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Volunteering at Institute of Youth Research (IYRES)

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Volunteering at Institute of Youth Research (IYRES)

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1. Your name, matric number, date

Fiona Cheong Shoon Jenn

A183585

31/7/23-04/08/23

2. How is your progress?

So I successfully completed week 2 as well!

On day 1 of week 2: We continued the IBN task, comparing and analyzing data from various domains, from IBN 2015-2019. We tabulated the data, and color coded them to make the report less boring!

On day 2: We joined a taklimat/ bengkel on Dasar Semasa Kementerian Belia dan Sukan (KBS) to further understand the roles of IYRES and KBS - Model Pembangunan Belia Madani 2030, Kod Sukan Selamat, Visi Sukan Negara 2030

On day 3: We had to key in data for the research department, that they were going to use for collecting data from the community. It was a lot of data, so we had to use 3 whole days to key in. My Excel skills definitely excelled after this experience.

On day 4: We continued to key in data. We were then told on day 3 to prepare a health talk for the IYRES workers that was to happen on next Tuesday (8/8/23), so we discussed on what topics to present and the contents to be included in the presentation.

On day 5: We started to gather contents for the presentation from reliable sources, such as information disseminated from the Ministry of Health. We also started to prepare the slides as creative as possible for easy understanding. There was also a KBS open day, where we helped to prepare and attend the booths. It was a day to promote what KBS was all about to the general public.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

Firstly, would be excel skills. I believe excel skills is something that will be needed in my work in the future. So to be able to practice them now in a practical way is definitely useful!

Secondly I realised preparing slides for IYRES workers versus for doctors or Profs is definitely different, as I had to learn how to explain concepts in an easy way and add loads of pictures for easy understanding. I realise that this is how I should present information to my patients as well in the future.

I also learn how to work with others, as the research department had to teach me how they wanted me to key in the data. Listening well to what they wanted is definitely essential in making the shared work, work.

Also, communicating well to my group mates is really important. This is because there was actually a miscommunication among me and my groupmates, which led to me making a huge mistake when keying in the data. Thankfully, my group mates were willing to work together to fix the mistake that I did. But to avoid this from happening again, I realise the importance of communicating well and double confirming that the point was gotten across, rather than just assuming that they understood what I was trying to say.

4. Your feelings & thoughts

So far I’m glad that I am learning new things and also interacting well with my groupmates and IYRES workers. I am also excited to pick up Excel skills because I wouldn’t have trained myself to use Excel if it weren’t for this program! I am also improving my soft skills such as communication skills among team members and higher ups, to which I feel is such a priceless skill to develop!

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

I learned how to listen well when others are giving instructions so that the task that is given can be done well and with as little mistakes as possible!

I think this is a good skill to have as I will be receiving lots of instructions in the future as a doctor, from my professors/ nurses/ higher ups etc. Listening well and unassumingly can ensure that the task given can be done satisfactorily.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

When the research executive asked us to assist in inserting the data for the research project, she introduced a systematic way to key in the data into the excel sheets. Initially, I couldn't understand what she meant, because the systematic way was quite complicated. At the same time, I was zoning out a few times when she was explaining because of how unfamiliar the whole thing was. My friends were also confused. We had to ask her to demonstrate to us a few times and with a few examples on what she wanted us to do. We also had to constantly go up to her in her office to clear up any doubts we had. It took a while for us to understand what she wanted us to do.

We were able to finish up the task well and satisfactorily in the end, and this is majorly due to the research executive’s willingness to patiently teach us on how and what to do. I was also eager to learn and excel in the system so I tried my best to keep pushing through despite the frustrations, and kept asking her questions, to ensure the work was done accurately in the end. My friends and I also helped each other out, where we explained and taught the other person on whatever we knew better about the systematic method and Excel.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

Present our health talk slides, observe new research projects, participate in new projects assigned by Dr Vella and Prof Rosnah.

