Sunway Medical Centre partners with IMU to provide jobs for pharmacy students
Being a fresh grad looking for a job can be tough. Especially with the issue of graduate unemployment, it almost feels like students are just thrown into the water post-grad and forced to swim. As such, Sunway Medical Centre (SMC) and International Medical University have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to help with resolving the issue.
The MoU was signed in an initiative to provide fulfilling career opportunities to pharmacy degree students in the university through their Graduate Training Programme (GTP). The GTP is aimed at providing career opportunities for IMU’s Bachelor in Pharmacy students who are interested in hospital pharmacy.
The memorandum will give jobs to 5 IMU students each year, in Sunway Medical Centre
The programme, which is in effect for 3 years, will be identifying suitable candidates from the programme from Year 2 onwards. From there, these lucky few will start an early engagement with SMC as potential candidates, through interviews, elective placements and hospital activities. This initiative is projected to provide a smooth transition for the graduates fulfilling full employability with SMC, while providing the hospital with a consistent stream of applicants for Provisionally Registered Pharmacists (PRP) positions annually.
Every year, up to 5 eligible graduates will be able to commence their PRP-ship with SMC.
Signatories on behalf of SMC were Dato’ Lau Beng Long, President of Sunway Healthcare Group and Dr. Khoo Chow Huat, Managing Director (Hospital and Healthcare Operations), Sunway Healthcare Group. Meanwhile, signatories on behalf of IMU University were Professor Gerard George, Group Managing Director of IMU Health; and Professor Winnie Chee, Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic), IMU University.
“The MoU will facilitate the early exposure of trainees to real-world healthcare settings where they can acquire invaluable insights and experiences that will shape their future careers. By fostering robust partnerships between academia and healthcare institutions, we have the opportunity to cultivate a pipeline of talents that is not only highly capable but also inspired to push the boundaries of what is achievable in healthcare,” — Dr. Khoo, Managing Director of Sunway Healthcare Group.
In general, the GTP aims to provide the graduates with a holistic career pathway, actively engaging in enhancing their curriculum to provide them with industry experience and further develop their talents. Thus, providing them with a chance for early employment and a chance to obtain rare real-world experience without having to undergo the hassle.
