“New paradigm towards outcome base education”
The Assistant Environmental Health Officer (AEHO), a.k.a. the Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran (PPKP), was known as the Health Inspector (H.I.) or Inspektor Kesihatan (I.K.) prior to the year 2002. Whilst the H.I.’s roles and functions focused on public health, the AEHO’s roles and functions were expanded to include a wider scope of responsibilities in environmental health.
The late 20th. and early 21st. centuries saw many unfamiliar and new challenges, that were unprecedented in history, in both the public and environmental health fields. Numerous natural and man-made disasters caught many napping. These include issues of public health concerns, such as, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and the nuclear fallout in Fukushima, Japan. Emerging diseases, such as the Nipah Virus infections, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Avian flu, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) caused by a novel coronavirus, Zika, and the like, have caught the health authorities unprepared. Many re-emerging diseases are posing greater challenges to healthcare providers and services.
As preventors, primarily, the AEHO needs a wide range of exposure and training in preventive technologies and skills, ultimately to be able predict occurrences of communicable and non communicable diseases – through effective investigation, analytical data analysis, appropriate surveillance machinery, enforcement of relevant laws and thereafter to prevent incidence, outbreak and health problems. Beside the AEHO should have proficient skill in utilizing information technology, sampling of environmental pollutants which include food, water, air and physical agents in managing environmental hazards and issues. In addition all the component should include the effective communication skill in conducting health education and promotion toward behavioral change and community empowerments for disease prevention.
Our graduate will experience ranges of sufficient knowledge and psychomotor skills in performing professional work. This also include the social and responsibilities of the candidate to interact and collaborate effectively with the stockholders, client and other agencies. Regarding the professional ethics, our graduate will have valued according to community. The other component involve in communication, leadership and teamwork will be empowered to ensure the healthy living concept for Malaysian can be achieved. We will embed the critical thinking and problem solving using scientific method to the graduates to enable them in managing challenges during their works. Regardless of the development of the nation the element of lifelong learning towards highly adaptive skills in information technology will be encompass in the graduate’s heart. Last component of the outcome of the graduate includes the managerial component of the work task given. Entrepreneurial in promoting their valued profession.