I know, I've said that I shall postpone all posts until my exams are finished but I just have to tell you about this great news.
Nope, it's not me getting married; I know..so many friends of mine are tying the knot this summer.
The great news is that on Friday last week, I received an email that I am one of the 20 students who will be going to the Psychiatry Summer School in Durham this July. How cool is that?!
Initially, I received a reply from them saying that the result will be out on Thu. So, by the end of Thursday, I thought "okay, maybe it's not for me on this occasion". Apparently, I was wrong. It is my time! How happy I was when I got the email. I guess Allah wants to cheer me up after everything that I have went through, alhamdulillah.
This is a screenshot of the email. The sentence was quite difficult for me to comprehend at first. I was like, "So, does that mean I got the placement?". I had to ask Lutfi to confirm it by asking him to read it. They should write something like - "Adlan Wafi, you are going to Durham!" or "You are one of the lucky 20!". At least, these sound more like a reality show result :P
Now, I shall share my answers from the application process. Who knows? You guys might want to apply for a spot in a summer school of any other specialties.
Question 1
In up to 150 words tell us about your interest in psychiatry:
My interest in Psychiatry developed when I studied Behavioural Sciences in my 1st year. It made me curious of the fascinating ways in which our minds work. Furthermore, throughout the training at my medical school, I realised that I enjoy interacting with patients. I learned that Psychiatry is a medical specialty which involves a lot of patient engagement and excellent communication skills is one of the essential criteria for a psychiatrist. Hence, I truly consider this specialty as a potential career option. In addition, I thoroughly enjoyed a favourite module entitled Communication Skills which highlights the humanities in medicine and this perhaps contributes to my ever-growing passion in Psychiatry. My medical school probably played a role in developing my interest in Psychiatry but deep down, I simply love spending my time talking to the patient in front of me and trying my best to make them feel better.
Psychiatry is related to butterflies, seriously. But I'm not going to talk about that now. This photo was a gift from my person before I had my exam a year ago in May. I received this photo from him after I published the post "butterfly fly away". This goes to show that he's still looking after me even though he's faraway.
Question 2
In up to 150 words tell us why you want to come to our summer school:
It is common to hear discouraging comments made by medical peers towards having a career in Psychiatry. I also have a fair share of such experiences whereby friends saying that Psychiatry is not as vital or lucrative as others. Changing the perception of others may be a long term endeavour, but I wish to clarify some of the misconceptions among my colleagues by gaining a deeper insight into this specialty.
I also look forward to the evening event at a Durham restaurant as it would be interesting to engage with the professionals in a casual atmosphere and hopefully, listen to some inspirational stories. I hope that I can be more convinced in choosing Psychiatry as my future career path and inspire others who have the same passion; perhaps by writing a post on my university blog.
To be inspired and to inspire others; that’s what I’m hoping for.
To inspire others to dream high. This is another picture sent by my person a few years ago. Macam tengah promote dia punya hasil kerja pulak :P
Question 3
Have a look at the summer school programme, select a session and in up to 150 words tell us something that you hope to take away from this:
The “Research in Psychiatry” session definitely caught my eye as I am very keen in performing investigations. Ever since I had the opportunity to undertake a research project in my 3rd year, I began to wonder about the possibility of conducting research whilst having a profession. It would be great if I can be enlightened with real life examples by professionals to see how they cope with their daily schedule and performing investigations at the same time. I understand that Psychiatry comprises of various research designs which include systematic reviews, epidemiological studies as well as qualitative analysis and I would be delighted if I can have a better understanding on some of them. Furthermore, I hope to discover the topics in Psychiatry which are still in need of new findings so I can have an idea of the areas which I might be able to investigate in the future.
This is the only part of my 3rd Year dissertation that I like. The diagram that I made on Microsoft Word. That's it. The rest of the project is useless to mankind. No kidding. That's what I found out during the viva.
Before I move on, I just want to clarify something to Ahmad Lutfi Mohamad. I know I joked about some of my answers with you but I really do mean every single word that I put in my answers. I probably joked because you kept saying that it's a specialty of boredom.
You know, my passion for Psychiatry might simply be a pretense.
Adlan Wafi's Theory
I wanted Psychiatry so bad for my 3rd Year Project. I failed and experienced the worst 8 months of my life. Got backstabbed in the end. Now, I wanted Psychiatry more than ever. It could be that I want it because I didn't get it in the first place. Have you ever experienced it? You wanted something so bad but someone prevented you from having it. Then, you want it even more just because of that hindrance. Have a think~
Anyway, my exam is next week and I promise you no posts until the end of them. The good thing is, I got so many support from my friends which I truly appreciate. I even got a phone call whilst writing this post ;D Coolness! My friends believe in me, Allah is making my day again and again. What more do I need? Just give you best Wafi and finish your 3rd year in style! 4th year will be an amazing journey inshaAllah.
Good things are happening to me lately and I'm very grateful for it. Happy days are here again...