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Volunteering in Institute of Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES)

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Volunteering in Institute of Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES)

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1. Your name, matric number, date

Teoh Qi Wei

A182051

31/07/2023 - 4/8/2023

2. How is your progress?

On Monday, my group was asked to take a group photo and individual photo. After the group photo session, we continue the report that our Prof asked us to do which is compare various domain’s data from Index Belia negara (IBN) 2015 - 2019

On Tuesday, my group joined a sharing session via zoom in the morning. The meeting involved other departments in the Ministry of Youth and Sports as well. There are speakers introducing one document called “safe sports code”, the content of this document is about the roles and responsibility of an athlete, parents of the athlete, organization and also the coach when it comes to safe sports.The speaker also talked about the sexual or physical harassment among athletes by providing some relevant statistics. Besides, we also helped the researchers to key in data by using excel, the researcher is very nice to teach us some basic shortcuts in excel.

On Wednesday, we spent our whole day helping out the researchers to key in data. The research executive first explained to us the about the purpose of doing this task and also the way to key in data of this  research

On Thursday We were told to prepare a seminar talk to explain briefly about medical knowledge that we have learnt such as Hypertension, diabetes and Dyslipuidemia and stress related health problem which will be held on next Tuesday

On Friday, we attend the KBS open day and go to visit some booths during open day.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

We have learnt how to keys in data for a research program. Through this task, we get to know how important it is to keep the confidentiality and security of data.

Besides, we also need to know about task distribution and teamwork as we need to distribute tasks and do the tasks together to complete the task more effectively.

4. Your feelings & thoughts

I am grateful to be able to be involved in the sharing session and I have gained a lot from the sharing session as the sharing session is about different departments and programmes in the Ministry of Youth and Sports. For example, I get to expose myself to safe sports codes among athletes and also know more about some data analytics about youth in Malaysia.

I am also excited to pick up new skills such as Excel because usually I don't get the chance to learn some hard skills like this in medical school. Through this volunteering programme, I am able to perform simple tasks using Excel.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

Communication skill is the soft skill that I did the most here as I always get the chance to communicate with my colleague. I will need to use good communication skills in scenarios like greeting others, asking questions when there is enquiry, explaining my needs whenever I need something and so on.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

Initially when we were told to help the research executive to key in data of a research, we were lost and confused about the way of doing the task. However, we keeps on asking the research executives, looking for solutions online and also discuss together on ways to complete this task. Eventually we managed to complete the task in a short period of time.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

I will present the medical knowledge to my colleagues during the health talk on next tuesday and also will do the tasks that are assigned by Dr Vella or Prof Rosnah

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Volunteering Program in Institute for Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES) (Week 2)

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Volunteering Program in Institute for Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES) (Week 2)

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1. Your name, matric number, date
Brenda Cheong Kar Wen
A180678
31/7/2023 - 4/8/2023

2. How is your progress?
I have done Week 2 of my Elective Posting in IYRES! There are a few things that I have done during this week:
31/7 (Monday): We were given a task to compare and analyse date from Indeks Belia Malaysia (IBM) 2015-2019, and also prepared a tabulate data for various domain’s data that we have acquired for these years. Besides, I have also got more time to interact with the staff in IYRES to know more about their works and daily routine in IYRES

1/8 (Tuesday): We have joined a talk regarding Dasar Semasa in Kementerian Belia dan Sukan, which include Model Pembangunan Belia Madani 2030, Kod Sukan Selamat, and Visi Sukan Negara 2030. I have gained a lot of input from this session as a lot of points have been discussed during the talk, such as further improvement on the dasar so that it can benefit not only our athletes but also everyone who are interested in sports. Other than that, we also helped the research department in IYRES to key in some data which are needed for their field work, titled Kajian Index Budaya Sukan Malaysia 2023. The process was done under the supervision from the research department. We also had a meeting with the CEO for a brief presentation about IYRES, and also further discussion on the programmes that we will be involved later.

2/8 (Wednesday): We continue to help the research department to key in data. Besides, we were also asked to prepare a short seminar talk for the staff in IYRES. Further discusssion has been conducted among my group mates to decide on the topic. In the end, we have suggested 3 topics to the staffs, which are NCD, cancer risk in Malaysia and also stress-related health problems

3/8 (Thursday): After further discussion among the staff members in IYRES, NCD and stress-related health problems will be the topic for our seminar talk. The seminar talk was set to be carried out on next Tuesday which is on the 8th of August. More discussion has been carried out among my group mates to decide on the content of our presentation

4/8 (Friday): We volunteered to help out in the preparation for booth on the KBS Open Day. Other than that, further discussion and preparation work was done for the seminar talk

