Summit for medical students

Connect and cultivate: Khor hopes that through MMSS, they can connect them to medical students across Malaysia and cultivate a sense of ownership to their career..

THE stress that medical students go through isn’t something to joke about. It’s tough, and Khor Zhong Wei had friends who failed a year and had to repeat the whole process again.

“I know some students who took prescription drugs just to handle their anxiety.

“Some broke down, got depressed and locked themselves in a room,” adds the third year medical student from the International Medical University.

Medical students need to keep abreast of the latest developments in the local healthcare industry and acquire essential information before embarking on their profession.

How do they cope with what is needed and prepare themselves for the real world? This is where Malaysian Medics International (MMI) feel they can play a role.

Set up in 2013 as a non-profit association by medical undergraduates, the MMI is organising a two-day forum and exhibition that features keynote addresses by a distinguished panel of medical experts and leading figures from the country’s healthcare and medical education institutions.

Known as the inaugural 2015 Malaysian Medical Students Summit (MMSS 2015), it will cover important topics that challenge medical students, ranging from housemanship, specialty training, research opportunities and recent public healthcare policies and implementation. It will be held on Aug 1 and 2.

Khor, 22, who is MMSS organising chairman, said the motto is to connect and cultivate.

“We want to connect medical students across Malaysia,” he added.

The summit, he added, is to promote knowledge sharing and facilitate dialogue between medical students with both the private medical sector and public healthcare authorities on issues related to the country’s healthcare system.

He said well qualified professionals will be sharing their knowledge at the summit.

“As an example, we have Prof Datuk Paduka Mafauzy Mohamed from Universiti Sains Malaysia. He will speak on healthcare policy and the Malaysian Medical Licensing Examination,” he said.

Universiti Malaya Faculty of Medicine dean Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman said the summit will enable medical students to better understand the country’s medical system and learn about the diverse professional opportunities that are available.

“It is an ideal platform to share knowledge and exchange ideas on the future of the medical profession,” said Prof Adeeba, who is MMSS patron.

Besides the medical summit, there will also be an exhibition by charity associations and non-governmental organisations in healthcare.

There will also be a medical research poster competition. Other events include a national-level medical oral quiz competition and round table discussions to encourage inter-varsity student interaction.

The participation fee for the two-day summit is RM70.

For more information and to register, e-mail [e-mail] or visit facebook.com/malaysianmedicalstudentsummit2015 or www.mmss2015.malaysianmedics.org.