" Connect, Educate and Cultivate "
These are the 3 pillars of the Malaysian Medics International Young Medics (MMIYM) according to the president of MMI Young Medics, Lim Qi Wei.
Lim Qi Wei is a Year 1 Medical student and is also active in many extracurricular activities. From being the president of Red Crescent Society to establishing and being the chairperson of the First Aid Club in Malacca Matriculation College, Lim Qi Wei is also the current President of MMI Young Medics.
“MMI Young Medics is a student-led non-profit organisation under the Malaysian Medics International. All the branch councils and chapter councils under MMI share the same 3 pillars which is to connect, educate and cultivate. MMI Young Medics connect like-minded individuals such as medical and pre-medical students through events held which establishes a wide range of networks. To educate, we educate pre-medical students on what medical school is actually like as well as the public through Instagram page by posting infographics that can educate the public and medical students like the MHI (Mental Health Initiative). We are also very strong in advocacy and policy making. Lastly is to cultivate. This is to cultivate future doctor leaders because definitely, medicine is not all about studying but also more to management and soft skills.”
Lim Qi Wei
How it started?
When asked why did she decide to join MMI Young Medics, and how did MMI Young Medics influence her passion for medical school, she told us that it was her desk mate from high school that introduced her to this organization which reputation was still building up as MMI Young medics was only introduced in 2017. Her matriculation senior then encouraged her to be the college ambassador which made her more interested. This definitely influenced her passion for medical school as she was initially clueless. Young Medics is a platform where medical students from all over Malaysia get to join, so she took this opportunity to ask the committee members from different universities about medical life.
" When I hear them sharing their experiences in learning medicine, it really inspired me. From there, it truly enhanced my passion until I told myself this is what I want to get myself into"
Lim Qi Wei
What had she gain from MMI?
Qi Wei added that by joining MMI Young Medics, we can enhance our communication skills when speaking with different people as they are strongly event-based. As it’s a public organisation and open to the public, we often deal with outsiders.
“There was once I joined the Public Relations team, I had to liaise with speakers and local students from other universities. At that time, I was still a pre-university student. I had to brief volunteers ranging from Year 1 to Year 5 medical students, and even doctors. I was too nervous at first, but soon it helped me to step out of my comfort zone. As for, marketing and design, you learn strategy planning from a lot of marketing materials as the public can see from our Instagram page. These things you don’t learn from books, you learn by experience. I think that’s the technical part, but all in all not just Young Medics, any organisation you join, it helps to build yourself and gain confidence”
Lim Qi Wei
Advices
We also asked her advice to aspiring pre-medical students before pursuing medicine. For that she answered that they should ask themselves if this is what they really want as the reality of being in the medical field, like how much dedication and determination you need to put in to become a doctor is important.
After knowing the job prospect, the lifestyle you have to lead and plenty of research, ask yourself, is this really what you want to get yourself into. I’ve spoken to some housemen and doctors to ask about work-life balance in medical school to which all say -- there is no work-life balance as a doctor, it’s a lifestyle. To know all the realities and ask yourself that very question if you have to have a very strong mentality, to be a medical student and ultimately, a medical officer and doctor”
Lim Qi Wei
What is MMI Young Medic (MMIYM)?
%20(1).png)
MMI Young Medics is a well-structured organisation that conducts a multitude of webinars and sharing sessions regarding the pathways into medical school, life as a medical student as well as the numerous pathways in the medical field available after graduation. “For example, we have ‘Doctors in The House’ where we expose the participants to history taking because history taking is one of the first steps into becoming a doctor. Besides, we also have a networking session with medical students and TRIAGE – To React Immediately and Gauge Effectively. We have a lot of emergency scenarios, and participants have to answer the questions. And we have a lot of effects, so it’s quite interesting,”’ she added.
​
Qi Wei said that although we are all medical students, juggling between studies and organizational stuff can be very tiring. Sometimes it gets stressful but then surprisingly, working under MMIYM was never a burden to her.
​
When asked about the challenges faced while fulfilling the role as president of MMIYM, she said that one of them was the dilemma faced when she was selected as the president without even being in a committee and full understanding of the organization in the first place. However, challenges seem easy with the 24 other committee members who were really cooperative and understanding. “I have immense respect for them for their hard work. I have no regrets but feel grateful instead that I’ve been given this position because I have grown and learnt a lot from this experience”, she added.
.jpg)
“I hope that MMI Young Medics will grow bigger and better to influence more young medics, provide the platform for pre-medical students who are not sure whether medicine is right for them as well as a platform for people to connect, learn and cultivate doctor leaders. Aside from that, perhaps, MMI Young Medics can be an independent branch council since now we are still a chapter council under MMI Malaysia. Fortunately, if we are doing well in 10 years’ time, perhaps the MMI executive can grant us to be an independent organization so that the efforts built up won’t go to waste."
MMIYM Gathering <3
