8 April 2018 – IMU School of Pharmacy students have once again emerged as champion in the Malaysian Pharmacy Students’ Association (MyPSA) National Clinical Pharmacy Challenge (NCPC), a prestigious annual competition that challenges clinical knowledge, skills and teamwork of pharmacy students. The 4th NCPC was held from 6 – 8 April 2018 at SEGi University, Kota Damansara, Malaysia.
This year, the NCPC was a collaborative effort between the MyPSA and SEGi Pharmacy Students’ Association (SPSA). The Challenge had a total of 24 pharmacy student teams from 13 Universities/institutions, namely AIMST, AMU, CUCMS, IIUM, IMU, KPJ, SEGi, Taylor’s, UCSI, UiTM, UKM, UniKL-RCMP and USM. 
In the preliminary round (Multiple choice questions, MCQ), both IMU teams were placed in the Top 10. The next (opening) round based on Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) tested participants on their clinical and communication skills with patients and prescribers. Both IMU teams made it to the top 6 and were shortlisted for the semi-finals. The semi-finals, conducted via verbal Short Answer Questions (SAQ) required participants to take turns answering questions on stage within a given time frame. IMU Team A and IIUM Team B qualified for the finals, and were given an hour to formulate a pharmaceutical care plan and prepare a 20-minutes case presentation. Every team member was also required to answer 2 to 4 questions from the panel of 2 judges. IMU Team A emerged as Champion. The final results of the 4th MyPSA National Clinical Pharmacy Challenge 2018:
| Champion | IMU Team A | Ng Yi Ling, Lee Khei Yan and Yew Wing Yee |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Runner Up | IIUM Team B | – |
| 2nd Runner Up | SEGI | – |
| 4th Place | AIMST Team A | – |
| 5th Place | IMU Team B | Lim Kar Ying, Low Li Tian and Esther Teo Yong Xuan |
| 6th Place | Taylor’s Team A | – |
“It was my pleasure to be selected as one of the participants. To be honest, I was nervous to participate in this competition. Yet, I was lucky enough to have the reassurance and guidance from my teammates, seniors and lecturers, who had helped us throughout the preparation for this competition. On the other hand, I believed that this would be a good opportunity to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone. I was looking forward to meet the other participants and learn new things from them.” – Ng Yi Ling
“As with this year’s NCPC theme: Trust, Advice, Care, to me, being a champion is not about winning but about the trust from my fellow teammates and advisor Mr Rohit. They gave us the confidence to do our best and perform on stage. Great moments are born from great opportunities. We are especially thankful to the IMU School of Pharmacy for providing us with the guidance and opportunity to participate in this prestigious event.” – Yew Wing Yee
“Being crowned champion was beyond our imagination. The competition was intense and challenging, not only due to the level of difficulty and competency of other participants, but also because we were assessed individually at each stage, rather than as a group. We only managed to get this far due to the support and motivation from each other and lecturers. Despite the tension and stress, we did enjoy ourselves during the competition. Congratulations to all other competing teams for your achievements, and to SEGi for the well-organised event!” – Lee Khei Yan
Dean’s Message
Congratulations to the students and School of Pharmacy, IMU. Championship is essential to preserve the status of “iconic School of Pharmacy”. Thank you so much for raising the profile of IMU’s School of Pharmacy. Associate Professor & Dean, Dr Mohd Zulkefeli bin Mat Jusoh
