Medical student wins RCPA scholarship
THIRD-YEAR medical student Edward Tan Hong Swo from the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, was recently awarded the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) Scholarship in Pathology.
The A$1,000 (RM3,180) scholarship will go towards research for Tan’s project Alcohol-in-action.
Throughout the 12 week-long project, Tan will be working under the supervision of Associate Prof Dr Khoo Joon Joon and Associate Prof Dr Subathra Sabaratnam.
“I am very fortunate to have two very experienced pathologists as my supervisors.
“They have both played important roles in helping me refine and materialise my idea for this project,” said Tan.
He shared that it was their encouragement and guidance that pushed him to success.
He also enthused that working on this project will be an enjoyable experience as it will allow him to explore the field he is most interested in – pathology.
Alcohol-in-action aims to educate medical students on the long-term effects of alcohol on the human body.
According to Tan, the project will be in the form of a video tutorial with comprehensive audio visual illustration and pictorial diagrams.
“These days, chronic alcoholism is a common issue among patients and it can lead to a variety of serious medical problems.
“Every budding doctor should have good knowledge of alcoholism and its effects, which will be helpful during patient counselling,” he said.
Dr Khoo of the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Biology is a firm advocate of promoting pathology among young medical undergraduates and expressed her gratitude to RCPA for giving out scholarships that encourage students’ interest in the discipline.
“I congratulate Edward and am very happy for him. His interest in pathology has paid off with his winning project proposal.
“I know the project will be useful for future doctors and it will encourage more students to be interested in pathology,” Dr Khoo said.
RCPA is a medical organisation that promotes science and the practice of pathology in relation to medicine, with members in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
To encourage research on pathology and ancillary sciences, RCPA has offered annual scholarships worth A$2,000 (RM6,360) to students pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine or equivalent degree course in the parent medical school of every university in Australia and New Zealand.
In addition, a scholarship worth A$1,000 is available at universities in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Fiji.
For more information on the medicine programme at Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, log on to www.med.monash.edu.my.