Need help to determine whether medical school is the right pathway for you? 

We at MMI Young Medics (MMIYM) understand the challenges pre-medical students face in their decision-making processes and whether pursuing the medical field is the right choice. As the frontier in the COVID-19 pandemic, medicine uncovered sensitive yet realistic events such as #CodeBlackMY and Hartal Doktor Kontrak.Hence, while some of you are in dilemmas, second-guessing your capabilities and interests, we present to you, Making An Informed Decision (MAID) 2023. MAID 2023 is a two-day hybrid event held on the 25th and 26th of March 2023 organised by MMIYM. The MAID Physical event is a collaborative effort with our counterparts from PERSIAP UKM, a prominent medical school union in UKM. We aim to provide participants with valuable insights into the medical field and life in medical school.

MAID 2023 Online Day (25th March)

Simulated Emergency: T.R.I.A.G.E. : 

An interactive competitive-based session which aims to equip participants with basic medical concepts useful for emergency situations had been conducted. Participants discussed and made their decisions as a team in order to propose the best first-aid steps to rescue the casualties. This session also highlighted the importance of teamwork and communication while working as medical practitioners in the future.

Networking Session:

A short bonding session was executed to break the ice between the participants. In this session, Scavenger Hunt and Scribble.Io were conducted to stimulate interaction and communication between the PBL group members. Participants had a great time connecting with like-minded people here, which helped them broaden their network, which is paramount as doctors in the future.

Negotiation Game: 

In this game, our main aim is to highlight the importance of communication in the medical field. Participants negotiated with other groups to obtain first-aid equipment that was most suitable for the emergency scenario given to them. To achieve the best negotiation outcome, they also had to consider the others’ needs and try to prioritise equipment distribution based on the degree of injuries. Besides, they also gained first-hand experience on how to find the best alternatives for the casualties, helping them to deal with problems they might encounter in the future, such as a shortage of necessary resources.

Keynote Speech: 

We are proud to have Dr. George Lee, Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at Monash University and Consultant Urological Surgeon from Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre, KL, as our keynote speaker in MAID 2023. With the speech entitled ‘Unleash the Doctor in You: The Mindset of Med School’, Dr. George shared the inspiring journey of his pursuit of a medical career where he faced multiple challenges to get to where he is today.

Closing Ceremony: It was our honour to listen to Dr. Tan Guo Jeng, Medical Lecturer at the University of Malaya and Medical Doctor from the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), delivering a closing ceremony speech titled ‘The Reality of Pursuing Medicine’. In his speech, he discussed the realities doctors face inside and outside the medical field, including the challenges and rewards along the journey. He also presented an overview of the possible career pathways in the medical field.

MAID 2023 Physical Day (26th March)

Faculty of Medicine Tour, UKM:

Our counterparts, the committees of PERSIAP UKM guided the participants on a tour around the campus. They introduced the participants to facilities around Faculty of Medicine, UKM such as the Anatomy Museum, Paediatrics Specialist Hospital, Libraries and so forth. This excited our participants who get to see the core and soul of a medical school. We hope that the tour not only gave an in-depth view of facilities around a medical school but also motivated them to be medical students in the future.

Doctors In The House (DITH):

In DITH, we taught and provided participants with a first-hand opportunity on performing basic history-taking which is an essential skill for a medical practitioner. They were given a few interesting clinical cases where they are tasked to take the histories of their patient and make a diagnosis. We also provided them with feedback for improvement which gave them an upper hand when they join the medical field in the near future.

Clinical Skills Session: 

We aimed to give the participants an early experience of the clinical skills they require in the medical field. There were clinical skills covered in this session, which were auscultation, blood pressure monitoring, CPR skills, pulse oximeter and hand hygiene. Our MMIYM and PERSIAP UKM members led them throughout this session as they learned from first-hand experience.

Sharing Session with Medical Students: 

While wanting to know how it is being a medical student, nothing beats getting hearing it first-hand from medical students themselves. In our Sharing Session with Medical Students, we invited five medical students from local public and private universities. They were Ms Brenda Cheong Kar Wen, Mr Hwong Jin Lok, Mr Ong Ghee Khang and Mr Haree Ram. In the session, participants were provided with an in-depth overview of the course structure in different medical schools, including the mode of learning, sequence of the syllabus, subjects learned and exam structure. The sharing session was the golden information many pre-medical students yearn to know when choosing medical schools that suit them.

Conclusion:

We are proud to wrap this event up on a positive note. We at MMIYM hope that MAID 2023 has given participants a greater understanding of what it is like in the medical field and medical school. Last but not least, we would like to extend our greatest appreciation to our main collaborator, PERSIAP UKM, guest speakers, medical volunteers, sponsors and participants who all played significant roles in making MAID 2023 a success.