Understanding the Implementation of Practicals during Winter: A Report

Below is the complete details obtained from meetings with the university administration on this issue.

The MSA attended 2 meetings with the university administration regarding the winter practicals. The Dean of the Foreign Students Faculty, Prof. Yu. D. Lyashev, The Head of Administration of International Relations, Mr. Yuri Shalovich and Deputy Head of Administration of International Relations, Mdm Natalia were present in the meetings. In the meetings, we and the presidents of other student associations had the chance to ask any questions which are unclear about the winter practice.

From the meetings, we understood that:

1) It is not only the requirement of the Malaysian Medical Council to make it compulsory for students to complete our practical training here. The Nigerian Medical Council also requested the same for their students in a visit to KSMU last year, citing lack of practical skills among the students of the university as the main reason.

As a matter of fact, the Nigerian students have started their practicals in Kursk since last summer.

2) With this requirement being imposed by the medical councils of 2 countries (Malaysia and Nigeria), the university administration realizes the gravity of this matter. It is, therefore, as the Dean explained, trying to make the practicals as effective as possible for the students.

3) Elaborating on the organization aspect of the practicals, he said that each practical session shall last for 6 hours. He further quoted that the Teacher to Student ratio during each practical session shall be maintained at 1 Teacher to 10-12 Students, to ensure the effectiveness of the training.

4) He added that the benefits of students doing Winter Practice instead of Summer Practice is that during winter, all teachers, especially English-speaking teachers are available as compared to summer when some teachers are on vacation. Therefore the question on insufficient English-speaking teachers do not arise.

5) Besides, the fact that Russian students are not doing practicals during winter is definitely an added advantage. That way, not only foreign students do not have to compete with russian students on interviewing patients, doing procedures, etc, teachers too would be able to allocate more time and attention to the foreign students.

6) When asked about the reasons for the late confirmation of this news, the Dean explained that as this is a relatively new idea which has not been done previously, they would have to study the possibility of implementing it and proper organization of the practice needs to be done. This procedure involve a few protocols, which include the approval of the Rector, Pro Rector and The Scientific Council of the University. That explains the delay in the announcement of this news.

7) In the meetings, we also raised the issue where students may not be able to attend the practice due to the previously planned and paid winter holiday plans. In replying to this, the Dean said all problems regarding such matters shall be decided on a case-by-case basis. He said students having such problems can see him personally to discuss about this matter.

8) Lastly, talking about holidays, he explained that now students are able to get a minimum 6 weeks of pure holidays. Previously, although students are given a 2-month break, approximately 3-6 weeks of the holidays are taken up by the summer practice requirement. No longer needing to do summer practice in Malaysia now, students shall have a full 6 weeks of holiday period. Having said that, he urged students to return to Kursk by the 1st September 2010, adding that the Rector is concerned about the late-comers and shall be personally monitoring the situation during the coming autumn semester.

From the meetings, we saw the willingness and dedication of the university's administration to comply with the regulations set by the Medical Councils of Malaysia and Nigeria. For your information, the Malaysian Embassy in Russia is also monitoring the implementation of the winter practicals.

We hope the explanation is clear and has cleared any doubts that might have arisen.

The MSA would like to wish all the best to students undergoing practicals this winter.

SEE ALSO:


WINTER PRACTICALS SCHEDULE RELEASED

WINTER PRACTICALS