A home away from home

With nearly 1000 members  and a long tradition of holding examinations and courses, Kuala Lumpur was the ideal location for The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’s first International Office, which opened in 2018. It is a hub for activities held in Malaysia and South East Asia and an important strategic link to healthcare bodies in Malaysia. The team is led by Shidah Abd Lau and supported by Delaila Abdullah, and the office has its own Board of Directors, led by Dato’ Dr Hanafiah Bin Harunarashid, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

In August, we held our second Malaysian Diploma Ceremony for 108 diplomates at a celebration in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. It was so lovely to meet all the families and friends of those who have worked so hard and made achievements at Membership or Fellowship-level, marking an important step in their careers. We tried to bring all the history and grandeur of the ceremony to KL as the centrepiece of a week of activities for RCSEd President Professor Rowan Parks and Dental Dean Grant McIntyre, as well as many of our Council Members. We time the events around our membership exams so that many of those who work as faculty for the exams can support all our engagement activity. 

At an engagement event for our members and partners at the Intercontinental Hotel, we signed two memoranda of understanding with the Malaysian Students’ Surgical Society  and the Malaysian Association of Paediatric Dentistry to build on our already strong relationships in the country. We also held our second International Dental Skills Competition at the International Malaysian University. Here 16 students, who had already been successful in the regional heats, tested their skills on five stations. The President tested his skills in drilling teeth on a phantom head while the Dental Dean gave instruction. The winners and runners-up were awarded prizes of vouchers and some dental equipment from Medtronic, which kindly supported the competition. 

We also visited our new bespoke office in Malaysia’s administrative capital Putrajaya. The team moved into the office in October and it will be the perfect location for events, courses and networking, providing a first point of contact for the membership in the region. The International Office will now be co-located in the facility that also hosts the Academy of Medicine Malaysia and most of the local surgical specialty associations. This close proximity to sister organisations offers more opportunities to work in partnership for the benefit of
our membership.

Visits such as this enable us to get to know many more of our members and our team in Malaysia worked so hard to bring it all together. It really does feel like an international family of clinicians, all working together to improve patient safety.

Fellows and Members are welcome to drop in to the office at any time. If you would like to know more about our activity in Malaysia and South East Asia or would like to enquire about examinations, courses or international schemes in the region, please contact our International Office Manager at malaysia@rcsed.ac.uk.