25 December 2024

UP VOICE VOL.61 – April 2021

The Official Newsletter of the University of Puthisastra (UP)-Vol.61 April 2021 Download

Introduce UP leadership team

UP celebrates more than a decade of excellence in health science and technology and aims to train and inspire the next generation of doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, laboratory technicians, computer scientists and technology entrepreneurs.

University of Puthisastra would like to formally introduce its Leadership Team who work tirelessly to drive the university’s vision and mission to ensure that we continue to improve healthcare and IT in Cambodia and maximise our students outcomes – our students get the best jobs and the highest salaries. More than one third of academic staff have international qualifications and/or experience.

UP’s leadership team is based on years of experience, firmly believing that the integration of international expertise in a Cambodia context will play a huge part enabling UP students to learn modern skills required for 21st Century healthcare and technology.

UP is committed to the values of excellence, integrity, tolerance, diversity, innovation and service. Through academic programs, exchanges and international and local partnerships, UP students acquire and apply leadership skills and values enabling them to become leaders in their field.

WHAT’S UP ON CAMPUS – 13,14,15 APRIL 2021, KHMER NEW YEAR DAYS                                   -26 APRIL 2021, VISAK BOCHEA DAY

626 pharmacists attend UPs Pharmacy CPD

Faculty of Pharmacy keeps up-to-date with continuing education and professional competency and undertaking appropriate development and training opportunities that are relevant to the pharmacy practice.

There are 626 participants in total attended the CPD provided by the Faculty of Pharmacy recognized by the Pharmacy Council of Cambodia. The training mainly took place online focusing on various topic including appropriate experience in the pharmacy practice, keeping up-tco-date with continuing education and professional competency and undertaking appropriate development and training opportunities that are relevant to the pharmacy practice.

UP has recruited trainers and facilitators who are competent and qualified who have many years in professional and teaching experiences. In the context of 21st century education, UP trainer will use 21st teaching and assessing methodology with the support from modern technology.

Training Courses for UP staff

The success of UP relies on the skills, knowledge and experience of our employees, across all staff groups, areas and roles. UP is very proud to support the development of its staff – only by improving can we get better.

UP offers facilities for staff development through our annual training plan with the support of our internal expertise. Each year, we ensure the provision of:

  • An annual program of short courses, seminars and other activities
  • Appropriate induction and development programs for newly appointed members of staff
  • Advice and guidance on other training provision where relevant training is not available within the university, staff will be encouraged to undertake agreed training provided externally.

All staff training and development activities are recorded and all staff must undertake a minimum of 3 courses during the year. During the last 12 months, 153 employees undertook 764 training courses.

Pharmacy Curriculum Working Group

In 2021, UP embarked on a substantial project – reviewing every single course at UP – how can we make each one better.

In Pharmacy, the curriculum working group (CWG) was established on the 3rd of February 2021. Its roles and responsibilities is to develop and review UP pharmacy curriculum. To create new curricular that can produce highest quality graduates with knowledge, skills and good attitudes to serve the Cambodian community, CWG has started its journey via weekly meeting on a regular basis. The members have reviewed core competencies for pharmacist across the globe, core competency framework for new pharmacy graduates in the Kingdom of Cambodia, Cambodian national pharmacy curriculum 2007, course outlines, course books, reference books, assessment plans, assessment tools etc.

As a result, program learning outcomes (PLOs) for bachelor of pharmacy were reviewed via competencies based approach based on Cambodian Core Competencies Framework for Pharmacist. During a couple of weeks, 15 courses have been evaluated based on the designed checklist.

This is one of tremendous results which we are really proud of. This working group keeps reviewing the rest of courses in pharmacy programs. Before New Year, the working group is expected to complete this job successfully.

