The Official Newsletter of the University of Puthisastra (UP)-Vol.34 for 17th Feb 2020 Download
On 12 February, 2020, the University of Puthisastra hosted a ceremony to acknowledge and celebrate the 2020 Foundation Year students who were successful in achieving a scholarship to support their studies at UP.
The ceremony was presided over by the President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Puthisastra, Prof Ian Findlay, who warmly congratulated the students on their success and encouraged them to study hard at UP to improve health across Cambodia. The ceremony was also attended by members of the senior staff at UP, including Ms Sundas Waheed ( Foundation Year Director), Mr Ouk Soksereivotanak (Director, Laboratory Sciences), Dr Richard Huijbregts (Head of Health Science) and Ms Lynette Bayly (Director of Quality, Learning and Teaching, and Students).
Dr Sandro Vento (Dean of Medicine), Prof. Callum Durwood (Dean of Dentistry), and Dr Sin Chea (Dean of Pharmacy) presented Scholarship Certificates for their respective faculties:
Medicine
CHEA Monisota
MIT Nurotin
CHIN Sovanmony
CHY Vannet
HENG Sopangroth
Dentistry
CHHOM Nita
EA Dara
YORM Sileng
Pharmacy
PEN Keopanha
LIM Porkey
PHON Lita
SONG Bunthal
SAMBATH Darita
HUN Elyza
A further seven scholarships were provided by the Khmer Sight Foundation (KSF) to:
SEA Arewin | SEOUN Dalin | MECH Sokuntheary | CHHEANG Sreylin | CHAN Sreyya | MA Sreyleak | LEANG Sopheap
Our students are very grateful to have KSF’s Co-Founder and Board member H.E. Sean Ngu, who presented KSF-supported scholarships to the students. KSF supports the training of the next generation of eye care health professionals in Cambodia, so that the country can become self-reliant in the provision of high quality, safe and effective eye care. The University is very proud of its partnership with KSF in this endeavor.
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| ∎ 03 MAR-2020 | UP Nightingale 2020 |
| ∎ 08 Mar-2020 | International Women’s Day |
As well as sharing in the excitement of receiving their scholarships, the students were reminded of their responsibilities to the University as scholarship holders: to live the UP Values of Honour Self, Respect Others, and Develop Community by participating in some of UP’s activities including:
- being volunteers and ambassadors for UP at major events,
- helping fellow students with their learning in the Learning Lounge or Careers Corner,
- supporting health initiatives in schools and out in the provinces,
- actively participating in at least two of UP’s Clubs, and
- studying diligently to become members of their professions in health care serving Cambodia.
One of the Scholarship holders, Ms Lim Porkey, who is studying to be a Pharmacist gave an excellent speech where she congratulated her fellow recipients and spoke to those assembled about her pride in achieving a scholarship and her determination to succeed.
At the conclusion of the Ceremony, the scholarship recipients and their families shared refreshments with His Excellency and UP leaders.
Coronavirus – 2000 bottles of sanitizer given to Students and Staff
At UP the safety of students and staff is our first priority. To make sure they are well protected from the Coronavirus outbreak, UP’s Faculty of Pharmacy has produced another 2000 bottles of sanitisers to share with all of the students and staff at UP to reduce viral exposure and transmission, as well as reducing the burden of expense among the staff and students during the surge in price of sanitiser. This is in line with WHO’s recommendations to wash our hands frequently with soap and water or use an alcohol-based sanitiser before touching our face, eyes or nose.
CLINICAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN DENTISTRY – A ONE DAY COURSE
On Saturday 8 February UP hosted Dr Peter Sheridan (AM BDS MDS FICD), a leading expert on Clinical Photography and Clinical Senior Lecturer at Sydney University, to conduct a one-day workshop on Clinical Dental Photography for dentists and postgraduate and undergraduate dental students The course attracted 68 participants, who were provided with a copy of Dr Sheridan’s booklet called ‘A Guide to Standard Views’ which makes clinical photography accessible to the general dentist. Dr Sheridan also donated a copy of his popular textbook ‘Clinical Photography in Dentistry – A New Perspective’ (2017) for our UP library.
