Mataram, University of Mataram – Faculty of Medicine opened a Marine Medicine Specialist Study Program and University of Mataram is the only university in Indonesia that provides this major.

Dean of Faculty of Medicine Unram, Prof. dr. Hamsu Kadriyan stated that the reason for the establishment of the Specialist Medical Study Program was because of Indonesia’s position as a maritime country where most of its territory is ocean.

“Of course, with the country of Indonesia consisting of islands which figure about 65 percent is ocean and the rest is land. So that, the potential should be what we strengthen. One of them is the existence of specialist doctors in Indonesia” he said.

He said that the establishment of this study program is in line with President Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi) program which made Indonesia the world’s maritime center.

Based on dr. Hamsu opinion, Indonesia is flanked by two oceans (Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean) and two continents (Asian Continent and the Australian Continent). Therefore, the government which under the leadership of Jokowi decided to orchestrating a step to make Indonesia became the maritime center in the word.

To support this plan, of course we require sea transfromation infrastructure both on the surface and in the sea, such as passenger ships, cargo ships and fishing vessels.

Moreover, based on data from the Central Statistics Agency in 2021, it showed that the fisheries sector contributes 2.7 percent of Indonesia’s gross domestic product where the leading sector is captureing fisheries. This reflects that the population involved in these activities is very large.

“So, the existence of marine medicine specialists is vital to support the existence of residents which is involved in the fisheries sector and all underwater activities,” said Prof. Hamsu.

The Professor of the Faculty of Medicine admitted that before the existence of the Marine Medicine Specialist Study Program, all activities in the islands so far were served by a general practitioner who obtained certification from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia.

However, they are overwhelmed because the vast and fisheries area of marine and and shipping activities. For this reason, University of Mataram through the Faculty of Medicine views this as an opportunity where the Faculty of Medicine Unram now has a total of 106 lecturers.

“Their education is mostly doctors who also we seconded to government hospitals as specialists,” he explained.

He continued to explaine about the acceptence of Marine Medicine Specialist Study Perogram. There were six students who were accepted in Marine Medicine Specialist Study Program each year and three students in each semseter.

“Why do we give the limit for the number of Marine Medicine Specialist students at the Faculty of Medicine Unram. This is more on the side of quality and competence because the concerns are in the number of rooms and infrastructure to support the teacher”. said Prof. Hamsu.

It is particular to regular students, Faculty of Medicine University of Mataram accepted about 200 students in 2023. Whereas, in the previous year Faculty of Medicine university of Mataram accepted 150 students.

Generally, the students come from 18 provinces in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the accreditation of Faculty of Medicine Unram is A. The competency test of Unram Medical student is in the top 10 nationally.

“For each aggregate, the average graduation of our students at the national level. Alhamdulillah, Faculty of Medicine Unram quite often ranked second and third nationally, “said Prof. Hamsu.

He added that, this year Faculty of Medicine Unram also began to open international classes where the students who have registered come from Egypt, Syria, and Palestine.

“These internasional students would have enrolled in the University of Mataram two years ago. But due to COVID-19, their departure was delayed. But, InsyaAllah, this year we will welcome them. Moreover, the Rector has started to build a representative building for students who are now in the process of completion,” he said.