3. Points to remember from week 2!
It was an amazing experience when we were given a task to help the research department of IYRES to key in data. They’re a lot of data that need to be transferred into the system as the data collected are from all states in Malaysia. Through this process, I learned no work can be done alone when you are in a team. You need cooperation from every members in order to get some work done, especially when the work given is heavy and need to be done in a short period of time. By joining the research team, I have witnessed their teamwork and also the importance of this work in order to help the staff later, as they are the ones that need these data during the field work. These data will help to ease the process later. Besides, I have also learned that all data in the department are all confidential, we cannot shared these information to the others as it contains some of the respondents private information, such as their name, address, and more. Maintaining confidentiality is also important here as it is one of the steps to maintain trust between the department and their enumerator, just like what we always practiced in the hospital setting

4. Your feelings & thoughts
I feel excited as I was given some tasks to help out the staff in IYRES, now I feel like I am becoming part of IYRES. It doesn’t feel obvious during the first week as we were not much involved in the work there. I believe that IYRES has also put their trust on us as they let us to handle some of the important job in their department. I need to responsible for the task given so that I could bring benefit to the others who need it.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!
I need to be really focus on every details and understand the purpose of every steps when doing something. I believe that this should not only be practiced now, but also need to practice in the future as a healthcare practitioner. A single mistake that has been done now, could cause a major effect in the future. Therefore, we need to precise in every details that we have done so that it will not affect ourselves and others in the future.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?
I find it difficult when I was first introduced to the data system in IYRES. As I am not exposed to this field before, I couldn’t understand what has been explained by the research executive. It makes the work difficult when I wanted to help to key in the data into the system, as miscommunication starts to happen. When there is something that I couldn’t understand, I will quickly ask for help from the research executive in IYRES and ask for further clarification. Besides, our groupmates also helped out each other during this process to ensure that no one was left behind. This helps us to complete the task given in a short time and the work was done efficiently.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)
Carry out our scheduled presentation about the topic that they have chosen for us, and also explore more about the events and projects that we were asked to be involved in.

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Gotong-royong in Old Folks' Home - Week 2

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Gotong-royong in Old Folks' Home - Week 2

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1. Your name, matric number, date

Chan Hui Ying

A181362

31/7/2023 - 4/8/2023

2. How is your progress?

During Week 2, I successfully organised and conducted clean-up activities together with the elderly residents in the old folks' home. The progress was positive, and the elderly residents actively participated in order to maintain their living spaces clean and comfortable to live.

Firstly, I had a discussion with the caregivers to identify the areas that required cleaning, then we divided the tasks based on their abilities. It included cleaning up the common area, kitchen, cleaning the windows and drying the bedsheets. The elderly residents not only cleaned up their own living spaces but also worked together to clean up the common areas such as the dining room and recreational room. The atmosphere was filled with laughter and they were really happy that they could do something meaningful.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

a) Teamwork: Working closely with the caregivers was essential in planning and organizing the clean-up activities in order to ensure a smooth and efficient process.

b) Encourage Elderly Residents Involvement: Engaging and encouraging the elderly residents to actively participate in the clean-up activities fostered a sense of ownership and pride in their living spaces.

c) Tailor Tasks based on Abilities: Assigning tasks that aligned with the residents' physical capabilities allowed everyone to contribute meaningfully to the clean-up efforts.

d) Promote Safety: Prioritizing safety measures and providing assistance as needed to ensure the residents worked in a safe environment

4. Your feelings & thoughts:

I feel a deep sense of fulfilment and satisfaction in being part of Week 2's clean-up activities. Witnessing the residents' enthusiasm and smiles as they took charge of maintaining their living spaces made me feel happy and satisfied. The sense of community and collaboration among the elderly residents and caregivers was heartwarming and strengthened my belief in the value of volunteer work in elderly care.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

One good thing I can practice now is teamwork. Working closely with caregivers and elderly residents allowed me to experience the power of teamwork in achieving common goals. This valuable skill will undoubtedly benefit me in my future medical career, as healthcare professional often involves teamwork for the best patient outcomes.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

One concern during the clean-up activities was ensuring that residents with mobility challenges could participate safely and comfortably. To cope with this, I provided extra support to those who needed assistance and modified tasks to accommodate their abilities. For example, there was an elderly who was in a wheelchair, in order to make sure his safety, I assigned some simple tasks for him such as cleaning the table. Besides, clear communication and empathy also helped to address any difficulties and ensured everyone felt included in the activities.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3):

I would like to focus on promoting the overall well-being of elderly residents. I will organize some light exercises and recreational activities that encourage physical health and social interaction. Due to their sedentary lifestyles, which I took into consideration when thinking about the elderly residents, some light exercises can help them become healthy as well as relieve their boredom.