Topics covered in the course included:
- Photographs as part of records and communication in everyday dental practice
- Images for patient education… “I want you to see what I see”
- The essence of exposure, aperture and ISO in digital photography and overcoming the difficulties of hand-held macro photography
- Information on cameras and systems as well as retractors, mirrors etc
- The proper technique for taking intraoral and extraoral images
- Better patient acceptance of treatment using photography and descriptive statements.
During the afternoon, two groups of participants spent time in the UP dental clinic practicing clinical photography on each other supervised by Dr Sheridan. The course was a huge success and participants were very happy with what they had learnt. The dentists were able to collect 5 CPD points from the Cambodian Dental Council.
UP Pharmacy Successfully Launched ‘Antibiotic Resistance Awareness’ Campaign in Koh Kong Province
Antibiotic resistance happens when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. That means the germs are not killed and continue to grow. According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health. It can affect anyone, of any age, in any country.
In Cambodia, the knowledge related to antibiotics and antibiotic resistance is very limited. Seeing this gap, the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Puthisastra launched the ‘Antibiotic Resistance Awareness’ in Koh Kong province on 1st February, 2020. This campaign aims to inform the public about the function of antibiotics and their proper use.
The campaign was attended by 216 lecturers, doctors, pharmacists, alumni of UP Faculty of Pharmacy, along with the provincial authorities from Koh Kong Health Department. All of them were walking with banners and slogan on which catchy messages about antibiotic and antibiotic resistance were written, and shouting loudly of the proper use of antibiotics. This activity started in front of Koh Kong Provincial Hall, got through Dang Tong market, and finished at Koh Kong Referral Hospital. At the same time, another group of students visited the households educating them to use antibiotics appropriately while distributing the leaflets including the information related to health education and hand washing.
Through this outreach campaign, UP Faculty of Pharmacy hopes that this activity would further spread the awareness of antibiotic and antibiotic resistance among Cambodians. We would like to thank each everyone who contributed to make this happen together!
UP HOSTS PROFESSOR KACK KYUN KIM FROM KOREA
Last year he was appointed by the UP President Ian Findlay as an Adjunct Professor at UP in recognition of his significant contribution to education at UP. Professor Kims admits that he loves Cambodia and Cambodian people, and this is what brings him back year after year. His teaching was greatly appreciated by the year 2 dental students, who presented him with a gift after his last lecture. While he was here Professor Kim also found time to teach a group of postgraduate Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery students and undergraduate dental students at another university. We would like to sincerely thanks Professor Kim and look forward to his future visits.
Japanese Nursing Student’s Visit UP Nursing Students
On 13rd of Feb from 2pm to 4pm, there is a group of nursing students from Keio university in Tokyo come to visit UP nursing students under coordination of Side by Side organization. The purpose of the meeting is to understand about Cambodian health system, nursing training and current practice of nursing. They UPs nursing facilities and held discussions with our bachelor nursing students and level 3 associate nursing students. It was exciting to have such a dynamic presentation, excellent questions and good interaction between both parties.
Our nursing students have learnt a lot from Japanese nursing students through their presentation about Japanese health system, demographic data of population, health insurance for Japanese people, especially elderly and the nursing/ midwives’ training program in Japan.
Finally, students have the opportunities to sit together to exchange their thoughts toward their nursing career, exchange email to keep communication in the future.
UP DENTAL STUDENTS RECEIVE LOW COST ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT THANKS TO THE DENTAL TRAINING ACADEMY OF SINGPORE
UP’s Dental Clinic is running an orthodontic course for a group of mainly Singapore dentists, and as part of the course we have recruited about 20 UP dental students who need orthodontic treatment to be patients. The treatment provided is under the supervision of Dr Kenneth Lew from Singapore, as well as Dr Anand, our own UP orthodontist. The Singapore team come every three months to see and treat the patients – and in between times Dr Anand sees them every four weeks.
Last weekend many dental students had their braces fitted – and are now experiencing what it feels like to have orthodontic appliances. Most students will need to keep wearing braces for two years, and in the process will learn something about orthodontics, as they are also required to help assist when the overseas dentists come to visit.
