PdP Portfolio

My Journey as a Medical Educator: Shaping Future Doctors Through Medical Education

My profile summary

I am Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norwati Daud, a Family Medicine Specialist and Medical Educationist with more than 20 years of experience in clinical practice, undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, curriculum development, assessment, and academic leadership. Since beginning her academic career at Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2006 and subsequently joining Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) in 2015, she has remained committed to producing competent, compassionate, and patient-centred medical graduates.

Throughout my career, I have taught a wide range of medical courses, particularly Family Medicine (BMM42304), Peripheral Medicine (BMM42910), and Medical Ethics & Professionalism (BMM53804) within the MBBS programme. My teaching reaches approximately 60 medical students annually across these courses.

I am a strong advocate of student-centred and experiential learning and have produced numerous educational innovations, including flipped classroom models, digital learning platforms using Padlet, Scratch-based clinical reasoning animations, educational videos, audio podcasts, task-oriented logbooks, and interactive e-books such as e-Clinipractice and I-Persona. These innovations have enhanced student engagement, self-directed learning, and authentic clinical skill development.

My experience in medical education is reflected through educational publications, conference presentations, innovation outputs, and grant-linked learning resources that contribute to the advancement of teaching and learning in medicine. My work has received significant recognition, including the Best Mode Blended Learning Experience Award (UniCeL 2018), multiple Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals in innovation and e-learning competitions at institutional and national levels.

Beyond teaching, I have hold posts such as as Coordinator of Quality Assurance, Head of Medical Education for the MBBS Programme and Head of the Department of Medical Education and Health Professions Education at Faculty of Medicine, UniSZA. My leadership experience has strengthened curriculum quality, educational innovation and academic excellence, contributing significantly to the development of future healthcare professionals.

My journey in medicine and education has been shaped by many meaningful experiences, as a doctor, a Family Medicine specialist, a lecturer and a medical educationist.

I began my medical journey at the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom, where I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine and Surgery in 1997. Those early years gave me a strong foundation in clinical practice, but more importantly, they introduced me to the values that continue to guide me today: professionalism, compassion, communication, and patient-centred care.

After graduation, I served as a medical officer in several hospitals, including Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Hospital Kota Bharu, and Hospital Pasir Mas. Working in different clinical settings helped me understand patients from many backgrounds and walks of life. These experiences taught me that good medical care is not only about making the right diagnosis or giving the right treatment. It is also about listening, understanding, communicating clearly, and caring for the person behind the illness. These lessons later became very important in the way I teach medical students.

My interest in Family Medicine and teaching gradually became stronger, and this led me to pursue a Master’s Degree in Family Medicine at Universiti Sains Malaysia. I completed the programme in 2006 and began my academic career as a medical lecturer at the Department of Family Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. This was the point where my role as a clinician expanded into my role as an educator.

At USM, I had the opportunity to teach and guide both undergraduate and postgraduate students. I was entrusted as the coordinator for the undergraduate Family Medicine Posting and also the coordinator for the postgraduate Master of Medicine in Family Medicine programme. These roles gave me valuable exposure to many aspects of medical education, including planning teaching activities, supervising students, coordinating assessments, supporting postgraduate trainees and being involved in examination processes. Through these experiences, I began to appreciate that teaching medicine requires not only knowledge and experience but also planning, patience, feedback, reflection and continuous improvement.

In 2015, I joined the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin as a lecturer in Family Medicine. This new chapter allowed me to continue doing what I enjoy most, that is teaching future doctors and helping students connect what they learn in the classroom with real patients, families, and communities. As a Family Medicine lecturer, I believe that students should not only learn clinical facts, but also develop empathy, professionalism, communication skills, and a sense of responsibility towards the community.

My interest in teaching and learning continued to grow, and I decided to strengthen it further by pursuing a Master’s Degree in Medical Education at Universiti Sains Malaysia, which I completed in 2020. This experience helped me look at teaching in a more structured and meaningful way. I learned more about curriculum design, student assessment, feedback, reflective learning and how to support students more effectively. It also encouraged me to think more deeply about how students learn, why some students struggle and how educators can create better learning experiences.

At UniSZA, I was also given opportunities to contribute through several leadership roles in education. I served as Coordinator for Quality at the Faculty of Medicine from 2016 to 2018, Coordinator and Head of Medical Education for the MBBS Programme from 2019 to 2021, and Coordinator of the Department of Medical Education and Health Professional from 2021 to 2023. These roles allowed me to be involved not only in teaching, but also in improving the teaching and learning environment at the faculty level. They helped me understand the importance of teamwork, academic quality, curriculum coordination and continuous improvement in medical education.

In 2022, I began another learning journey by enrolling in a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at Open University Malaysia. I chose to do this because I wanted to understand people better, both my patients and my students. As educators, we often focus on what students need to know, but I believe it is equally important to understand how they think, what motivates them, what challenges them and how we can support their growth as future doctors.

Looking back, my career has not been a straight line, but a journey of continuous learning. I started as a doctor, became a Family Medicine specialist, grew into a medical lecturer, took on educational leadership roles, and continue to learn as a student myself. Each stage has shaped the way I teach. Today, my goal is to help produce doctors who are not only knowledgeable and clinically competent, but also compassionate, reflective, ethical and ready to serve the community.