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1. Your name, matric number, date

CHUA KHAI XIAN, A182187, 5/8/2023

2. How is your progress?

31/7 (Monday)- I continued with my previous task, which is to compare and analyze data from IBN 2015-2019 and prepare tabulated data from various domain’s data from 2015-2019. My teammates and I were finally done with the comparison and we concluded that we cant compare the data due to various questionnaire items from 2015-2019. We have also interacted with other colleagues to know more about their roles in IYRES and the programs done fro youth development in malaysia. We got to know about the recently announced program, rakan muda and more.

1/8 (Tuesday)- My friends and I joined taklimat/ bengkel regarding Dasar Semasa KBS which they shared about the Model pembangunan Belia Madani 2030, Kod Sukan Selamat, Visi Sukan Negara 2030. Then, we were assigned to attach the research department. We were told to help the research department by keying in the data regarding the potential candidates for index budaya sukan malaysia 2023 survey into google sheet. We also met with the CEO of IYRES again and he introduced IYRES to us through his presentation.

2/8 (Wednesday)- We continued with the task from the research department. From this task, we get to learn about the geography of Malaysia because we need to key in the location of the potential candidates for the survey. We were told to prepare a health seminar talk for the workers in IYRES. I had a discussion with my group members about the seminar topic. Eventually, we finalized 3 topics for the IYRES worker to choose, which are (NCD, Cancer risk in Malaysia, Stress related health problems

⅜ (thursday)- Seminar topic was chosen by the staff (NCD and Stress related health problems). We have to present on 8/8/2023, Tuesday for 1 hour. We started to prepare the content and make slides to clearer understanding.

4/8 (Friday)- We helped to prepare and attend a booth for KBS open day. We continued to prepare our talk. Further discussion and preparation were done. Slide preparation in progress.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

I learned the importance of maintaining the data confidentiality given for us to key into the google sheet. The data may contain sensitive information that the individuals might not want to share with the others. If the information is exposed to the public, it may leave detrimental effects on individuals. Therefore, we should protect their privacy and not expose or take any photos of the data.

I learned the importance of knowing the roles of different professionals so that I can know where to consult and refer if I face any issues that are not under my professionals. It is important to know that we don’t have to know everything and we should use available resources wisely.

4. Your feelings & thoughts

I felt stressed and nervous for the seminar preparation because we were told that the seminar was mainly about question and answer. I have to refresh my medical knowledge to be able to give correct and evidence based answers. However, we were given only 5 days to prepare. It was challenging but I think that I will be able to overcome it and it will be a good experience for me.

I felt delighted when my group members and I were able to finish the tasks given by the research department much earlier than the expected date (we finished the tasks in 1.5 days instead of 3 days and were able to highlight the mistakes present in the documents that they missed out. I think we made a good impression for them about the UKM student quality.

I felt proud that I was part of the members helping in the preparation for the production of Index Budaya Sukan Malaysia 2023 even though my task was just help to key in the data.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

Be precise and meticulous in doing the tasks given so that we can ensure the work is done perfectly. I should practice this attitude and maintain it even until I start working as a doctor because this attitude can ensure the safety of my future patients.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

I faced difficulty in understanding the social science terms when I was keying in the data. To overcome this issue, we approached the research executive and asked for an explanation. She was very patient and explained to us well. From this, not only that I clear my inquiries, but I also learned something about social science.

After understanding the terminology, I slowly got it and continued with my work. However, I found out that there was some data  which did not match with the map and the housing address. I was being critical thinking and tried to look for similarities among the error data. Finally, I figured out the mistakes and explained to the research executive.

Difficulty in preparing for the health seminar. This is because it has been months since we started our sem break and our medical knowledge was superficial. However, I take this as a challenge because I think it is a great opportunity for me to experience giving a talk to the IYRES workers, just like I am giving a talk to the community and I will overcome this difficulty by referring to reliable references such as the clinical practice guideline.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

Hold a health seminar to IYRES worker and address their health inquiries

Involve in the programs mentioned by the CEO of IYRES which includes preparation and planning for conference and so on.

