Advancing Health Care Leaders Across Southeast Asia

The mission of Sunway University’s School of Healthcare and Medical Science is to enhance and enrich health care standards, clinical practice, and leadership development throughout Malaysia. In collaboration with Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway University seeks to address the increasing demands of clinical care, education, and research in Southeast Asia.

Sunway’s ambitious goals created a need to develop medical and health care professionals with advanced knowledge and capabilities in leadership, safety and quality, and organizational management. Eager to innovate, Sunway engaged with Harvard Medical School to create the Leadership in Medicine: Southeast Asia (LIM:SEA) program. This postgraduate leadership training program equips participants with the advanced medical, administrative, and managerial skills needed to excel within health care, public health, and government organizations.

“Traditionally, clinicians and health care professionals undergo rigorous training to achieve their level of expertise,” said Professor Peh Suat Cheng, Professor and Special Advisor on Medical Education Development at Sunway University. “Yet, with such focus on the hard sciences of medical education, the emphasis on effective leadership often becomes secondary. “In Malaysia and at Sunway University, we were looking for ways to round out this traditional medical training, which is what led us to Harvard Medical School.”

The one-year program utilizes a blended learning approach comprised of in-person workshops, team projects, virtual class sessions, and access to a wide range of HMS resources. Through the LIM:SEA program, participants from Malaysia and the broader region have access to expert authorities in medicine, health care leadership, finance, and human resources management. Participants are exposed to a wide range of topic areas as they prepare for the next stage of their careers as leaders.

“Graduates of this incredible program are well equipped with the skills they need to successfully lead their teams and organizations,” says Professor Peh Suat Cheng. “This program leverages existing expertise gained in medical school or professional training to prepare program scholars to solve the intricate challenges they will face in increasingly complex environments,” she adds.

LIM:SEA program graduates have successfully utilized their newly acquired leadership, quality management, and safety skillsets at health care, hospital, and government organizations in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and beyond.

Program Impact

• Participants have created a network of enduring professional connections in over 20 countries throughout Asia
• Scholars have advanced their careers while staying engaged as full-time professionals thanks to the program’s blended format
• Participants have developed their leadership capacity while embracing strategies to drive organizational growth and change
• Scholars complete the program prepared to think critically about regional challenges and opportunities
• Participants’ recently acquired expertise has led to promotions and new roles at medical and health care organizations