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My Life as a Medical Student in IMU and University of Aberdeen

05 Feb 2015

An International Medical University (IMU) Alumnus from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Elden Pan, graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree (MBChB) in July 2014. He completed the first two and a half years in IMU before transferring to University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Here, he relates to us his experience studying in IMU and University of Aberdeen.

10535657_10152578533803914_4345371323130344153_o “Studying medicine at IMU was a really good experience. I attribute this to a combination of things, namely the good senior-junior relationships amongst students, knowledgeable and approachable lecturers, well-equipped library, variety of extra-curricular activities for students and ultimately, my batch mates and comrades who make-up the life line of the experience. If I were to compare my experience in University of Aberdeen, with that in IMU, I would say I would have still preferred my overall experience in IMU even though the education itself was better in Aberdeen.”

My most memorable event in IMU would be Orientation Week – this is where I got to know my batch mates and seniors well, and it made up the platform for many meaningful friendships over the next two and a half years.

I had mixed feelings on transferring to Aberdeen. On one hand, I was looking forward to all the new experiences that I would get overseas. On the other hand, I found it hard to leave home and my church family. I would say I got educated well in Aberdeen. I really appreciated how the emphasis was on clinical thinking and reasoning as opposed to how our Malaysian culture would approach education – that is by emphasising rote memory and familiarisation by sheer repetition. The Scots were friendly people and I built some friendships that I think will last a lifetime. The cold was certainly a challenge, but after a while I got used to it and would miss it occasionally – especially the cooling summer weather. 59686_1527488080074_4843113_n281709_10150736833565341_1084173_n On graduating, I felt a sense of the relief that the five years of hard work had come to an end and that I can take a short break before work gets even harder (such is the nature of the medical profession!).’ 10530922_10152394019567655_4292990751618184158_n478118_4594456833638_1239549616_o

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