Chan Weng Kit's Blogspot: November 2018

Nov 18

1) It was something that I had always dreamed of, but never thought would come. As I attended my first PMCSA Farewell Dinner (as a volunteer) two years ago, I was filled with envy for my seniors, who were on the verge of completing their pre-clinical years here in RCSI, and would return to complete their remaining clinical years in Penang, Malaysia. I wanted time to pass faster as I had my fair share of problems then. The cold bitterness of winter, coupled with personal problems made me long for home.

2) Only then did I realise the importance of friends. Back at home, I always had my family to rely on, to fall back to when I had problems. But living abroad - that was a completely new chapter in my life, as I needed time to adapt. And adapt I did, gradually. Fast forward two years, and here I am - sitting in the same chair as the seniors (metaphorically of course XD), attending our very own Farewell Dinner. And how times have changed.

3) Through my blog (or should I say in spite of my blog), I've made so many new friends, and I've gotten much better at sharing my problems and helping each other out. My loathe for the winter cold pales in comparison to the warmth and kindness shown by my friends, and my initial desire to return home quickly has turned to wishing time could slow down - to allow me more time to cherish my final moments here in Dublin.

4) It is true I still have a month or so before I leave, and a lot more to accomplish before going back. Exams are the final hurdles in what has been an explosive semester, one that started off as a bang and has only increased in scale and magnitude. But as exams are important, so too, are memories. Memories are what I would look back to in the future, and memories are what keeps my smile going. And memories are what drove me to write a poem for our Farewell Dinner yesterday.

5) It was in the days leading up to our REGUB exam, that I decided to draft out a poem for the upcoming event. I had just watched an episode of QI (Quite Interesting) on YouTube, where the theme was "limericks". I decided to base my poem on just that, adding a personal touch to it by including many of our professors and lecturers in it. It was 1 full night of my best time (which I could use for studying or sleeping), but it was time well spent indeed.

6) As for the Farewell Dinner itself, it was spectacular. The PMCSA Organising Committee did an amazing job with the overall event, from the decor to the food, and the complementary gifts we each received. It was truly a night to remember, and it was certainly fitting that if I were to present a poem to anyone, it would be at this event. I shall cherish the memories made, the wonderful ups, and the not-so-wonderful downs, that have moulded me into who I am today.

7) The theme of the event was "A Midsummer Night's Dream" - and it truly felt like a dream. But as all dreams come to an end, so too must I wake up - for my exams! Coming soon in less than two weeks. That's it for my blog post, but do enjoy the many pictures we took of the event, and have a great week ahead. Cheers! :D

The leaving PMC Medicine Class of 2021

With Dr. Jane Holland - our Anatomy Lecturer whose rendition of "Hallelujah" could easily have been mistaken for a professional opera singer's!

#ourlecturersarebtterthanyours

With Dr. Fidelma Fitzpatrick - Consultant Microbiologist at Beaumont Hospital, and Senior Lecturer at RCSI. I first met her during prep for the "Antimicrobial Resistance" debate for Research Summer School last year, and she's been teaching us microbiology since IC1. A true legend.

With Ms. Judith Gilroy - Associate Director for Academic Affairs - Student, Academic and Regulatory Affairs (SARA)

Beaumont Buddies! Canteen Companions! Bichie Bros! (the last one is just shameless advertising for Richie and Barry XD)

(l-r: Richie, Hazel, Myself, Andy, Zi Yan, Barry)

With Chloe, who hails from China :)

With Kaung Sett - congratz and all the best with your new role as Student Ambassador for

Education in Ireland! :)

From l-r: Melvin, Melissa, Myself, Jing Er, Esther, Zi Yan

With Richie "Bichie Bros" Hogan!

With Ice, Alison, Zi Yan and Myself :)

With some of the wonderful JC juniors

With Claire - RCSI Cancer Soc Co-President, SU Vice President and Education Officer, and a wonderful friend :)

I'll miss all of you guys when I go back! :'(

With my good friend an all-round great guy Hussain Sajwani ^^

With the irreplaceable Lai - a HUGE thank you for helping make this event so successful!

With Razleena Aida :)

With Ruth and Sarita :))

With Marris and Zi Weei - brilliant event guys!!

Friends Forever!

From l-r: Nee Kee, Khee Heng, Stephanie, Mateen, Jun Sing, Myself, Zi Yan

Our table of the night - gonna miss you guys!!

Nov 4-17

1) Time for a much needed update of my blog. I've noticed that the length between each blog post can be used as a yardstick for how busy I am at the moment. Which obviously would indicate that I am up to my neck with work. I'll try to summarise the things I've done in the past two weeks or so.

