SOCA students experience insightful social engagement fieldwork at Hospital Kuala Lumpur

By Szariannie Sulaiman

Fieldwork at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) involving 33 undergraduate students from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, AHAS KIRKHS took place on 9 December 2023 (Saturday). It was timely in conjunction with International Volunteer Day (IVD) celebrated on 5 December annually to acknowledge the selfless contributions of volunteers worldwide.

In keeping with this spirit, the fieldwork with the purpose of social engagement was carried out not only as an assessment for the course, SOCA4993 Medical Sociology and Anthropology, but also but also as a platform for students to engage with the community through voluntary work.  

As part of the course assessment, students were required to observe and interview individuals such as patients, their family members as well as health-care providers on ill-health related issues. Issues surrounding patients’ illness experiences such as symptoms of illnesses, provisions of support, treatment and doctor-patient relationships were emphasised. They were expected to produce a report by narrating patients’ experiences of being ill as the outcome of the fieldwork. 

This hands-on-experience allowed them to apply sociological and anthropological theories and methods beyond the classroom setting. This included practising research skills such as conducting interviews, participant observation, note-taking, analysing social dynamics within medical wards; mainly on how social factors influenced healthcare delivery and respecting cultural differences in healthcare contexts. 

Over the course of the fieldwork, students had the opportunity to attend briefings covering on topics such as, “Guidelines for Volunteering Services at the Ministry of Health Facilities” by Mr. Khairul Saleh A.B. Dullah, a Medical Social Work officer from the Department of Medical Social Work HKL; “The Roles of Nurses in Medical Wards” by the Staff Nurse of Nursing Unit HKL, Mr. Mohd Ridwan bin Taib; and, “Infection Control” by Puan Zuraidah from Infection Control Unit HKL held at Main Auditorium, HKL. Additionally, students were demonstrated on how to perform one of the standard precautionary practices properly i.e. handwashing. This is crucial to effectively stop the spread of the infection, but often taken for granted. 

The social engagement session of the fieldwork could be reflected in the ‘Santuni Pesakit’ session that took place at MHIB ward; a stepdown ward located at the first floor of the old Maternity Hospital of HKL. During the two hour session, students were actively involved in getting to know of patients in the ward assisted by MH1B nurses and a team of Briged Bakti Malaysia Wilayah Persekutuan (BBMWP) volunteers.

To many of the students, it was their first time experience visiting patients who were non-family members. They felt a bit awkward at the beginning and later adapted well to the situation. They spent time interacting with patients and assisted them with hand hygiene such as trimming fingernails. There were instances, patients expressed their excitement at receiving visitors and at being asked about their ill-health. As for students, some could not stop themselves from shedding tears after having conversations with patients. They could empathise with patients’ suffering and reflected upon their volunteering experiences.

Overall, the fieldwork had achieved its objectives. As the saying goes ‘good things grow’ and as the course instructor, I believe that the experiences gained by the students marks a good beginning for more voluntary works in future. I would like to express my appreciation to HKL, especially the Department of Medical Social Work for the opportunity and their hospitality throughout the programme. ***

(Assist. Prof. Dr. Szariannie Sulaiman is an academic in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, AbdulHamid AbuSulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences.)

Photos: