Fifty students of UIN Sunan Kalijaga's Medical Study Program are beginning their journey as the program's first cohort. Alongside that milestone come the hopes that parents have entrusted to the faculty to accompany their children through medical education.

That hope was one of the central messages at the Parents' Meeting of UIN Sunan Kalijaga's Medical Study Program, held on Friday (9/4/2026) at the 4th-Floor Theatrical Hall of the Faculty of Medicine building. The meeting brought together the study program and parents to explain the educational process, learning system, academic regulations, and the various facilities that will support students throughout their studies.

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, dr. Murtafiqoh Hasanah, said that the process of shaping future doctors actually begins from the moment students go through the admissions selection. Selection, she explained, does not only measure academic ability, but also takes into account basic competencies, integrity, and the personality profile and psychological capacity of prospective students.

“These 50 new students of the Faculty of Medicine are, to us, truly remarkable young people. Along with them come the hopes that parents have entrusted to us,” she said.

For that reason, dr. Fika, as she is familiarly known, expressed hope that the educational process would not rest on the faculty's shoulders alone. Parental support remains essential in helping students go through the process well.

Shaping doctors with a holistic perspective

As part of UIN Sunan Kalijaga, the medical education developed by the faculty is designed with a character that goes beyond mastery of medical science alone. The faculty carries a vision of becoming an excellent and leading institution in integrating and developing Islamic studies and medical science for the advancement of civilization.

On the scientific side, dr. Fika added, the faculty is also developing a focus on preventive and health-promotive approaches to musculoskeletal disorders, particularly among the elderly.

Musculoskeletal disorders, she explained, are closely tied to human mobility. Among elderly populations, impaired mobility can have broader effects on overall health. For that reason, efforts to maintain fitness and mobility in older adults form an important part of the preventive and promotive approach being developed.

The graduate profile developed by UIN Sunan Kalijaga's Faculty of Medicine also refers to the doctor competency framework developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Students are prepared to be competent as care providers, capable of delivering comprehensive, patient-centered healthcare.

In addition, students are equipped with the ability to act as decision makers, capable of making sound clinical decisions while upholding integrity and professionalism. Competency as a communicator is also a key part of their training, enabling graduates to build effective communication with patients, families, and communities. At the same time, they are directed to develop capacity as community leaders, able to play a role in improving public health and contributing to their communities.

Learning through problems and experience

This doctor profile is then translated into a learning system prepared by the faculty in accordance with prevailing regulations.

Vice Dean for Academic Affairs of UIN Sunan Kalijaga's Faculty of Medicine, dr. Adina Silviasari, said students will follow a range of learning methods designed to build both their understanding and application of knowledge. These methods include interactive lectures, Problem Based Learning (PBL), clinical skills training, Team Based Learning (TBL), Project Based Learning (PJBL), and Self Directed Learning (SDL).

In interactive lectures, students learn alongside physicians who are experts in their respective fields. Through PBL, meanwhile, students are presented with a problem to identify, analyze, and resolve.

“What's being trained here is how to solve a problem. One tutor accompanies around 10 students, and the tutors have all completed Training of Trainers (ToT),” she said.

Clinical skills training is also part of students' education. They will practice a range of skills needed when dealing with patients, guided by instructors who have likewise undergone specialized training.

“To become a doctor, they need to be competent. It's not just about the grade, but truly about the ability to deliver a service and perform a procedure,” she said.

Because of this, students will go through a series of assessments and evaluations throughout their education to ensure the competencies achieved before advancing to the next stage, all the way to attaining competency as a doctor. To support this academic journey, the faculty has also assigned academic advisors, with each advisor overseeing five students.

Following the briefing session, parents were invited to see firsthand the learning facilities prepared by the Faculty of Medicine. Led by the Head of the Undergraduate Medical Study Program, dr. Erna, they toured the CBT (Computer-Based Testing) room, the OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) room, and a number of laboratories used to support medical education.

In the CBT room, rows of computers were neatly arranged to support computer-based learning and assessment. In the anatomy laboratory, parents saw a variety of anatomical models that allow students to study the structure of the human body in a more visual way. A number of anatomical parts were also equipped with information accessible via code scanning, allowing students to obtain explanations about the part being studied.

Similar facilities were seen in other laboratories, each equipped according to its specific learning needs, including the biochemistry, physiology, microbiology and parasitology, histology and anatomical pathology, pharmacology, biomolecular, and public health laboratories. In the OSCE room, simulation spaces are available with manikins and various medical equipment to support students' clinical skills training.

Learning readiness does not stop at the facilities available on campus. To support clinical education, the faculty has also established a network of healthcare facilities where students will gain hands-on learning experience in the field. This network includes various hospitals across the Special Region of Yogyakarta as well as community health centers (puskesmas) in cooperation with the regional health office. RSUP and RSPAU dr. Soeradji are among the main facilities prepared to support students' clinical learning process.

For Amelia, one of the parents, seeing the facilities firsthand strengthened her confidence in the decision to enroll her child in UIN Sunan Kalijaga's Medical Study Program.

Even though her child will be part of the very first cohort, she said she felt no hesitation.

“I don't feel any doubt at all about enrolling my child at this top-ranked State Islamic Higher Education Institution (PTKIN). The facilities and infrastructure are more than adequate, and the human resources are excellent too,” Amelia said.

She added that there is something else that makes medical education at UIN Sunan Kalijaga appealing. In her view, the integration of Islamic studies and medical science can serve as a foundation for students to grow into doctors who are not only professionally competent, but who also possess spiritual depth and integrity.

For UIN Sunan Kalijaga's Faculty of Medicine, these 50 students mark the beginning of a long journey. The Parents' Meeting, therefore, served as a space to build a shared understanding and vision. (humassk)