11th May 2020 via
Lecturer and ENT Surgeon, Department Smart2UMS web platform.
of Medical Education
The aim of this event was to help the student members cope
better with the lockdown during this pandemic by providing
them a platform for interaction with other students and
lecturers, as well as for them to continue exercising their
creativity through series of innovative mini competitions.

The activities during this event include a Covid-19 Online
Quiz, led by AP Dr Tin Sabai Aung, to test the general
knowledge of students on the virus and its effect on the world.
The quiz was participated by 217 contestants with 11 prices
(totalling RM600) given out to the winners.

Other activities include an e-poster competition to raise
awareness and show appreciation to the front-liners, led by Dr

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RESEARCH AND INNOVATION December 2020

Poster for the Covid-19 Online Quiz Yeap Boon Tat as well as an online medical tune competition
titled “Music is a remedy for worries and woes of daily life”, led
by AP Dr Naing Oo Tah, where 20 participants sang or played
various instruments and uploaded their video to the Da’Vinci
club’s Instagram page. Winners for this event was selected
based on number of likes as well as the judges’ pick, with a total
of RM1300 of prices given out to the many musical talents who
participated in this competition.

We are proud of all the Da’Vincians’ effort to make this event
successful despite all the obstacles during the lockdown and we
hope to continue this event in the years to come.

To find out more about the Da’Vinci Club, please contact AP
Dr Maher at [email protected]

9

CLINICAL SERVICE December 2020

1st UMS International Nursing
Conference

In conjunction with the 11th International Nursing Student
Forum 2020

Deena@Clare Thomas & Faculty of Medicine and Health Science (FMHS), UMS
Mazlinda Musa together with co-host from University of Nizwa (Oman),
Institute of Health & Management Australia, Institute Latihan
Lecturer, Department of Nursing and Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (ILKKM) Kota Kinabalu,
Department of Medical Education Sabah State Department of Health and Sabah Tourism hosted
the 1st UMS International Nursing Conference (1st UMS INC)
in conjunction with the 11th International Nursing Students’
Forum (INSF) from 6th to 8th of March 2020 at FHMS, with
the theme “A view into the future of nursing: Nursing
Transformation towards IR-4.0”.

The 1st UMS INC event aimed to provide a platform for
discussion on various clinical and research work in nursing as
well as sharing of knowledge and experience among nurses and
healthcare workers. On the other hand, the INSF was started
back in 2010 with the objective of nurturing leadership skills
and improving quality of nursing care through research and
innovation.

The conference was officiated by YB Datuk Frankie Poon
Ming Fun, the Sabah State Minister of Health and People’s

10

CLINICAL SERVICE December 2020

Well-being and was also attended by YBhg Datuk Dr Christina
Rundi, the Sabah State Health Director, who was one of the
plenary speaker. T he Sabah State Health Department also
contributed to the health promotion booth at the event as well
as closing ceremony performance, showcasing the evolution of
nursing uniform.

Datuk Dr Christina Rundi visiting the The conference was attended by a total of 508 participants
exhitbitions and posters at the conference with 2 keynote addresses, 5 plenary meetings, 3 parallel pre-
conference lectures, 44 oral presentations, 58 poster
presentations and 8 exhibits which included the SK St. Agnes
“Doktor Muda” programme and the “Anaesthesia Classical
Instrument”. 10 of our department’s nursing students’ research
papers were chosen and funded by the Ministry of Health and
People’s Well-being of Sabah.

Overall, the event was a massive success with positive
feedbacks from all participants. The next INSF will be hosted
by the Institute of Health Management Australia in 2021.

To find out more about the upcoming 2nd International
Nursing Conference, please contact me at
[email protected] or [email protected]

11

PUBLIC HEALTH December 2020

Cancer Awareness

Should we be au fait?

AP Dr Nornazirah Binti Azizan The Human Resources Division (HRD) of Universiti Malaysia
Sabah organised an individual development plan (IDP) live
Lecturer and anatomic pathologist webinar course on cancer awareness on 2nd July 2020. This
webinar was delivered by AP Dr Mohd Firdaus Mohd Hayati
and AP Dr Nornazirah Azizan from Faculty of Medicine and
Health Sciences. The aim of this IDP event was to increase the
knowledge and to raise awareness of common cancers in Sabah,
among UMS staff.