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6 more days to apply for the scholarship exam of The Master in IT & Data Science Program

The Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) is a 2.5 years program designed for students working in the ICT industry. It enables students to study in-depth, a range of advanced specializations in an emerging field in IT such as Python programming, Cloud Computing, DevOps, Cyber Security, Statistics, Data Visualization, AI, Machine Learning, Computer Vision… Besides building the technical skills, the Master’s program also emphasizes Business skills (Entrepreneurship, Business Analytics…) and Soft skills (Critical Thinking, Analytic ability, Leadership, Communication, Creativity…).

Register for the scholarship exam now!

Who can apply?

You have a Bachelor Degree and you are interested in Data science topics. However it is recommended to
have a programming background to follow the program and a good English level.

Duration and schedule?

2.5 years. Week-end classes only, Saturday 2pm – 5pm, Sunday 8:50am-12pm & 2pm-5pm

Where?

At the University of Puthisastra, and / or Online using internal and external e-learning platforms

Which job does it prepare for?

Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Data Analyst, Business Analyst, Business Intelligence analyst

How to apply?

Join the telegram group for more information:https://t.me/upictmaster

When is the scholarship exam?

Scholarship exam date: 8th April 2021, 9am-11:15am.

We offer 75% and 50% scholarships depending on the results. Registration deadline: 6th April 2021

Professor Jason Blackard has delivered lectures to MD Year 3 students on Viral genomic structure and replication, with particular reference to HIV

Professor Jason Blackard leads a Translational Research Laboratory focusing on studies of virus-virus and virus-host interactions at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in the USA and is an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of UP. He is a world-renowned scientist and his current research focuses on hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, HIV, human pegiviruses and Zika virus. He has recently delivered lectures to MD Year 3 students on Viral genomic structure and replication, focusing particularly on HIV infection. A great opportunity for UP medical students to learn from one of the world leading experts in the field!

UP DENTAL CLINIC STILL OPEN FOR EMERGENCY PATIENTS

During this time of spread of Covid-19, people are still getting dental problems, causing pain and infection, which can sometimes be serious. Fortunately the UP Dental Clinic has remained open, and patients can be seen by one of our highly-skilled dentists between 8.30 and 12, Monday to Saturday. Not only that, but we also closely follow the National Covid-19 Guidelines for Cross Infection Control in Dental Clinics – with some of the most stringent precautions of any clinic in Cambodia.

So if you have a dental problem that cannot wait – please come in and see us. We will give you a warm welcome and do our best to fix whatever problem you may have. For an appointment call: 098-414563.

First AASP webinar on Innovative Bridging Study

This webinar introduced the usefulness of bridging study to increase the efficiency of new drug development by introducing the latest research topics in these fields. This sharing of this approach will help researchers in Asian pharmacy schools in their efforts to develop new drugs.

As a result, on Thursday, March 25, 2021, Dr Chea Sin, Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Puthisastra, joined the first AASP (Asian Association of Schools of Pharmacy) webinar on Innovative Bridging Study to Increase Clinical Trial Entry Efficiency in Drug Development.

In this webinar, three presentations were focused: Model-based Approach for the Development of Sustained-released formulations, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Organoids, and Recent Analytical Methods for Evaluating Antibody-drug Conjugates.

This webinar is a platform for all members of AASP to share knowledge and experiences with each other. This webinar had expanded participant’s horizon on various methods in clinical trials and multilateral collaboration among the team.

Cardiology and Nephrology Workshop with Canadian experts for MD Year 6 Students

Cardiology and Nephrology Workshop with Canadian experts for MD Year 6 StudentsThe Faculty of Medicine has recently organized a Workshop with the participation of a team of Canadian experts in Cardiology and Nephrology. Dr. Keith Kwok, Cardiologist at North York General Hospital and Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto Medical School; Dr. Bentley-Taylor, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Medical School; Dr. Benjamin Ngai, former Site Chief of Medicine at the William Osler Health Center; and Dr. Robert Ting, Chief of Scarborough Regional Dialysis Program, discussed major issues in Cardiology and Nephrology, such as acute myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, heart failure management, renal failure management, diabetic nephropathy, IgA nephropathy, electrolyte disturbances.