In the future these fortunate dental students will be able to greet their patients with beautiful smiles!
UP has its own orthodontic service which operates 3 evenings a week with 3 specialist orthodontists. And our prices are very reasonable and much lower than some outside clinics. You are welcome to come along for a free initial consultation with one of our students or staff – who will later refer you to the orthodontic team if you wish.
“Advanced Cardiac Life Support” Training for MD students at UP
An “Advanced Cardiac Life Support” (ACLS) Training Course was organized for the first time by the Faculty of Medicine from 21st to 23rd January 2020. The training was conducted by Professor George A. Pantely, Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, USA and by Dr. Vutha Than, Internist at Calmette Hospital.
ACLS courses are generally organized for healthcare professionals who participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies. Effective chest compressions, use of a bag-mask device, electrocardiogram interpretation, use of an automated external defibrillator, recognition and early management of respiratory and cardiac arrest, recognition and early management of symptomatic bradycardia, airway management, related pharmacology, management of myocardial infarct and stroke are generally taught in these courses 25 students of MD years 5, 6 and 7 took part in the Course.
Dr. CHEA Sin obtains DAAD Scholarship to Join International Dean Course (IDC)
Congratulations to UP’s Dr. Chea Sin, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, for receiving a prestigious scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to attend the Southeast Asian International Dean’s Course in Germany, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
The course is a one-year course designed by the German Cooperation Agency to train deans from Southeast Asian countries to become international deans. ”I promise to try my best to get the best out of this training course, and come back to lead the Faculty of Pharmacy to be one of the best pharmacy schools in Asia”, said Dr. Sin.
University of Puthisastra is very proud of his efforts and visions, both now and in the future.
SPECIAL OFFER – UP DENTAL CLINIC OFFERS TOOTH WHITENING AT SPECIAL PRICE FROM VALENTINES DAY UNTIL THE END OF THE MONTH
Are your teeth a little dark? Would you like to have a dazzling smile? The UP dental clinic offers tooth whitening using the home bleach system. This involves first having a dental check up to make sure there are not other problems to be corrected prior to the tooth whitening procedure. Then impressions are taken and “bleaching trays”are made for the patient to take home. Each evening the patient will place a small amount of bleaching gel into the trays, and keeps these in the mouth for several hours. After 1-2 weeks generally the teeth will become whiter – giving the patient a more beautiful smile. Normally the cost of this procedure is $ 50 (for both upper and lower trays). Our Valentines Day special is only $ 40 until the end of February. Come to the clinic at any time and we will arrange the treatment for you.
UP Pharmacy provided 350 bottles of sanitisers to residents of Koh Kong province
The outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused many Cambodians to be concerned leading to a huge increase in the price of masks and sanitiser. Sometimes even with the huge price increases stocks run out due to the high demand.
While planning the annual trip and community outreach to Koh Kong province, UPs Faculty of Pharmacy produced 350 bottles of sanitisers in order to distribute them for free to the people there.
The sanitisers were given away while doing the Antibiotic Resistance Awareness Campaign and Health Promotion. The production of these disinfectant sanitiser was carefully made with appropriate raw materials and complied with quality control measures in the pharmaceutical laboratory of the faculty. The production formulas were performed in accordance with WHO-recommended sanitiser formulations.
English Department Attends 16th Annual CAMTesol Conference!
Lecturers from the English Department attended the recently held 16th Annual CAMTesol Conference, from 7th February to 9th February 2020, right here in Phnom Penh, at the Cambodian Institute of Education.
This once-a-year event brings together teachers, lecturers, managers and other education specialists from all across South East Asia and the wider Pacific region to engage in professional networking and to attend a wide range of seminar and training sessions to broaden and deepen their teaching skillsets.
Attendees from outside of Cambodia are also given the opportunity to take tours of Phnom Penh’s cultural and historic tourist sites. This year was the third year in succession that teaching staff from the University of Puthisastra have attended.
Individual breakout sessions were hosted by fellow teachers and lecturers from Cambodia, Australia, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and beyond!
