My Next Step

Okay so the result for JPA-MARA and Yayasan Khazanah were out yesterday (17/3/15) and I was SO EXCITED because my applications were a success for both scholarships! Can't thank you much enough, thank you Allah, and please, do guide me towards the end of the iv sessions ^-^
InsyaAllah, Dr. Nadia-soon-to-be.

Everything begins with a dream.

Applied for IMU (Khazanah Watan) and University of Edinburgh (Khazanah Global)

Kolej Mara Banting!! & off to Ireland I go InsyaAllah ^-^

Medical Profession; insyaAllah.

My passion for providing desperate people with healthcare is conveniently supported by both my aptitude and affinity for scientific study. Throughout high school, biology and chemistry classes have been my most rewarding and enjoyable academic pursuits. I love the sense of achievement when I finally understand how a complicated chemical reaction progresses. While my classmates are preparing to graduate from high school and “been done with school”, I feel I have only sipped from the ocean of information that I want to learn.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” That is the magic question that is most often asked of children. For many youngsters, the answer wavers between a lawyer, a teacher, a policeman and alternates every week. For me however, the answer has always been a constant “I want to be a doctor!” Initially, my desire to become a doctor was raw and unrefined. Motivated by a naive altruism, “I wanted to make the world a better place”. Although I do not exactly remember how that goal became my number one answer, I have held fast to that ambition ever since. Beginning in primary 6, I became an avid spectator of public television programs aired in the US involving hospital themes. By the age of fifteen, I had realized my passion for medicine and the human body. It was one of the post-PMR activities and we were brought to UM for a trip. We were given the opportunity to witness a general surgery procedure. After seeing my first biopsy, I left the room feeling fascinated and informed. I was in awe of the surgeon for her expertise with the instruments but I also felt assured that with proper training, I could also complete the procedure. That also deepened my fascination for the human body and the practice of medicine. Throughout the days, I could only taste excitement and passion for medical studies.

A future in medicine will fulfill every desire and demand that I require in a career. I need to be able to work with others, think critically, study the human body, and work diligently under pressure. Because religious faith and family are important parts of my personal life, I desire a career which affords me the opportunity to professionally express myself. I am not only choosing to be a doctor, but it feels like as if the career has called me. I am drawn to medicine for its continuous challenges, new technology, and for my love of learning. I yearn to be a part of the growth in the medical field. To learn my whole life, loving the challenges, and never becoming stagnant in my knowledge and experiences. Predominantly, I will have the opportunity to make a positive impact on the quality of life for many people. To listen and understand my patients, to help them in every way my education has taught me how, and to see them as more than patient, as the most precious human life- that is the gift that a career in medicine offers. Through compassion and care for each person, I hope for a better Malaysia; a better tomorrow, a better living, a better future.

A good doctor is approachable and a calming figure in a patient’s life. When a patient is faced with the emotions and uncertainty of birth, illness, injury or death, the doctor is there to congratulate, comfort or console. A good doctor is one who attends to a patient’s feelings just as quickly as he/she makes a diagnosis and also mature in action and thoughts. He/she is able to handle difficult situations with professional ease and is able to relate patients much different from themselves. He/she is aware of the importance of his/her responsibilities and completes them accordingly. With these characteristics clearly outlined, I am even more certain of my future success in medicine. As a rule, I have always been an even-tempered individual. My emotions rarely go to extremes, and I am usually the first person to attempt to calm or soothe a friend. Being a SBP student, I am known for being a perfectionist. Spending the extra time to make sure a task is done correctly and completely is, for me, time well spent. I am also extremely approachable, with my ever-present smile. My best friend often nicknamed me as Dr. Nadia, perhaps she caught a glimpse of my developing personality and saw the beginning of a good doctor.

The final line of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 73”- “Love that well, which thou must lose ere long”- captures how I would like to be remembered at the end of my life. I want to be remembered not as just somebody who loved their community, but as somebody who loved it well, somebody who didn’t just take a look back, somebody who put attention and effort toward following her ideals. Shakespeare deliberately includes the word “well” at the end of his sonnet to avoid a clichéd statement about love and loss, to convey that the idealized notion of love being all that matters is false. He indicates that love alone is not enough; it must be accompanied by dedication and hard work. I think these are crucial words of advice for a future doctor. They help me understand that my strong desire to help my community is not, in itself; enough to make me an effective health care provider. I will need to read article upon as research progresses. I will need to deliver bad news to patient in a calm and encouraging manner. I will need to work long hours when I’m tired. I look forward to medical school as a place which I can apply Shakespeare’s instructions to my life as a doctor and to continue to construct a legacy of one who loved well the world, the nation, the country in which I love- Malaysia.

Sealed with kisses,

Nadia Alesa. xx