Liow: Healthcare professionals should continuously improve skills and knowledge

The Star KUALA LUMPUR: Healthcare professionals must strive to achieve high work standards throughout their careers, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.

They must not only be good technically, but should also have the required “psychomotor skills” to competently perform their tasks.

He said while it was important for medical professionals to have sufficient knowledge of their field, they also needed to know how to properly apply their knowledge.

“We could end up with many individuals who may possess proper qualifications, but to all intents and purposes, are unemployable in the real world,” he said at the opening ceremony of the 15th Ottawa Conference here last night.

Liow said there would be continuous demands and expectations from the public following the rise in income and wealth.

“We need to train more health-care professionals to meet this demand. It's equally if not more important to ensure that the quality of these professionals is of a very high standard.

“The healthcare professionals should also have the required skills to competently perform all the procedures they are required to undertake. They must carry out their tasks in a professional and ethical manner,” he added.

Liow also said Malaysia's healthcare system had been successful in providing universal health coverage for its citizens.

The conference provides a glo-bal forum for medical and other healthcare educators to network and share ideas on developments and innovations in medical education.