During this event, AP Dr Mohd Firdaus, who is a general
surgeon, shared his experience in management of colorectal
cancer in Sabah, which is the commonest cancer among men
and second commonest cancer among women. He also stressed
the importance of screening using faecal occult blood and/or
colonoscopy for early detection of the disease.

On the other hand, AP Dr Nornazirah, an anatomic
pathologist, shared her experience in diagnosing breast cancer
in Sabah, which is the commonest cancer among women,
especially those aged between 40 and 50 years old. During this
event, she also emphasised the importance of early detection
using breast self-examination and mammogram.

12

PUBLIC HEALTH December 2020

The webinar was attended by over 155 participants from all
around Sabah, including staff from the Labuan and Sandakan
campus. We received excellent feedback from the participants
who enjoyed the talks and learnt a lot from the session. We
hope to continue having collaborations like this with the
Human Resources Division in the future.



To find out more about the event, please contact me at
[email protected]

13

STUDENT AFFAIRS December 2020

Nursing Students Outing

Merdeka Day hiking

Madam Patricia Sator The Department of Nursing from Faculty of Medicine and
Health Sciences, UMS organised a hiking day out on 31st of
Nursing lecturer, Department of Nursing August 2020 to Bukit Merah, Karambunai, Sepanggar. This
event was led by the Year 3 Coordinator and was participated
by 6 Year 3 nursing students.

This social activity aimed to improve the rapport and
professional relationship between students and lecturers as well
as enhancing the physical and mental well-being of
participants.

The hike to the peak of Bukit Merah took about 30 minutes
and was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who participated.

We hope to organise more social activities like this in the
future to improve the bonding between students and lecturers
in the department.

To find out more about the next outings, please contact me at
[email protected]

14

ADMINISTRATION & MANAGERIAL December 2020

Virtual Appreciation Ceremony

Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

Mr Hasmi Bin Hashim The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), UMS
held the first Virtual Appreciation Ceremony using an online
Senior Deputy Registrar, Administration hybrid method on 22 December 2020.
and Finance
This event was organised by the Administration Division of the
faculty and was officiated by Professor Dr Mohammad Saffree
Jeffree, Dean of FMHS.

The aims of the event was to present 27 certificates of
appreciation to the faculty staff who had won various awards at
international, national, state and UMS level, as well as to give
excellence certificates and awards in 16 categories such as the
Dean’s Special Award, Best Department Award and
Outstanding Research Award to the faculty members.

This ceremony was attended by around 25 executives of FMHS
in person and over 100 other attendees virtually via Webex. We
would like to congratulate all of the winners at the ceremony,
including Mr Effandy Mohd Hatta (King of the Day), Dr
Fatimah Ahmedy (Queen of the Day) and Dr Eugene Wong
(Lucky Draw grand prize winner).

15

ADMINISTRATION & MANAGERIAL December 2020

Overall, the Virtual Appreciation Ceremony was a great success
with praises and appreciation shown by the Dean and various
head of departments to the organising committee. We hope
this event will inspire and motivate everyone to continue their
great work in the faculty in the future.

King (Mr Effandy Mohd Hatta) and To find out more about future Appreciation Ceremony, please
Queen (Dr Fatimah Ahmedy) of the contact me at [email protected]
Day

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ADMINISTRATION & MANAGERIAL December 2020




New Staff Welcome 2020

New academic staff Post Report duty date
AP DU53 1.9.2020
Name AP DU53 2.3.2020
Dr Abdel Mohsen Mohd Ahmed Abdel Hafez AP DU53 12.10.2020
Dr Azizan Omar Trainee Lecturer DU51P 11.3.2020
Dr Maryama Ag Daud Trainee Lecturer DU51P 16.3.2020
Dr Mohd Amiruddin Bin Mohd Kassim Trainee Lecturer DU51P 2.3.2020
Dr Syaza Putri Binti Zainudin Trainee Lecturer DU51P 2.3.2020
Dr Farhana Harzila Binti Mohd Bahar Trainee Lecturer DU51P 2.11.2020
Dr Assikin Bin Muhammad Lecturer DS51 26.10.2020
Dr Muhammad Nur Syamim Bin Che Johan
Dr Sandi James Report duty date
1.9.2020
New administrative staff Post 3.2.2020
Assistant Registrar N41
Name Admin Assistant N19
Pn Riniwati Raksan
Cik Masamira Saminin

17