By Asmahanim Amir
Pictures by Ikhwan Hashim

CHERAS, 25 March 2019 – Prof. Dr. Dayang Anita Abdul Aziz, a Senior Consultant Paediatric Surgeon from Department of Surgery, Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM),  Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), has been recognized by the European Board of Paediatric Surgery (EBPS) as their Senior Examiner for the 2019 European Exams to be held in Amsterdam this October.

The appointment is historic for UKM because Prof. Dr Dayang Anita is the first Paediatric Surgeon in Malaysia and Asia to be appointed as EBPS senior Examiner.

“Actually, this recognition is not only for me but to all the paediatric staff and also for our former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Emerita Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hassan Shahabudin and Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali whom helped a lot from the beginning until we (UKMMC) received the accreditation status as a Centre for EBPS Examinations for Part I and Part II in 2011” said Prof. Dr Dayang Anita.

“This examination centre is the first outside Europe. It’s not only as an examination centre but also training centres to the local and ASEAN paediatric surgical trainees and surgeons ” she added.

There are other countries in Asia such as India who conduct EBPS Part I examinations, but only UKMMC can conduct the Part I and Part II of the EBPS examinations.

“We are very proud with this recognition. Starting from 2012, I was appointed as an EBPS Local Examiner Team Leader; the same year the first Joint  Part 1 and 2 of the EBPS examination was held at UKMMC,” she explained.

“This appointment has given me the experience to conduct local exams too; I also developed the Paediatric Surgery Masters Programme for UKM using the modified syllabus of the European Board. This is my contribution for UKM and our Country-to develop a local MQA accredited programme for the convenience of our local postgraduate students,” she explained.

She said the EBPS exams started in 2009 at UKMMC initially for Part 1 exams and now for almost 10 years, the examinations have run successfully for 4 times in UKMMC as Joint Part 1 and Part 2. Many benefits have been obtained from the aspect of establishing a more holistic approach to human capital development. It is also very encouraging that the number of candidates who come to Malaysia for the exams increased from year to year.