UTAR staff and students in community work

Two UTAR departments; the Department of Soft Skills Competency (DSSC) and the Department of Chinese Medicine (DCM) under the UTAR Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) joined hands to organise a community service in the form of health screening at SJK(C) Kampung Baru Pajam in Seremban on 22 May 2014. Joining them were three staff from the Centre for Extension Education (CEE) to provide the valued-added service on the availability of short courses in languages, motivation and personal development at the UTAR campuses.

Supported by nine DCM students and staff from CEE and DSSC, three traditional Chinese physicians; Associate Professor Dr Wu Nanmin, Lecturer Chong Kuen Yen and Specialist I Ng Foong Leng set-up two health screen service stations at the first floor of the school; one in the library and the other in the adjacent classroom.

The trio medical team provided health services that included checking blood pressure, monitoring the pulse rate, general consultation on healthy well-being and even traditional Chinese medicine prescription. The villagers who came for the free health screening comprised teachers, parents and students.

The trio: Ng (from left), Dr Wu and Chong

Dr Wu who has been involved in several community services was very enthusiastic about the health screening service project and said, “We come here to help the villagers and raise their awareness about health and to introduce the benefit of traditional Chinese medicine to them. On the other hand, our students can learn much more outside the classroom when they examine the villagers and be aware of their social responsibility towards the community.” He also added that Chinese medicine is a natural way to maintain a healthy life.

SJK(C) Kampung Baru Pajam Headmistress Teo Bee Yong was very grateful to UTAR for the initiating the health screening community project. Teo added that the school currently has only 72 students and needs help from the community as the school has limited resources. “We hope that community can come forward to help small-sized Chinese primary schools like SJK(C) Kampung Baru Pajam. UTAR has set a good example and we welcome more community support to hold activities such as motivation camp, tutorial class or gotong-royong at our school,” said Teo.

Dr Wu (right) explaining to Teo (left) about her medical condition with Wong listening at the side

The health screening service provided a platform for practical training and experiential learning for the participating DCM students. They gained firsthand experiences by observing how their lecturers attended to the villagers. It was training par excellence as both DCM students Wong Yan Shen and Chong Sin Lian enthused that they have learnt much especially on the approaches on note taking, medical prescriptions and the art of asking questions about the villagers’ health and ailments.

Wong said, “Doing this community service has motivated me to work harder to master the skills of a Chinese physician in order to help others towards building a healthy and harmonious community.” Chong added that the involvement in the community service has strengthened her determination to help the poor, sharpened her soft skills especially in showing empathy towards the sick and elderly.

Chong (right) checking the blood pressure of a villager

Ng (left) taking the pulse of a teacher

Chong (right) examining a villager while her student, Leow Jack Min looks on

A fruitful day for the Chinese Medicine students



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