Some of the training sessions that English team members attended included:
- ‘Empowering & Supporting Women In English Language Teaching (ELT)’
- ‘Content Over Grammar’
- ‘Student Led Choices: Cultural Content In Teaching’
- ‘Articulatory Settings To Improve Pronunciation’
- ‘Autonomous Approaches To Vocabulary Learning’
- ‘Apps For Language Teaching,’
- ‘An Effective Alternative To Developing Speaking Skills’
- ‘Academic Writing Assignments’
- ‘Teaching Discourse Synthesis’
- ‘Multicultural Collaborative Learning’
- ‘Integrating Reading, Writing & Critical Skills’
- ‘Approaches To Teaching Debate For Lower-Level English Learners’
It wasn’t all hard work though! The team took the chance to have fun, enjoy each other’s company
and make new friends at the Conference. We’re all looking forward to returning once again, in 2021!
Dear UP Students and Staff,
As you may know there has been some issues and discussion around parking at UP. UP listens and responds to staff and students and therefore we are making the following changes to car parking arrangements.
The following changes will be taking place from Monday 17th February 2020:
- Parking will not be allowed where it blocks the entrances and exits to Buildings A, B, E and L (or any other buildings). These areas will be clearly marked, so that they can be easily identified. Any vehicle which is found to be parked in front of entrances and exits will be removed. Offenders will be responsible for costs.
- ‘Double parking,’ where a car is parked directly behind another one, will no longer be allowed. This has been taking place mainly in front of the ‘A’ Building, close to the Coffee Box area. Any vehicle which is found to be double parked will be removed. Offenders will be responsible for costs.
- If you are unsure about where to park, you must check with one of the security or parking team members. They will be happy to assist you and ensure you are parked appropriately.
- The vast majority of staff and students engage very well with our colleagues who assist with parking, and they appreciate that. They also appreciate that any change to parking arrangements can be a little frustrating at first. We must emphasise however that any rudeness towards staff members or parking operators at UP will not be tolerated and will be reported to University managers. This may lead to serious consequences for anyone who behaves inappropriately, or refuses to follow safe parking practices, regardless of whether they are students or staff members.
- UP will continue to do everything possible to ensure that safe and appropriate parking is available to as many people as possible. We do however encourage all students and staff, wherever possible to take alternative forms of transport to get to campus, such as bicycles, tuk-tuks, motorbikes (motos) and by walking to campus when possible. We are a city centre campus and our space for vehicles is very limited. The environmental impact of large vehicles like cars are serious, but we firmly believe that if we work together to change how we travel between our homes and our university, that we can make a real, positive and sustainable difference to the quality of the environment here in Phnom Penh.
- Alternative car parking arrangement are at Street 178 ($1.25 per visit, $35 per month); Street 172 ($1.75 per visit, $55 per month); or Street 63 ($2.50 per visit). These measures to control and improve the flow of vehicles are a positive starting point for transforming our campus into an ever more welcoming space for students and staff to work. As the year progresses, and into 2021, we will be announcing further developments and changes. The Leadership Team at UP is working hard to deliver these changes, but we need your opinions and ideas on how we can make our campus a truly great place for people to spend time, to work and to learn. Please do not hesitate to email us with your ideas and comments.
Professor Ian Findlay,
President and Vice-Chancellor
First “Medical Note Workshop” for Medical Students held at UP
On the 3rd and 4th February 2020, UPs Faculty of Medicine organized a “Medical Note Workshop” for medical students currently on clerkships and internships in hospitals. Dr. Prom Vireak, Deputy Dean for Clinical Affairs, ran the workshop, outlining the importance and benefits of writing appropriate medical notes. The workshop allowed the students to practice writing standard admission and progression notes for medical records. It will be repeated at regular intervals throughout the year to ensure that every medical student has the opportunity to learn and practice how to write appropriate notes before starting their training in hospitals and health centers.
ENROLL THE NEXT ICT COURSES:
Nursing instructors visits students during clinical visit at the Phnom Penh referral hospital
UP nursing department has a 7 week practicum for clinical instruction at the Phnom Penh referral hospital. Nine students from BSNY2 students were divided into 2 groups. First group at the medical ward and the second group at the emergency ward.
