Tag coronavirus

Med School Intake Delayed!

Rachel Tan HX 1 Comment

I have just received an email from my new university. The commencement date for my chosen program, foundation in biological science has been delayed to June!

Naturally, I am not very happy about that, because it will only mean being stuck at home pre-studying for med school! 😛 My contract with the hospital has ended and I am slightly disappointed that I cannot continue. After two months of work experience, I have chosen to put family safety over personal growth, despite the enriching experience, the things I had yet to learn even within my own job scope of a patient care assistant (PCA), and all the people I could have gotten to know more. For now while I am still young, I have conceded to both of my parents, who have made it clear that due to the current coronavirus situation, an extension of contract with the hospital was not an option.

( Do not fear, though: yours truly here may be bored, but I will make sure my readers will never be. I will still share about my experiences working at the hospital, at my previous retail job, and other interesting things!)

With the extended MCO (Movement Control Order) due to the Covid 19 virus, though, I did anticipate a postponed intake date. In between studying two STPM books: one on math and one on biology, I have taken the initiative to seek out certain faculty members through various modes of contact, settling some pre-intake paperwork. My university also has an online portal, which I took the time to do a little bit of exploring.

I am wondering now, with the new coronavirus still on the loose, if our lectures will end up going online on our first day. Online lecturers does feel less plausible for a first day, but the reason why I think this is because I am aiming for foundation in science leading to MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree), and most universities, including mine, have only one intake a year for med school. The foundation intake cannot be pushed too far back, because it fits nicely with the first year of our medical degree, and that fits like a jigsaw puzzle with the next year, and the year after that. A delay in the intake of foundation will affect how smoothly we can transition into med school. Maybe then we will go online.

Mercy, J&J Partner To Evaluate Medical Devices l Pharma Intelligence

How strange will it be, to interact with your coursemates online first, for perhaps a few weeks, before meeting them in the real life!

I am not entirely sure how I feel about that! 😛 You see, it really is not the same as having started college, and being forced suddenly to stay home and attend Zoom classes. We have not even started our first day or seen our classrooms / lecture halls, mind you. For one it can be an amusing and lighthearted experience, starting university in a unique way. For another, it can also be frustrating that you do not get to meet face-to-face with interesting people on your very first day. But whatever happens, I will always choose to look on the bright side.

My younger brother’s teachers, teachers from the secondary school I graduated from, also use the zoom app for online classes. I find it interesting watching the lessons unfold soundlessly on the computer screen, as my brother listens to his teacher on his headphones. Once in a while you will get a glimpse of the teacher’s dog wagging its tail, or hear a whisper of their young son memorising chemistry terms; and then we laugh.

Every so often when we laugh about high-tech things, I will wonder about how anything today might become obsolete for our next generations, and I wonder what the future will look like.

I do not know what the future will be like. How things will turn out for Malaysia as we battle Covid 19, what the world will be like in seventy years, how I will handle my chosen career when the time comes. But I do know one thing: I will see the opportunity in every challenge. I am unlucky to be part of this crisis, yet so fortunate to be part of this lesson.

I wonder what university will be like?

Interesting Facts About COVID-19

Rachel Tan HX Leave a comment

Tired of all the coronavirus articles that start every day off with big numbers and zigzagging lines? Let me change that around for you. Here’s some fun facts about the coronavirus that has become the global topic recently:

Naming of the coronavirus

The official name for the virus is SARS-CoV-2, as announced on WHO (World Health Organisation)’s website. The coronavirus may be referred by most mainstream platforms as “the Covid-19 virus” or “the virus that causes Covid-19” to prevent unnecessary consequences such as widespread panic, especially amongst people in the Asian regions who were most affected by the disease in 2003. However, WHO has clearly stated that these designations do not replace the official name of the virus: SARS-CoV-2. The virus is named this way because it is genetically related to SARS-CoV, though both are different viruses.

Disease: Covid-19, named by WHO

Virus: SARS-CoV-2, named by ICTV

>>>Why do the virus and disease have different names?

Who suffers from the Covid-19 outbreak?

1. The sick patients. Previously, the new cases ranged between 2000-3000 every day, with about 100-200 deaths. I am glad to hear that the numbers have dropped to below a thousand yesterday (22 Feb)! Let us pray for those still battling the disease, and mourn those who have passed.

2. F&B (food and beverage) industries. Physical outlets such as restaurants have been affected, but more significantly in China, especially during the 14-day quarantine. No one wants to go out in such hazardous conditions.

*Of course, when KFC had their 20.02.2020 RM20 snack box promotion, all was forgotten. 😛

3. Retail outlets and shopping malls. Naturally, there will be a general avoidance of crowded areas. People still need to eat, so F&B can still survive… but shopping for clothes isn’t exactly a necessity around this time! Shopping malls are air conditioned, which means “used” air is being circulated… it’s an absolute no-no for many.

4. The stock market. Finally, HERE’S when it starts to get a little more interesting. As an 18-year-old who doesn’t know much about trading, the only way I know the stock market has been severely affected is by my father’s horrified yells. “IT’S DOWN ANOTHER (insert complicated statistic with decimal places)!!! SELL NOW!!” Followed by pounding footsteps toward the telephone.

5. Global economy. China supplied a large portion of global demand. Retailers haven’t been able to restock on many of their products on sale, and this due to many suppliers having difficulty obtaining raw materials from manufacturers in China! This is the best example of the chaotic chain reaction caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Who benefits from the Covid-19 outbreak?

1. Pharmaceutical companies. Demand for masks, hand sanistisers etc have soared. However, this has caused a shortage in these items and a struggle to meet the demands, since China supplies two-thirds of global demand.

2. Healthcare centres, especially in China. It may not be a nice way to think about it, but there have been a massive number of patients coming in for treatment everyday – too many, even, until only recently when the numbers were reversed.

3. Medical R&D (research and development). It is a cold fact that when there is a loss, we push ourselves harder, and therefore advancement moves faster. China’s astonishing pace at both identifying the genetic sequence of the new coronavirus and the building of the thousand-bed hospital has set new records for research.

4. Online food delivery apps. You might not have thought of this one! 😛 More and more people are staying at home and avoiding the crowds, so apps like Foodpanda and Grabfood are thriving. This has compelled some people who were previously illiterate in online apps to learn how to use them, leading to an increasingly digital era – of course, with its own pros and cons.