INTROBUD
OBJECTIVES
Introbud is an event that aims to introduce the ‘buddy system’ to all Year 1 students of the Faculty of Medicine (FPER). Introbud is a major event in the Faculty of Medicine where the buddy bonding and revealing process occurred in a formal way. The ‘buddy system’ plays a vital role in strengthening the bond among all FPER students with the aim to train leadership and collaboration skills within FPER students. In addition, ‘buddy system’ emphasized the importance of cooperation and collaboration regardless of religion and race. Besides, Introbud aimed to share information or alternative ways of facing challenges in medical school, and to share tips about striving in both academics and extracurricular.
ORGANIZER
The organizer of Introbud is the Persatuan Mahasiswa/i Fakulti Perubatan (PERSIAP). PERSIAP is an association of FPER that is responsible for the welfare and academia of students. PERSIAP is active in organising activities that help students in applications of theoretical knowledge and improvement of skills.
TARGET AUDIENCE
All year 1 students are the target audience in this event. They were introduced to PERSIAP and the ‘buddy system’, with the underlying purpose of exposing the life of a student in FPER. The students are also given a chance to familiarize themselves with the environment of Cheras Kuala Lumpur Campus and Hospital Universiti Kebangsan Malaysia throughout this event.
THE DAY OF EVENT AND THE RESULTS
“Buddy Forever, Forget You Never”
The event started off with speeches of VIPs and a gimmick video that indicated the beginning of the core sessions of the event. Year 1 students were given encouragement and advice for the future challenging life of a medical student in the first session, the motivational session. The students derived benefits from the session as they are more mentally prepared for what’s coming next and they were assured they could always seek help from their buddies or other seniors when they face challenges.
Following the motivational session, year 1 students played some games with seniors and they managed to get to know one another better. The members of the Program department of Introbud wisely planned the game so that there would be more interaction between buddies, and with less awkwardness. By doing so, the committee wished to let the buddies understand each other more, creating a friendly atmosphere between buddies and removing the gap of seniority in between.
The most pivotal part of the event took place after mini games with seniors, which was the buddy reveal session. Introductory briefing was firstly given to year 1 students on how the buddy reveal system works. Next, Year 1 students were called out to choose and answer the questions, when they managed to answer all the given questions, the contact number of their buddies will be revealed. They were to approach the buddies on their own, and found out who their buddies were. Students were having fun with the questions, some were asking students to tell jokes and make the moderator of the session laugh while some were about simple medical facts. The expressions of Year 1 students getting revealed with their own buddy were fun; some were surprised with the unexpected buddy they got, and some were joyful to get their expected buddy.
The event ended with a buddy line session in which all year 1 students had an online meeting with all their buddies in the buddy line to get to know one another and initiated the bonding among everyone in the buddy line.
For this year, the theme set for the Introbud is “Buddy Forever, Forget You Never”, where the theme implies that the bond between buddies will be strong, dynamic and unforgettable. The bonding with buddies created in year one, could possibly last until after graduating, and even after experiencing housemanship in the future. Therefore, from the theme itself, Introbud attempted to relay an important message where year one medical student should utilize and optimize the buddy system, and the buddy system is an alternative way for Year 1 medical students to approach seniors, or an individual with similar learning experience to seek guidance and support. With the buddy revealing process, we sincerely hope that everyone is satisfied with their buddy and able to get along well with their buddy throughout the journey of medical school.