UP selected this hospital because it is the CPA2 for adult hospital which included medical ward and emergency ward.
In their first time at this hospital for their clinical practicum they practiced basic skills like vital signs. They are also working hard on their case studies while doing their clinical practice.
Our instructors visit the hospital every 2-weeks to check on progress and get feedback from the hospital’s staff/ preceptors about students’ performants. During every visit to students, clinical instructor will observe the improvement of the students, discuss the student’s behaviors, improvements with hospital preceptors.
PROFILE ON DR TAK RANUCH, PERIODONTIST, UP DENTAL CLINIC
Dr Tak Ranuch is one of only two specialist periodontists in Cambodia. He gained his MSc in periodontics at Khon Kaen University, and is a popular lecturer and clinical tutor at UP. Dr Ranuch is also the Director of the new Postgraduate Diploma of Impantology course at UP which started in December 2019. In our UP dental clinic Dr Ranuch mainly supervises students, helping them with their periodontics, implant and oral surgery cases. He is also available to see patients privately for specialist treatment. UP is very fortunate to have such talented young specialists providing high quality education for our students at UP.
3rd First Aid Workshop at UP
UP trains 547 people in First Aid
First aid training undoubtedly helps save lives, but not just that, timely and appropriate first aid can increase chances of recovery and reduce recovery time. Knowing what to do in an emergency situation and immediate action can determine the difference between long term and temporary injury or disability, and oftentimes life and death. To improve the statistics of 1 in 5 people equipped to save lives, UP hosted its 3rd First Aid Workshop on 30- 31 January and 01 February 2020 for staff members and students. A total of 547 participants attended this workshop, 104 of whom were UP staff members. The workshop was led by Mr Allan Herman, Director of Educational Emergency First Aid Pty. Ltd, from Australia, and his team members from the Philippines, Romania, and Africa. A total of 11 trainers flew in to conduct fundamental first aid training. The workshop began with a combined main lecture after which the audience was divided into three separate groups to practise with the facilitators The workshop was a good balance of theory and practice. The areas covered included: The Unconscious person and CPR, Bleeding and Fractures, Medical Emergencies, Soft Tissue Injuries, Bites and Stings. The topics and the energy of the trainers kept the participants interested and engaged, while they had an opportunity to put what they learnt into practice. The workshop concluded with a music performance in Hall B by the trainers.
Be a hero, save lives with timely First Aid!
New Medical Laboratory Technology students experience their first practice class!
New Medical Laboratory Technology students were very excited to have their first practice class in the laboratory. A new milestone was reached after putting on their lab coats and being allowed to work with the laboratory equipment. By putting theory into practice they are getting a better understanding of the topics taught and will retain that information better, which will help them through their training for Medical Lab Tech.
Meet Serey, UP Learning and teaching Officer
Serey Nguon is our Learning and Teaching Officer at the University of Puthisastra. He graduated in the field of Education, specializing in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, from the Institute of Foreign Languages, Royal University of Phnom Penh in 2015. Upon his graduation, he began to work as an ASEAN Secretariat in a 1-month exchange programme of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and afterward engaged in research as a research assistant for a private company in Cambodia for a year. Drawing on the experiences and skills learned from many research projects, he then decided to lead his own research project named “Health Education through Technology” where he was fully funded by National University of Singapore to attend College of Alice & Peter Tan International Student Symposium at National University of Singapore to share his experiences gained from the project in 2016.
After that, Serey worked as a Teacher of English at various international schools in Cambodia for 2 years prior to his partaking in a five-week course named “Family Engagement in Education” hosted by HarvardX. Besides performing the role as a Teacher, he often conducted research on Quality Education and Effective Teaching Methods, and his research projects under the theme of Education were selected to be presented in 4 international conferences held in 3 different countries so far. Beyond that, Serey also worked as a Correspondent, actively writing and publishing educational articles regarding Culture and Tradition on media platform, at the ASEAN-Korea Centre located in Seoul, South Korea for 6 months.
Serey always attempts to fulfill any responsibilities relevant to his position wisely and he even takes on other duties beyond his role, which really helps him to unlock his potential and upgrade himself to the next level, at all times.
