IMU students present poster at 40th MPA

KYLIE Yong Sze Tyng is one of four IMU medical students, who attended the Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA) 40th Annual Congress 2018 with the theme ‘Marginalised Children, Addressing the Needs’. The congress was held from 5 to 8 September 2018 in Ipoh.

Students who were active in IMU Cares projects were encouraged to take this opportunity to attend the congress and exhibit their work in a scientific and structured method as the theme of the congress was very appropriate and in line with IMU Cares projects.

This is a programme that has grown into an important part of the University life, providing means for students and staff to engage with the community beyond the University. Kylie shares with us her experience at the Congress.

“Having the opportunity to attend the 40th Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA) Annual Congress 2018: Marginalised Children – Addressing the Needs, Leaving No Child Behind Towards SDG conference as a medical student was an eye-opener for me.

It was unquestionably a hugely positive professional learning experience from preparing, designing the poster and presenting to a group of paediatricians with an array of knowledge.

This conference has definitely allowed me to reflect on and expand my thoughts about the lifelong medical practice.

As a medical student, we are learning about the scientific side of medicine most of the time but through this multitude of new experiences, I learnt about humanities and the art of medicine again.

My perspectives have broadened, and I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my advisors, Dr Ong JunJean and Datuk Dr Soo Thian Lian for all their guidance and support.”

“My poster topic is Anemia among Malaysian Indians and Myanmar Refugees: A Comparison of Two Communities of Children. Both marginalised communities of children are receiving assistance in the form of education and healthcare from our university’s very own project – IMU Cares.

Our work was not as perfect as I wanted it to be, but I am glad that I was able to interact and receive feedback from the experienced medical professionals for improvement.”

There were a lot of interesting sessions going on the conference and the topics that interested me were mainly about social welfare and humanities such as Child Protection, The Abused Child and Supporting Our Immigrant Children.

These panel sessions addressing the underlying real issues facing by the marginalised communities in Malaysia.

I am truly amazed by the dedication and compassion of the activists and NGOs. Efforts of reaching out to marginalized community are on-going, but more help is needed and awareness in both the public and healthcare sectors need to be raised.

At IMU, students who are studying medicine have the option to complete the entire degree in IMU or study the first two and a half years of the degree in IMU and transfer to one of its more than 20 partner universities in Australia, UK, Ireland or Canada for completion of the medical programme.

These international partnerships mean that the IMU curriculum has been developed to meet these universities’ high international standards.

The medical curriculum is not only benchmarked to meet high international standards but also provides a pathway for our graduates to train and work in the United States with the incorporation of the USMLE Step 1 Preparatory Course into the IMU medical curriculum across Semesters 1 to 5.

This is to allow future medical graduates to begin early preparation and be competent to sit for USMLE Step 1 examination that carves a path towards United States residency opportunities.

As a medical student in IMU, you will get clinical exposure as early as Semester 1. The aim of the clinical exposure is to ensure that students gain sufficient skills before transferring to the clinical years.

If you complete the entire degree locally in IMU, you will undergo an intensive six-month Senior Clerkship at Hospital Batu Pahat or Hospital Kluang in Semester 10, working in wards under the supervision of senior clinicians.

This early clinical exposure and intensive Senior Clerkship will better prepare you for patient care and housemanship training. This will then enable you to become better doctors.

Intakes for this programme are in February and August of each year. If you are interested in this medical programme, make an online application today.

For more information, please refer to www.imu.edu.my or email: start@imu. edu.my or call IMU at 03-2731 7272.