Cardiology and Nephrology Workshop

CHILD ABUSE SURVEY SHOWS DEFICIENCIES IN DENTAL STUDENT KNOWLEDGE

In 2019 dental students from UP participated in an international study involving 66 students from 11 dental schools in 10 countries. The study was focused on child abuse, which is a big problem all across the world, and has been shown to be increasing in some countries. For education and health professionals who have contact with children, it is important that they can recognize possible abuse, and refer them to the appropriate authorities in order to protect the child from future harm. Dentists can play a pivotal role in detecting and reporting such cases, as commonly injuries to the mouth, head and neck are involved. The aim of the study was to identify and compare the final year dental student’s knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to child abuse.

A 38-item online questionnaire was distributed to dental students in the participating schools. Of the 660 students who completed the survey, 56 percent had received formal training on child abuse, and 86% wanted additional training. The knowledge of child abuse was significantly higher in Australia, USA and Jordan compared to other countries. Cambodian students were among those in the middle. The internet (60.3%) was identified as the main source of information about child abuse.

The study showed that many dental students lacked knowledge and experience in recognizing and reporting child abuse. Most students indicated a desire for additional training. The study recommended that dental schools should review what they are currently teaching and make changes as appropriate. The Faculty of Dentistry at UP is currently reviewing its curriculum, and the teaching on child abuse will be considered when the Pediatric Dentistry program is reviewed.

Reference: Duman C, Al-Batayneh OB, Ahmad S, Durward CS, Kobylińska A, Vieira AR, Tredoux S, Okutan AE, Egil E, Kalaoglu EE, Sirinoglu Capan B, Aksit Bicak D, Zafar S. Self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and practice of final year dental students in relation to child abuse: a multi-centre study. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2021 Mar 17. doi: 10.1111/ipd.12781.

Join Vennue’s roundtable Q&A Cancer Care series

Professional development is important because it ensures us continue to be competent in our trade or profession. Although 2021, year of COVID-19 pandemic, three UP Pharmacy Faculties (Ms. Touch Sokkeang, Mr. Tan Chantrea, snd Dr. Chea Sin) joined a Vennue’s roundtable Q&A Cancer Care series:’’Oncological Surgery during Covid-19″ on March 25, 2021.

During the discusion and Q&A session, Dr Chea Sin, a representive from Cambodia, gave a brief report on current COVID-19 situation in Cambodia, and its impacts on current health care system, as well as the involvement of volunteer healthcare workers to fight against COVID-19. The roundtable was created to share knowledge, experiences and support one another during this COVID 19 pandemic.

Vennue Hub Demo Launched at UP Faculty of Pharmacy

On Monday, March 29, 2021, pharmacy faculties and dean of Faculty of Pharmacy were invited to join Vennue’s Foundation webinar on Vennue’s new platform (Vennue Digital Hub), a platform for students and pharmacists to use to adopt their continuing professional development. University of Puthisatra is the first University in Cambodia that has cooperated with Vennue’s Foundation to implement a new digital platform, Vennue’s Digital Hub, to improve pharmacy students’ snd pharmacists’ competencies.

Vennue’s digital hub offers three important advantages:

  • globally recognized certifications for continuing professional development
  • advance career by connecting with peers and keeping pace with best practices in patient-centered care
  • strengthen their own healthcare practices by refreshing and increasing their knowledge

This platform offers considerable flexibility for online study and has curriculum designed for all skill levels.

Successful Completion Of Oral Defence Research Project for BSN Bridging: Student Batch 1

UP’s BSN Bridging students recently presented their Oral Defence research project online, on 12th March 2021.

In most universities, the thesis represents a student’s collective understanding of their programme and Major. Thesis projects demand full attention, and many universities require that students devote an entire semester to completing their research and resulting paper. Students work closely with their faculty supervisors and advisers to make sure that the research stays on schedule.

