The 2nd UKM-SGH Joint Conference (2nd - 3rd April 2011)

I was very blessed to have been part of this informative and eye-opening joint conference organised by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Singapore General Hospital (SGH). Speakers were of distinguished credibility, from medical consultants to nurses to physiotherapist consultants to dietitians, occupational therapists and as well speech therapists. It was a great mix of health personnel all working towards one main goal with the motto "Strengthening Multidisciplinary Approach in Health Care & Health Sciences".

Various topics were discussed and I would like to share here bits of what I gathered from the various talks delivered.

1. Stroke:

• The younger you are, the more likely you are to get a hemorrhagic stroke (risk of this increases in those below the age of 45).
• Upon occurence of stroke, the first 3 to 4.5 hours is the most crucial time for provision of a thrombolytic factor as this period is the "window" to save the remaining brain tissues (the ischemic penumbra) from being infarcted.
• The neuroscientific basis of rehab interventions for stroke patients are based on these 2 processes; the network plasticity where activities of infarcted neurones are taken over by adjacent neurones; neuronal plasticity where there would be regeneration and sprouting of new dendrites.

2. Children with Special Needs

• In Malaysia, 10-17% of the children population (between 900,000 to 1.35 million children) require special needs.
• 95% of children walks at 18 months of age and parents should be concern if their child fail to do so.
• An increase in the responds of a mother increases the child's level of responsiveness.

3. Palliative Care for Cancer Patients

• Aims of physiotherapy: to achieve optimal functional capacity.

4. Physical Issues Faced by the Geriatric Population

• Main components of postural control: sensory (eg: vision, vestibular), central processing (eg: speed/attention), effectors (eg: ROM).
• ACSM recommends these exercises to be incorporated in treating geriatric patients: strengthening exercises, aerobic conditioning, flexibility exercises and balance training.

I was also very lucky to have gotten the opportunity to make a poster presentation with regards to low back pain. It was a tremendous experience and being able to mingle with other health personnel simply allows me to have a more global outlook towards provision of healthcare.

It was simply awesome that everyone was recognised to be the experts of their field, with the doctors recognising the importance of physiotherapy and the occupational therapist acknowledges the work of speech therapists and so on. This level of respect and recognition is lacking in the current clinical practise and in some ways, Malaysia has a long way to go before these can truly be achieved optimally