Are you looking to pursue a career in Medicine? Wondering about the right pathway to begin your journey to becoming a medical doctor?

GET a solid start to your career in Medicine with RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus (RUMC)’s Foundation in Science (FIS). RUMC’s FIS programme is specifically designed to prepare students for their first year in medical school. As aspiring doctors, students can obtain insights into Medicine as a career choice.

This programme caters to IGCSE O-Levels, SPM and its equivalent graduands who are exploring their options. It is a comprehensive pre-university pathway leading to the university’s five-year Undergraduate Medicine programme.

The one-year FIS programme consists of three semesters where students get good exposure to clinical and medical fields in a hospital setting. The curriculum of the programme emphasises on gaining sufficient practical experience and mastering relevant skills and techniques which enable students to build a solid medical foundation here at RUMC before heading to medical school.

Modules of the FIS programme are focused on health sciences, serving as an early introduction to the subjects the students will learn during their first year in medical school. The programme is also instrumental in developing relevant learning skills that are required in medical school among students.

Self-development is another aspect that will benefit the students as the programme outlines the importance of soft skills such as critical thinking, reflective writing and proper oral presentation etiquette to name a few.

At RUMC, FIS students have opportunities to interact with senior medical students and faculty members who are mostly clinicians. This allows students to familiarise themselves with the environment of studying in a medical school and improves their communication and networking skills too.

Transition into Medical Degree programme

RUMC’s FIS programme leads students to its internationally-recognised medical degree programme. Students with a CGPA of 3.5 and above may progress directly into the Undergraduate Medicine programme, while students with a CGPA below 3.5 will be required to complete the Pre-Medical Foundation Year.

The Undergraduate Medicine programme at RUMC is well known for its unique structure and transnational delivery. Students begin their journey in medical school with Pre-Clinical studies in Ireland at either the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) or University College Dublin (UCD) for the first 2 ½ years. The final 2 ½ years of Clinical studies are carried out in Malaysia at the Penang campus and its teaching hospitals.

Many RUMC students had experienced the advantages of doing the FIS programme during their time at medical school.

One such student is Muhammad Aliff, who is currently in his 2^nd year at RCSI, Dublin. Aliff completed his FIS in 2021 and progressed into the RUMC Medicine programme the same year.

“Studying the FIS programme at RUMC introduced me to various medical concepts and knowledge which I am currently learning in my Pre-Clinical Years in Dublin.,” Aliff said.

Another RUMC FIS graduate is Allyna Loo who is currently a third-year medical student at RUMC. Allyna returned to Penang in January 2022 to continue her clinical studies. According to Allyna, the transnational delivery of Medicine at RUMC strengthened her passion to study Medicine which led her to join the FIS programme in 2018.

“The opportunity to experience my university life abroad is both exhilarating and unforgettable. Choosing RUMC’s FIS programme has prepared me for their medical degree programme, giving me early exposure to extensive pre-clinical training in Dublin, shared Allyna.

After the five-year journey in medical school, students graduate with the internationally-recognised Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Obstetrics (MB BCh BAO) degree conferred by the National University of Ireland (NUI), making them competent and clinically distinguished graduates.

Over the last 25 years, RUMC has graduated over 2,000 medical doctors who are currently practising in various countries around the world such as the United Kingdom, United States of America, Ireland, Australia and Canada.