2) On Nov 3, Malaysian Medics International Ireland (MMII) organised a Research Symposium at the Trinity Biomedical Science Institute (TBSI). I was privileged to be invited to present my research project(s) at the event, as well as being on the panel for a discussion session on lab-based research vs clinical research, along with other professional researchers/doctors. There was a huge turnout (it's Trinity so yeah XD), and I was very happy with the enthusiasm shown by the future student researchers. The panel discussion was awesome as well, moderated by Eunice, who did a great job distilling the many questions that the audience had regarding research. Most of them who came had little research experience and were looking for tips and advice on how and where to begin with research.

3) On Nov 5, we had our REGUB (Renal, Endocrine, Genitourinary and Breast) exam. It was raining in the morning, and I had to run to a different bus stop to catch an earlier bus to the main campus. It didn't help that the bus stop provided no shade from the rain. Anyway, I made it to college with time to spare, got myself a large cup of coffee, and with my veins pumped with caffeine I sat for the paper. Done and dusted. I was unproductive for the rest of the day, but that's just the side effects of the caffeine wearing off I guess XD

4) On Nov 7, my good friend Zi Yan and I went for the "Run In The Dark" event. There were two options - 5km or 10km, and we opted for the longer distance. The temperature at night wasn't as cold as it was for the marathon, and I was really glad to finish without stopping (thus partially redeeming myself for the full marathon XD). We collected our goodie bags, and stayed behind to get some KFC. That was the end of the night for us, and we went back home soon after.

5) On Nov 10, Zi Yan and I attended a SafeTALK training course, organised by the AMSI RCSI (Association of Medical Students Ireland). The talk focussed on suicide prevention, and how to be alert and spot "invitations" which are the signs that someone may be considering suicide as an option. It also aimed to get everyone talking about mental health, and to move away from considering it a taboo subject. I found the talk very helpful, as the presenter had been through this harrowing experience themselves.

6) On Nov 16 (i.e. this morning as I'm typing this), we had our OSCE examinations in Beaumont. Three systems were covered this semester - gastrointestinal (GI), lower limb (LL) neurological sensory, and LL neurological motor, respectively. We had five minutes to perform the entire examination, so the day before, my friends and I practiced the night away. I was the first batch examined this morning, and was very happy indeed to have passed well. The OSCEs in Intermediate Cycle are pass/fail, so the strategy would be not to fail, rather than perform flawlessly.

7) Now that I've covered everything that has passed, I'll share with you everything ahead. Tomorrow (Nov 17), PMCSA is organising a Farewell Dinner for the students leaving for Penang (i.e. us) at the end of the semester. It will be a tear-jerking moment for us as we part ways with our peers, friends and colleagues for the past 2.5 years. But as all good things must come to an end, that doesn't mean we have to be all sad about it. Thus, I've made the decision to dedicate a poem to everyone at RCSI, to remember and treasure the memories we made, and to remind everyone that this not a goodbye, but rather a see you again soon.

8) On Nov 23, RCSI Cancer Society is having a Bake Sale in conjunction with Movember - which aims to promote men's health and fund research on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and suicide. It is a great cause, and we even have a competition on growing a mo' (moustache) for the entire month. Zi Yan and I are one of the eight teams participating, so if you'd like to support us (please do) you're more than welcome to donate to this link (https://www.gofundme.com/v25pxh-movember). Just make sure to indicate in the "Leave a Comment" section which team you are voting for. The end goal is the same though - all proceeds will go to the Movember Foundation. So what are you waiting for - donate to the Running Mo's! ^^

9) On Nov 26, we will have our CNSLF (Central Nervous System, Locomotor, Forensics) module exams, which thankfully, are in Beaumont. It will be another harrowing week for us, as the following week is our end-of-semester exams. To make matters worse, we have practically ONE day in between each of our exams, and we have both MCQs (multiple choice) and SNQs (short notes) to cover. That will be one heck of a week for us, and you can expect me to be in the library ALL DAY LONG for that.

10) Following our end-of-semester exams (which end on Dec 12), I will have 3 days break before I must bid Dublin farewell to return to Malaysia - capping off an incredible 836 days spent abroad! That would summarise the events for myself, and for the next couple of weeks, I may find it difficult to post regular updates on my blog due to the mounting pressure of exams etc, so do bear with me. That's about it for this edition of my blog post, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Have a nice weekend, cheers! :D

P.S. A TONNE OF PHOTOS COMING YOUR WAY, SO DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT SCROLLING DOWN FIRST. CHEERS! :)

Thank you very much MMII for having me over to present my research experience!

(at Trinity Biomedical Science Institute)

Certificate ^^

Turnout was great - really happy with the overall planning and organising!

From l-r: Desmond Chua (4th year UCD), Myself (3rd year RCSI), Dr Roshaida Abdul Wahab (PhD Candidate UCD), Dr Wan Mahmood (Specialist in General Medicine, Diabetes and Endocrinology), Dr. Arimin Mat (Research Fellow in Endocrinology UCD), Eunice Lim (Moderator, 4th year UCD)