Dr Kevin Chow Kuan Yee

Course: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), 2018
Nationality: Malaysian
Current role: Resident Medical Officer, Ballarat Health (Australia)

Please tell us about your role in your current organisation.

I am a junior doctor in training currently working in regional Australia. Working in the hospital, I am often part of a team consisting of junior doctors like myself, senior registrars and consultants. We treat and manage patients with various medical conditions requiring hospital admissions until they are safe to be discharged. A huge part of my job revolves around keeping the patients in the loop of current management, organising medical investigations and procedures as well as ensuring the patients we cared for receive the optimal medical therapy.

How have your studies at Monash helped to prepare you for the working world?

Good medical knowledge and sound clinical skills are the two main fundamentals of a competent doctor. Junior doctors are expected to possess certain skill sets and Monash University Malaysia has certainly prepared me for that. With two years of non-clinical and three years of clinical years, I believe this curriculum delivers the right balance of opportunities to garner sufficient knowledge and accumulate adequate work experience before graduation. The final year curriculum which encompasses clinical rotations in different hospitals, including placements in Australia, provides medical students with invaluable insight and experience working in a real clinical setting.

Did you participate in any student activities or opportunities?

I was one of the four academic representatives during my fourth year. Throughout the years, I was given the privilege to be the speaker at several workshops, tutorials and social events. Besides, there was a wide range of volunteering opportunities at Monash University – Kechara Soup Kitchen for example, in which I participated on a regular basis.

Did you go for any internships or work placements?

Monash University offers us the chance to be in various clinical placements, especially in the final year of medical school. During my final year, I spent six months being a pre-intern in Australia – observing, learning and practising a high standard of clinical medicine. The exposure to a different work environment was eye-opening and certainly served as a confidence booster.

What did you enjoy most about your student life at Monash?

The supportive learning environment. Never in my student life at any stage have I felt stranded and left alone without support due to the excellent, all-rounded student assistance service this university has to offer. The journey to graduation was not easy but the workforce behind this organisation, from the administrators to lecturers, deserved the highest of praises. I was beyond grateful for the immense support I received during the toughest of times.

What is your career goal?

I hope to be a good doctor, a doctor that makes a positive impact on each and every individual.