Life As A
Multitasking Medical Student
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Being a medical student alone is not easy because of the large volume of materials to study and the stress that comes along not to mention bearing other responsibilities at the same time. My partner, Ong Jia Xuan, and I had the honour of interviewing Roderick Lau Ngee Giek, a year 4 medical student, in order to learn more about the life of being a multitasking medical student.
Roderick held the Public Relation position in Asian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) UKM back in the first year of his medical student life. He was then offered the Honorary Treasurer position in AMSA Malaysia in second year and continued his duty as Honorary Treasurer in the third year despite being selected as the President of AMSA UKM. Because of his contribution in AMSA, he was offered a position in the Marketing and Sponsorship department in AMSA International. However, Roderick decided to shift all his focus to his studies for the time being, so he is currently not holding any positions in the AMSA UKM or AMSA Malaysia.
Roderick first shared with us some of his experiences in AMSA. He claimed that the best experience throughout the years being part of AMSA is his first ever physical event in AMSA, which is the Annual General Meeting held in the Faculty of Medicine, UKM. “It was the first physical event I joined under AMSA, I managed to get along with a lot of university representatives and get to share experiences,” said Roderick, “They talked about the activities going under AMSA and that’s where I got to know a lot about AMSA.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he also got to experience online activities and he thought the one that made the most memories was the Asian Medical Students’ Exchange Programme (AMSEP) 2020, first online AMSEP in UKM. “We had cross-exchanged with Thailand and India, I was in the Multimedia department, and I got to share thoughts with the other members from other countries. They shared with me how things work differently in their countries.” To Roderick, it was a very memorable experience because they did not just share in terms of work, academics but also friendships.
RODERICK
When asked about his preference on physical or online events, Roderick believed that each of them has their own pros and cons. He thought the good things about online activities are that they could have spontaneous backup plans and new activities which had never been tried before. According to Roderick, this is a great advancement not just for AMSA but other associations as well. However, he personally prefers physical activities because as an outgoing person, he valued human interactions and the chance for everyone to be themselves.
Coming to the climax of the interview, Roderick was asked about the biggest challenge he had faced when trying to balance his responsibilities as a medical student and an AMSA member. His answer to this question is time management. He was having a hard time distributing his time evenly during his second year, at that time he had a packed schedule for the Gastrointestinal module and a hectic timetable for the AMSA Malaysia affairs plus he was having some family issues. To overcome this problem, he honed his time management skill and resegregated his time for all his responsibilities. “Morning is for academics, because of the lectures and everything, that’s when I pay hundred percent attention to only my academics so I should not think about other things,” shared by Roderick, “the afternoon is usually for the AMSA affairs and I usually finished up and sent out my work latest by 5 and when it comes to night time I will spend it with my family.” He emphasised that good time management is the key to balancing studies and other responsibilities. In addition, Roderick suggested that making your own timetable using a calendar or just some simple notes would be useful for managing time. “I know it sounds cliché but it’s still practical,” he added.
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Having such hectic life and heavy responsibilities, mental pressure is something that cannot be escaped. Roderick solved this problem by doing meditation to clear his mind. He claimed that through meditation, he could think clearer and get his priorities right despite being able to think of steps to relieve the stress. One of the steps he took is talking to his family as his family plays a vital role in providing him mental support. Moreover, friends were helpful to him in relieving stress as friends offered companionship and helped to distract him from being stuck in immense stress. He also had group study with his friends which according to him is very helpful because he got to cover more lectures in a shorter period of time and have a better understanding of the lectures. He also emphasised that forcing yourself to do something is the key to achieving your goals, “Sometimes, you won’t be able to achieve if you don’t press yourself.” He added, “I would say it is a combination of luck and blessings from other people.”
According to Roderick, the pillars of AMSA do not just include knowledge, but more importantly friendship. “AMSA focuses on a more holistic manner of sharing. We share academic, friendship and social cultural things,” said Roderick. He then shared with us the benefits he gained from being a member of AMSA. He claimed, “What I gain from AMSA is a more mature build of my own character.” Furthermore, he managed to build confidence and self-esteem throughout the years of being part of AMSA.
Towards the end of the interview, Roderick also shared some life advice. First of all he said, and I quote, “To excel in life, set your goals and make them happen. Even after you have achieved your goals, set new goals, something higher and work hard to achieve them. You will feel satisfied with each goal achieved.” Second, he reminded us that we should keep ourselves on the right track with our studies but not to stress ourselves out. Third, balance work and life. He thought all of us should utilise ‘microtime’ well, for instance, do revision during some short periods of free time. Eventually, the outcome depends on the effort built up throughout the time. Last but not least, a fun quote from Roderick, “Be chill but not too chill.”