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Research Attachment at Infectious Diseases Lab, UMBI

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Research Attachment at Infectious Diseases Lab, UMBI

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1. Your name, matric number, date
TING TIEW HUNG
A182881
31/7 - 5/8 (Week 2)

2. How is your progress?

[O] = UMBI Basic Orientation Module

31/7 Mon
- [O] Pipette training
- [O] Buffer preparation using analytical balance training
- Reading more about Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases producing Enterobacterales (ESBL) and Pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for MRSA typing

1/8 Tue
- [O] DNA extraction from blood - Qiagen kit method
- [O] DNA quantification training - Nanodrop machine
- [O] PCR technique
- [O] Buffer preparation for gel electrophoresis
- [O] Agarose gel electrophoresis technique
- Introduced to the pharmacogenetic services provided at UMBI (HLA-B*1502)
- Exploring how to sort excel data using more efficient methods during free time

2/8 Wed
- [O] Logbook briefing
- [O] Lab & biobank visit
- DNA quantification for Staph. aureus DNA extracted using crude method
- Learning about biosafety cabinet (level 2) and aseptic techniques
- Observing serial dilution technique for bacteria
- Culturing MRSA after stress test
- Interpreting growth of ESBL and MRSA on chromogenic agars
- Introduced to 16s rrna sequencing for bacteria identification
- Introduced to potential early warning measures for antimicrobial resistant pathogens and outbreaks using molecular tools and chromogenic agar to overcome the shortcomings in the current conventional methods

3/8 Thu
- UMBI Lecture Series: Metaproteomic Analysis of a Cancer Database Suggests Diagnostic Potential of the Mycobiome - by Prof Soba from MacQuarie University, Australia
- Discussing with SV about further plans for my elective posting
- MRSA subculture from single colony experiment (two different strains)
- MRSA broth inoculation culture
- Interpreting the results of stress test by counting the number of surviving colonies using a manual colony counter
- Introduced to heterogenous vancomycin-intermediate/resistant Staph. aureus (hVISA & hVRSA) and their clinical significance
- Reading more about MRSA ST6-IV strains regarding its molecular types and toxin genotypes in the literature

4/8 Fri
- [O] Autoclave training
- Interpreting the results of MRSA subculture experiment
- Preparing 30+ plates of brain heart infusion (BHI) agar
- Adjusting the estimated concentration of MRSA in broth to OD600 = 0.132 (equivalent to 0.5 McFarland standards) by using a mass spectrophotometry
- MRSA culture for Elek test (vancomycin & ciprofloxacin) to identify the mininum inhibitory concentration
- MRSA survivability on different transport media (FLOQswab & Amies transport medium) experiment

3. Points to remember from week 2!

- Safety first! Be extra careful while handling the autoclave machine
- Just a little splash of bacteria can lead to massive colonisation (as shown in the subculture experiment)
- Sometimes things just happen unexpectedly. "That's how penicillin was discovered!" - Dr Neoh

4. Your feelings & thoughts

I felt very grateful for the knowledge and hands on opportunities given by my SV and her master student. They were very patient and kind in guiding me although I performed the procedures quite slowly and made mistakes from time to time.

I also felt thankful to my SV for tailoring my activities to my interest and future career as a clinical microbiologist and researcher. She also shared many interesting papers to me beyond MRSA.

It was a productive week :D

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

Be proactive and grab the learning opportunities! I was able to learn and perform many techniques and experiments for the first time by saying yes to the opportunities given without much hesitation.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

- I found it challenging to perform the correct pipetting technique and maintain sterility at the same time when transferring the broth with bacteria. With direct supervision and instant feedback from my SV and her master student, I was able to improve my technique.
- I was not able to complete my 9-day basic orientation module this week as some PICs were still busy. Hence, I will undergo the remaining activities next week.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

- Completing the basic orientation module and prepare for exam
- Interpreting MIC from E-test
- Joining the ESBL experiment with Dr's lab technician
- Sorting more antibiotic resistance data from HCTM collaborated with a private hospital

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Applying tick medication to the puppies, applying eye medication and cleaning the eyes of the cats

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Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Volunteerism - Week 2

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Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Volunteerism - Week 2

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1. Your name, matric number, date

