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| A Malaysian medical student
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| Tuesday
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Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States
A Malaysian medical student in London learns crucial lessons outside the classroom.
WHEN asked about my childhood, my mum would fondly describe me as “an inquisitive little girl who couldn’t sit still”.
I would bombard her with questions and was always thinking of something to do.
These two traits eventually led me to pursue a career in medicine, to find out more about how the human body works, while getting involved in various activities along the way.
During my younger days, I developed an interest for story-telling and speech competitions. My favourite activity was the trilingual elocution contest, in which I had to deliver the same speech in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin.
My parents were very supportive and never tired of being my audience! Their encouragement helped pave the way for success. Winning was great but I felt more privileged that, as a Malaysian, I had the opportunity to be effectively trilingual.
My love for languages spilled into writing.
The local newspaper in my hometown used to have a column for teenagers to send in short stories. The best story of the week would be published in its Sunday edition and earn the winner RM20 worth of Kentucky Fried Chicken vouchers (worth loads to an 11-year-old then
I remember how delighted I was to see an envelope of the red and white vouchers arriving in the post for me. There was also tremendous satisfaction in treating my family to a nice KFC meal.
A decade later, I found myself in a foreign country halfway around the globe. Not wanting to feel homesick, I took up a part-time job to meet more friends.
I worked as a sandwich artist at a fast food outlet located in campus. Most of the part-time staff there were university students taking different courses, from German to politics. I got to know the locals as well as people from other cultures.
I was happy to learn about other cultures and was proud to tell them about Malaysia. It dawned on me that students not only learn from teachers and lecturers; we also learn from each other.
This prompted me to help establish the Save a Baby’s Life Society (SaBL) in my university. Under the society, medical students receive training from the Royal Life Saving Society and then go out to the community to teach basic life support to parents and care-givers of babies.
As these sessions were held at community centres or nurseries, I was one of those designated to transport the baby manikins and refreshments to those venues.
I also had to help raise funds for SaBL, which I found quite challenging at first.
One interesting event we had was a Medics’ Scrubs Pubs Crawl, during which some of the committee members dressed up in scrubs, and armed with a money bucket in one hand and a baby manikin on the hip, we ploughed through a trail of pubs in Manchester collecting donations.
Earlier this year, the British Council organised a competition for students to submit an essay on the things that have made their time in the United Kingdom exciting and rewarding.
I had submitted an essay and was ecstatic when I was announced the winner. These were activities that I enjoyed and I was grateful that the British Council recognised them in such a spectacular way.
Drawing from this experience, I appreciated the importance of accessing opportunities and making the most of them.
The benefits I reaped were plenty: I learnt about people, different cultures, fund-raising, and how to earn and manage my own money, and communicate effectively.
Most importantly, I discovered more about myself.
I realised my weaknesses, but also what I am capable of. For instance, I missed Malaysian food a lot, and when you can’t buy it, you learn to make it!
I learned to make my very own assam laksa and kuih seri muka from scratch — something I didn’t think I could achieve before leaving home.
Many employers would not hesitate to agree that while academic qualifications are essential, “soft skills” are equally desirable. These skills are often learnt outside the classroom.
For instance, if you are part of a sports team, you learn to become a team player, which leads to working with colleagues in a professional manner.
If you’re a prefect, you learn leadership and management skills. If you work part time, you manage multiple priorities and develop adaptability.
It might sound daunting to juggle study commitments and extra-curricular activities. However, I believe that with a bit of planning, everyone can achieve what she sets out to do.
I wish fellow students every success in their journey in the classroom and beyond.(source)
Foreign-Trained Nurse-Learn how to work as a nurse in the United States |
posted by blogger @ 18:00
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