The Star Malaysia

Summit for medical students

- By STEPHANIE AERIA educate@thestar.com.my facebook.com/malaysianm­edicalstud­entsummit2­015 or www.mmss2015.malaysianm­edics.

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 malaysianm­edics@gmail.com or visit

 ??  ?? 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.
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.

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