Deena Priyanka Edwards A/P Roger, A181019, 31/7/23 - 4/8/23

2. How is your progress?

For week 2 of my elective posting, I have started to do some cleaning and treating of the animals.  I cleaned the eyes and ears of the dogs and cats, applied iodine on the wounds and applied tick medication for the puppies. I was more comfortable to deal with the animals. I am brave now compared to the first week in dealing with animals. Even if the animals were resisting me from touching them, I was able to calm them down and treat them. I was better in communicating with the members there and was able to complete the task assigned by my supervisor successfully.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

The saying 'practise makes perfect ' is so true. By continuous effort since the first week, now I have better skills in giving animal care. This is so applicable in my personal life as by continuous effort I am sure I will have better skills in providing competent health care to my patients.

Communication skills plays a pivotal part in our lives. I have learnt to be bold and confident in communicating with people.

Moreover, I learnt that time management is also important. There are too many animals at the shelter that needs treatment. I made sure I am always punctual and manage my time well in order to be able to treat all the animals there.

4. Your feelings & thoughts

I felt really happy to be a part of SPCA as it was one of my dream since childhood to care for the animals. It was truly heartbreaking to see the condition of the animals there. They were in pain and discomfort and need continuous treatment. I wish more people would volunteer to help in treating and caring the animals. I am also thinking that I should start donating for the shelter to help them financially.

I also feel satisfied as I used my time wisely because I learnt a lot of things here. I was also glad that I made new friends there.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

I am able to practise the animal cleaning and treating skills to my own pets.My pets have ear and eye infection so I am using the skills I learnt in the shelter to everyday clean, check and apply medications to my pets.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

One difficulties I faced is I was not sure about which medicine to use, dosage and the way of administration of the medications. I asked for guidance from the members and they taught me. I learnt that ticks medication needs to be applied at the back of the neck of the animals.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

My plan for week 3 is cleaning the shelter. The shelter is a very big space with more than 400 animals. So, cleaning is a pivotal task there and I will be helping the cleaners to clean animal cages.

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Attachment to a Community Pharmacy - Week 2

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Attachment to a Community Pharmacy - Week 2

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1. Your name, matric number, date

Kan Yi Jie
A181529
31/7/2023 – 4/8/2023

2. How is your progress?

In this week, I started to do some works under the guidance of a pharmacist. With this, I learnt to become a retail assistant in the pharmacy store. For example, I would help them to take the medicines or health supplements on the rack that they needed for the customers. Besides, I helped to manage if there were some parcels of medicine stocks. For this, I helped to confirm whether the parcel was sent correctly to our pharmacy, confirm the correct amount of the stocks, put the price tags on the stocks and arrange them on the racks. Apart from managing parcels, I learnt to use the computer system in this week. I used the system to help customers checking their buying history as many of the customers would forget the brand of the medication that they wanted to buy. Besides, I also helped to collect payments by using the computer system. As a retail assistant, I helped the customers to find out those things that they wanted to buy, helping them to check the medicines’ expiring date and the prices. If there were elderly that unable to carry heavy things, I would help them to carry those things to their cars. In summary, I learnt the job scope of a retail assistant in a community pharmacy in this week.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

In week 2, I realized that it was not easy to be a retail assistant in a community pharmacy. The job scope was very wide and busy. As a retail assistant, I must know some of the pharmacological knowledges so that I can answer the customers’ questions. Before my posting in pharmacy, I never knew that a retail assistant also needed to learn the pharmacological knowledges. I thought that consulting customers was only in the pharmacist’s job scope. However, after posting at here, I realized that all the workers in the pharmacy whether pharmacist or not, they needed to have the knowledges to help in serving customers in a better way.

4. Your feelings & thoughts

In this week, I felt a bit tiring as the pharmacy was so busy. Before this, I never thought that it will be busy to work in a community pharmacy. However, this pharmacy was busy especially in the early morning as there were many of the elderly who came in the morning to buy their medications. Besides, there were many of the things that I still need to learn. The scope of learning was wide for me as I was weak in pharmacological knowledges. It is hope that I can do better and better in the next 2 weeks. Although it was tiring, but I felt more adapt to this environment compared to last week. There were more communications between me and the staffs. And with this, I felt happy as I was able to make new friends with the staffs.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