The BSN Bridging students did their oral thesis defence on their chosen topics and divided into four groups with the four research topics with four to five students in each group. The thesis project is the last activity before students can graduate and become professional nurses. Once students submit their thesis papers to the thesis committee, they will be assigned a date to defend their work. The thesis defence is designed so that faculty members can ask questions and make sure that students actually understand their field and focus area. Defending a thesis is a formal process, following the evaluation of their work. During a thesis defence, students are asked questions by members of the thesis committee and the chair. Questions are usually open-ended and require that the student think critically about their work. A defence typically takes around 20 minutes in terms of questions and answers.

MR CHHOUK BOREY AWARDED WITH A CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE BY THE INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF MALAYSIA

Congratulations to our colleague, CHHOUK Borey, Senior TP Nurse from the Faculty of Nursing, on being recently awarded with a certificate of attendance at the 14th International Medical Education Conference (IMEC2021) which was held from 12th-14th, March 2021. The overarching theme of the conference was ‘Setting the New Norm: Current and Future Practice for Health Professions Education.’ Training sessions were hosted online throughout the three-day conference. Highlights of the training included:

12th March, 2021:

  • Workshop: Faculty developments for introducing Programmatic Assessment into healthcare curricula: Making the switch to assessment for learning using Learning Advisors.
  • Workshop: Using the health humanities to explore student perspectives

13th & 14th March, 2021:

  • Training: The New Norm And A Changed Role for The Student
  • Training: Enhancing Inclusivity & Diversity Into New Norms: What Can We Do Better In Medical Education?
  • Training: The What, Why, And How Of Empowering Learners Through Autonomy-Supportive Teaching & Student-Autonomy Supportive Teaching.
  • Training: Simple, Savvy Techniques To Enrich Your Classes With Amboss” (Gold Sponsor-AMBOSS).
  • Training: Pandemic-Proof, Evidence-Based Medical Education (Silver Sponsor-Lecturio).
  • Training: Informing Robust Decisions From Workplace-based Assessment.
  • Training: The Anatomy Of Mentoring Relationships: It Takes Two To Tango.
  • Training: Assessment In The New Norm.
  • Training: Rethinking Health Professional Education: A Global View.

Pharmacist CPD training on stock managements for drug and medical supplies

Recently the Asian Pacific Dental Students Association (APDSA) released 2 videos on Facebook under the APDSA Cambodia page with “tips and tricks” of how to plan a research project for their upcoming Scientific Research Competition (SRC). The videos featured different questions and answers on research planning and involved 5 young Cambodian researchers.

Dr Horn Rithvitou, UP clinical trial coordinator and part-time lecturer represented UP. The APDSA Board hopes that this video will encourage more dental students to engage in research, and perhaps participate in the SRC in the future. The videos will also be useful for students who are writing their undergraduate theses.

The APDSA Cambodia hopes that many Cambodian dental students with an interest in research will also participate in an upcoming online lecture/webinar. For more information go to:www.facebook.com/ApdsaCambodia

Mr. Rotha Kol, Engagement and Partnership Officer, Expresses His Interest in Online Capacity Development Program

Online Capacity Development Training Program was created in order to facilitate students’ learning process by enabling them to have plenty of opportunities to acquire more practical skills. UP believes that at UP students are not only limited to the knowledge or theories they learn in the classroom, but all UP’s students should have equal opportunities to expose to extracurricular activities and new various skills because both hard skills and soft skills have tremendous impacts on their future career aspect.

Online Capacity Development Training Program is carried out by Learning and Teaching team from QLTS under one agreed aim to deliver hands-on trainings that are compatible with the students. Students across all fields and all batches of study could enroll in any courses in their own interests and at their own conveniences. Each training lasts only thirty minutes, and training topics mostly involve soft skills such as self-development, time management, stress-management, and effective communication skills. Besides, there are some other essential skills students need to use them in their classroom practice like how to improve their four macro skills and also tips for online learning.

