Personal Statement:Medicine 9

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

Since each person is unique, from DNA to fingerprints, it's reasonable to believe that each of us also has a purpose, a reason for being, that is uniquely personal. I always have this passion for the amazement of science. And human, the science of it is indeed enchanting. I enjoy working with people as well as playing a role in their lives. Whenever possible, I want to save people. This connection between science and human is the path that I'm deeply interested to take on. This is why medicine is the best option for me. I choose to study medicine in university because the scope is vast, encompassing the causes, the nature, and the treatment of diseases on a daily basis. I fully understand and hold that medicine requires a commitment to a lifelong learning, but I know that the job satisfaction is immense and unique. After my medical studies, I am planning to expertise in Obstetrician, Surgery or maybe Medicine for older people.

For sports, I'm active in cycling, badminton and netball. I once represented the Loughborough Malaysian Community's netball team to the Malaysian Games in Nottingham last year. For my past time, I like reading, writing journals and updating my personal website. I am a member of the Malaysian Online Journalism since 2000, I also have a special site called 'Where It All Begins' dedicating my passion towards the medicine line and have published some articles on Genesis, Auto transplant, How Did We Grow and few others. I am planning to extend this online page into a proper version of medical journal once I got the chance to study medicine at university and I cannot wait to write in the things that I will learn during my medical studies. Not only will I have a great time doing it, it will also help me for my revision programmes later on. I am particularly interested in new medical breakthroughs and I'm always updated with the latest news about it from the New Scientist magazines I subscribed weekly. Having the online access to its archive for the past 10 years of science discoveries, the information I can get from it is massive and endless.

I'm also a member of the Online DocGuide weekly newsletter which is also the source where I get lots of information concerning latest research and discoveries.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

I am a Malaysian student who came to England to follow both of my parents doing their PhDs at Loughborough University. In the early 18 months, I have studied all my GCSEs in the medium of English at the same time following English intensive classes which has enabled me to get grade C in my GCSE English. Back in Malaysia, I was selected to a science boarding high-school based on my achievement in UPSR (Malaysian Certificate of Primary Education), with grade As in all 5 subjects including Maths and Sciences. Then onwards achieved grade As in all 8 subjects which includes Sciences, Maths, History and Geography in PMR (Lower Secondary Assessment) in 2000 before I came to England in January 2001.

At my college here in England, I participated with distinction in the Analytical Measurement In Biology Competition 2003 which involves identifying certain principles of good analytical practice to help UK companies to improve the quality of analytical measurements. I was an ICT director of a Young Enterprise company and gained a practical experience of the world of work. My role involves working on the company's official website, organizing some online promotions and preparing PowerPoint slideshows for various company presentations.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

For the past few years, I have been exposed to various experiences relating to this course which I have passion for. The Medlink conference that I attended last year has showed that medicine is an amazing branch for me. Lectures by experienced medical professionals have widened my scope on the real side of medical career. It involved an approach to everyday life as a junior doctor, comprehensive reviews of general medical related sectors such as oncology, paediatrics, surgery, prosthetics etc. We also got the opportunity to do patients round which included history taking, stethoscope practical, and did some diagnosis. That activity has showed me that teamwork is very important to be able to achieve full cooperation in handling patients. In addition, we had an indeed overwhelming experience watching live surgery with surgeons in the operation theatre repairing a backbone of a real patient. I have also attended the 'NHS Trust Work Observation Programme for Potential Medical Students' in July 2003. I got to meet other potential medical students and discussed about our future considerations and plans for life after medical years.

For more than a year, I worked as a domestic assistant as a part-time job at a local elderly home. It has magnified the medicine itself in practice under one roof. I've developed a great depth of communication skills and teamwork. I've made a lot of observations during my working hours, watching the medical staffs handling the patients. I've also managed to work temporarily as one of the care staff and have experienced working long hours during the day and I also did some night shifts which really was a rewarding experience since it reflects the working hours that doctors have to do sometimes during emergency times and late night on-calls. I've also been a good listener to the patients, some were fears from cancers and deaths.

Before I came here, I was a school and a county debater then and have attended various parliamentary style debate competitions including representing my school to the nationals at the Malaysian Prime Minister's Cup in 1998,1999 and 2000. Being one of the youngest debater at that time, being nominated as the Best Debater twice in the 3 years was a fantastic achievement. I've also represented the county at the Warriors Cup in 1999 and won second place in the state. I achieved the '1998-2000 School's Full Colour' award for my active participation in debate activities.

At school in Malaysia, I was an active school prefect and working under Health and Safety Bureau. My role involved morning dormitory inspections, organising roll-calls, assemblies, annual dinners, festival celebrations and emergency spot-checks. My Bureau was responsible of the whole students' safety and I was the one who was in charge to take care of students during fire drills practice, floods, storms and blackouts which constantly occurred. I have developed a great leadership skills through this and have managed to work in tense and tedious emergency circumstances. Also as one of the editors in the school weekly magazines, I got used to working very hard with others to meet the deadlines. I did various interviews for the magazines and edited the main science and language sections. I am also one of the member in the Taekwondo club and Debating Society. For both clubs, I was the Financial Director and was responsible for the clubs money and its expenditures. Taekwondo taught me major skills of self-defence and discipline. We practiced together as a group and faced a lot of challenges. I am a reasonably experienced team player, able to work both on my own and with others.

Grades achieved:

• C in GCSE English
• As in all 5 subjects including Maths and Sciences in UPSR
• As in all 8 subjects including Sciences, Maths, History and Geography in PMR

How personal statements have changed?

The current personal statement format, with three 'scaffolding' questions, was introduced by Ucas in September 2025. This personal statement was submitted before then, using the old essay-style format. It has been carefully edited into the three-question format, with all of the original wording kept.

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