Learn to ask proactively. From this week, I found that I should learn to ask questions proactively as I am lacking pharmacological knowledges. If I do not understand the details of the medications clearly, I may give a wrong information to the customers. So, I have to asking questions proactively from the pharmacists.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

Throughout this week, the difficulty that I faced was I was lacking pharmacological knowledges when serving customers. For example, I was unable to answer when a customer asking me the difference between two types of medications. In this situation, the only that I could help was helping the customers by asking the pharmacists. I felt so sad when I was facing this kind of situation in the beginning. After this, I learnt to ask questions actively when there was something that I do not know. Besides, I studied the details of the medications and supplements when I was free. It is hope that I can do better in the next week.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

I plan to learn more of the skills from the pharmacists in serving customers such as become a pharmacist assistant so that I can help in drug measuring and packaging. Besides, I hope that I can promote some medications to customers by myself after this.

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Volunteering Program in Institute for Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES) - Week 2

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Volunteering Program in Institute for Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES) - Week 2

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1. Your name, matric number, date

Lee Kar Yen

A182043

31/7/2023 - 4/8/2023

2. How is your progress?

31/7 - 4/8

Continue the report that Prof Rosnah discussed with us last week which is to compare various domain’s data from Index Belia Negara (IBN) 2015-2019

We came out with a short report about the comparison and have sent to Prof for further evaluation and discussion

Interact with other colleagues to know more about their roles in IYRES

The editing team took photos of us with a green screen and showed us the edited photo. We had a great laugh together!

Attend a meeting about ‘Sesi perkongsian dasar-dasar baharu KBS’ (Model Pembangunan Belia Madani 2030, Kod Sukan Selamat, Visi Sukan Negara 2030)

Assist in inserting data about ‘Kajian Index Budaya Sukan Malaysia 2023’ of all states under the guidance of the IYRES research team

The research executive explained to us what is this research for and the background of it.

Meeting with Dr Vella, the CEO of IYRES about the upcoming programs that we will be involved in

On Thursday, we were told to prepare a seminar talk to all the IYRES staff about Non-communicable diseases and stress-related health problems in Malaysia which will be held on 8/8/2023, Tuesday

Discuss among group members about the topic chosen

On Friday, we helped to prepare the booth for KBS open day and attended the open day too

We continued with our seminar discussion and started to prepare slides and posters.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

As we were asked to key in data for a research program this week, therefore I knew that confidentiality and security are important. The data may include someone’s name or any sensitive information. We cannot simply share the information with unauthorized individuals

Another point to be remembered is task execution. The data that needed to be inserted were a lot as it includes information of the whole Malaysia. We used 3 days to settle everything. We distributed the tasks among my group members and broke them down into manageable steps and create a plan to accomplish them. And also we need to prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance. This is to ensure that the work can be done effectively.

4. Your feelings & thoughts

I feel proud because able to involve and contribute to research and projects that have a direct impact on the betterment of society.

I also feel a sense of responsibility as the work conducted in IYRES often carries significant implications for the country.

The prospect of being part of a research project can generate excitement. IYRES, which is a research institution that does research specifically on youths, often tackles projects that analyze current issues related to youth, evaluate and provide input reference to youth development stakeholders, so the prospect of working on these projects that can positively impact the lives of people is exciting.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

To be detailed-oriented because I have to make sure all the information I inserted into the system for the research project is correct as a small mistake may make a big effect on the outcome.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

When the research executive asked us to assist in inserting the data for the research project, she introduced a system to us. Initially, I can’t understand what she meant because there were many professional words used in the system. My friends and I were lost too. Then, we asked her to explain in layman's terms to us again but since the system is complicated and very new for us, it took a while for us to understand what she wanted us to do. We went to her office a few times to make sure that we fully understand the task. This is to prevent us from inserting the wrong data. I felt very grateful because the research executive clear our doubts patiently, although sometimes we asked very simple questions.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

Present the seminar together with the slides and posters with my groupmates to all the IYRES staff

Involve ourselves in the programs that Dr Vella, the CEO of IYRES mentioned in the meeting we had

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Assalamualaikum & hi everyone
Congratulations you are already in the Week 2 of EP journey!
Please write, upload pictures/videos (lots of them please!), and share your journey with your friends. Like & comment on others sharing too!

1. Your name, matric number, date

2. How is your progress?

3. Points to remember from week 2!

4. Your feelings & thoughts

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)