Research on Patient Safety in Malaysia

A discovery today was a double-edged sword. I found out that there exist an Institute for Health Systems Research in Malaysia. I was a good thing because it means I would have a government-based institution to refer to and collaborate with. It was not a so-good thing because that may mean there is a duplication of research body with the one that I want to propose. I mean, the name that I have in mind is highly similar to this one. I may have to find another name for my proposal.

Patient Safety in Malaysia

Here are some info on PS in Malaysia.

1. Patient Safety Council of Malaysia (PSCOM) has been formalised by the Malaysian Cabinet on 29^th January 2003.
2. This council is to be chaired by the Director- General of Health Malaysia
3. It monitor Incident Reporting for Malaysia, which includes all the medical errors and any adverse events
4. It was set up (1) to look at the quality (including safety) of healthcare service in the healthcare industry and, (2) to advise the Honourable Minister of Health on the relevant strategies and actions to be taken in order to prevent or minimize errors in the health field, in an effort (3) to promote systemic improvements in the safety and quality of healthcare in Malaysia.
5. Members of the Council include health-related non-governmental organizations (NGO) such as Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), and Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM), Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) to be represented by Federation of Malaysia Consumer Associations (FOMCA), representatives of Teaching hospitals and various Divisions in the Ministry of Health as well as prominent members of the Malaysian society

source: http://ckpp.moh.gov.my/modules/xt_conteudo/index.php?id=3

I wonder if I can be a member of the Council?

A check on the members of the Council (http://ckpp.moh.gov.my/modules/xt_conteudo/index.php?id=14) on 18th June reveals that only one member is from a university - and not from a public university at that!

I have to work hard to make an (institutional) impact in this area.

Hips don't lie

Although not particularly liking Shakira & Wham, I none the less know of their songs. Hips Don't Lie and Careless Whispers are two songs that caught my attention.

Careless Whispers tells that 'guilty feet has got no rhythm'. When that line is put next to 'hips don't lie', I saw a sweet parallel that speaks of non-verbal communication. It is true that body language is more truthful than spoken language. People can't control the messages communicated by their body than the ones commnicated through spoken words. So, if you're feeling guilty, your tounge can deny ooutright the guilt, or the wrong that gav rise to the guilt. But your feet will betray you; the same way that the hips don't lie.

The idea that a body can't lie is also true in a world that we have yet to see. In alam akhirah, Allah says in surah Ya-Sin "On that day we will seal their mouths; their hands and feet will bear witness to everything they had done[36:65].

Courses Taught

Looking at my CV, I realised that I've been teaching quite diversely. At IIUM, I taught more courses than at UMS. I also taught at the masters level. The list below are the courses I've taught. There are several others where I was involved as tutor/helper, but I don't inlcude them here.

PSYC 1000 Introduction to Psychology
PSYC 2410 Social Psychology
PSYC 2620 Psychology of Learning
PSYC 3620 Consumer Psychology
PSYC 4210 Cross-cultural Psychology
PSYC 2050 Psychological Statistics I
PSYC 4140 Motivation and Emotion
PSYC 4030 Experimental Psychology II
PSYC 6230 Human Factors

PI3553 Work, Physiology and Ergonomics
PI2513 Leadership
PT3552 Psychology of Religion
PT1023 Introduction to Social/Community Psychology
PT3533 Ethics in the Helping Profession

A new birth

My first blog, Intangible Inheritance, dedicated to my son, has grown well, if I may say so. The readership of my personal blog includes my students at IIUM, something that I did not expect when I posted my first writings on II. This development lead to the idea of having a separate blog to cater to IIUM audience.

I do have work-related postings on II. However, having a dedicated blog would be more productive for the kind of postings that I write. I can reach the audience better. And I can keep my focus for II on Marwan.

So, I set this blog up to
1) share information on ergonomics and psychology, and my work in general
2) encourage participation from among IIUM students
3) provide a platform for problem-solving based on a mutual helping principle

While I will not resume my job as an IIUM lecturer till late 2010, I believe this blog can contribute to the current IIUM students, especially those taking psychology courses. I hope there will be participation from psychology and ergonomics students from other education institutions.

Next course of action: create a structure for the content of this blog.