Through what happening in delivering the training so far, I can say Online Capacity Development Training Program is such a win-win experience to me and to the students because this project allowed me chances to conduct more research in medical field setting. My training topic is “Why Communication Skills are Important in Health Care?”, so tons of things to look up and bring to the presentation in regard to Health Care and communications. However, for the students after that training, they will be able to distinguish the differences between communication skills applied in daily interaction and in Health Care, verbal vs. non-verbal communication, and how important they really are in interhospital and intrahospital, etc. Personally, I am very delighted to see students’ active participation; their reactions did reflect the success of this training. Last but not least, to UP’s students, college life is about exploring and trying out; therefore, this online training program is strongly encouraged to expand your academic portfolio.

Strengthening Clinical Skills Qualities For Nursing Students at the University of Puthisastra (UP)

On 15th February, 2021, our 3rd Year Bachelor of Nursing students in Batch 6 at UP took their final exam, which was focused on Clinical Technical Practice (TP).

The purpose of the TP exam is to help strengthen the abilities of all nursing students to practice essential clinical techniques that are required to achieve really high quality standards and norms within Nursing and nursing processes. All nursing students are required to pass a Technical Practice Exam in each semester before they can progress to a hands-on clerkship at our various partner health facilities.

However, they must keep following the Ministry of Health Guidelines in respect of COVID-19, which include always wearing a face mask, cleaning one’s hands frequently and maintaining a safe social distance, which means staying 2 metres apart at all times! Our nursing students will become the next generation of leaders and role models for society, and that leadership begins with their studies and clerkships with UP. We wish our students every success in their clerkships!

LECTURER IN HEAD AND NECK ANATOMY ATTENDS INTERNATIONAL ORAL PATHOLOGY COURSE

Recently UP was invited to send one participant to attend a ZOOM course entitled “Clinico-Pathological Correlation of Common Oral Mucosal Diseases: A Short Course”. The course was organized by the Oral Medicine Department at the Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Indonesia Global Academic Program. UP has an MOU with Universitas Indonesia and has sent undergraduate dental students there on an exchange program in the past. The course was run on three days, and involved interactive lectures, group discussion, presentations and assignments.

The Learning Outcomes included participants being able to understand the basic tissue processing in an oral pathology lab, identify and explain the pathognomonic histopathological findings of common oral mucosal diseases, and comprehend the most important correlation between histopathological and clinical findings.

Dr Cheang Pengleang is our new lecturer in Head and Neck Anatomy, and he is also a Postgraduate Student in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, so this course was particularly relevant to him. Cambodia currently has no specialists in Oral Pathology, and no specialists in Oral Medicine, and yet oral pathology, including oral cancer, are common among the population.

Courses such as these can help to build up capacity among the dental workforce to diagnose and treat patients who suffer from such diseases. We appreciate the invitation from Universitas Indonesia to attend this important course, and look forward to future collaborations.

Medical Laboratory Technology Student Biography

Mr. LY Mongdiya, is a Medical Laboratory Technology student, Generation 9, in The Department of Laboratory Sciences, University of Puthisastra since 2020. He was a high school student within Phnom Penh Capital City.

He is really passionate about working in the medical laboratory. “I find myself love working with experiments and everything in the Laboratory room, that is why I prefer the Medical Laboratory Technology major. Moreover, I would like to introduce the Medical Laboratory Technology which plays an important role in the health sector to the society. It has been such a pleasure to join and serve The Department of Laboratory Sciences, University of Puthisastra”, he said.

During his studies, he has been involved with many of the department’s activities to help relieve the department’s work load as well as to improve himself.

As for taking part in the department’s activities, he enjoys to:

  • Assist in the faculty’s activities.
  • Get along well with other senior and junior students.
  • Interact and keep in touch with staff.
  • Gain more experience in the field of medical laboratory.

Enjoy cycling. During the pandemic, students may be worrying about exercise especially with government guidelines on how to protect ourselves from COVID-19. But sport activities, such as cycling, can help to boost self-immune system even if we continue to follow safety methods

“Stay safe and healthy, and hopefully the pandemic will be gone soon.”

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