Chan Weng Kit's Blogspot: DAY 536

Feb 18

1) The three-day International Conference for Healthcare and Medical Students (ICHAMS) 2018 had begun, and I was presenting a research poster on the last day. I had to leave very early in the morning to catch a bus to town (Eden Quay), and walk all the way to RCSI to register. The conference team took my poster away for storage, while I took my goodie bag and met up with my friends. We had a couple of sessions today - 2 Oral Sessions, a Keynote Speech, a Poster Session, and a Workshop (which we had to sign up for as there were several choices).

2) Joshua started the ball rolling with his research on colorectal cancer, which he did under the supervision of Dr. Sudipto Das. We had a short break at 11.00am for tea, after which Zi Yan had his oral presentation. After that it was a key note session, followed by lunch and refreshments. I stayed for the poster session in the afternoon, which consisted of two judges with a student timekeeper. We were given 3 minutes to present, and 2 minutes for questions. As my poster was on the next day, I could enjoy watching the other candidates present their findings.

3) The last event of the day was the Workshop session - divided into 6 types, "Communications", "Alpha 1", "Suturing", "GP Skills", "US/Critical Care", and "RCSI Tour". I had signed up for GP Skills, which took place in the New Academic Building. We were rotated through five different stations - venipuncture, urinalysis, ECG, fundoscopy, and otoscopy. All in all a very informative session! I learnt so much from each session; my only gripe being that it lasted but for an hour.

4) After dismissal, I went over to the Dispensary to wait for our friends to arrive. We were going to the Dublin Kopitiam to celebrate Chinese New Year 2018! As this was my first time, we decided to walk there together, and meet up with the rest. The night was cold and drizzling, but the atmosphere was great - as we talked and ate the night away. Approaching 10pm, we were told that the shop would be closing soon, so it was time to pack up and leave. Looking back, I cannot believe how fast time flies - it has been two Chinese New Years that I've missed now, but the next one will be back with my family and relatives. On to the next day's events then, in the next blog update. Stay tuned, cheers! :)