First MEDIFEST 2024 by IIUM’s MedSS and AMSA makes history

By, Dewi Amira Radin Ariff

MEDIFEST 2024 is the first ever festival hosted by IIUM’s Kulliyyah of Medicine organized by the IIUM Medical Students’ Society (MedSS) and the IIUM Asian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA). The festival lasted for three days and was held from 18 October until 20 October 2024. At MEDIFEST, participants had the opportunity to engage in expert talks, attend workshops, as well be aware of good causes.

The festival started off with a symposium that I had the honour of moderating titled, “Journey to Be Frontliners.” The symposium focused on the journey from being a competent medical student to a well-rounded doctor with emphasis on the importance of knowing effective learning techniques and having empathy and professionalism in the workforce. The three speakers of the symposium were a final year medical student, Alaa Nassereldeen; family medicine specialist, Associate Professor Dr. Nurjasmine Aida binti Jamani, and internal medicine specialist, Dr. Mohd Aiman bin Saiful Suhardi. Alaa shared what personally motivated her to pursue a career in medicine and the impactful experiences she encountered whilst on the journey, Associate Professor Dr. Nurjasmine highlighted the challenges she faced while transitioning to her frontliner role and how she coped with the physical and emotional demands of her job, and Dr. Aiman spoke about the mentors who inspired him and how they played a role in his journey up until now.

Following this, Breaking Barriers, a crash course for future doctors to overcome language barriers was held. It comprised an immersive Mandarin language crash course instructed by Houseman Officer at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan in Kuantan, Dr. Loo En You, and a talk given by family medicine specialist, Dr. Mohd. Aizuddin bin Abd Rahman, on language in the primary care perspective to help medical professionals break language barriers in their practices. A health screening was also held at the Kulliyyah of Medicine to encourage students to prioritize their health and well-being and help them make informed decisions on lifestyle changes before health problems arise. The health screening offered blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and blood glucose analysis and doctor’s consultation was also readily available for those who required it.

On the final day of the festival, the MEDIFEST Run for Osteoporosis event was held with 321 registered participants taking part from the IIUM community and public. The run consisted of a 3km as well as a 5km route around the IIUM Kuantan campus with the starting point being at the Kulliyyah of Medicine. This run was organized to raise awareness on osteoporosis and bone health in conjunction with World Osteoporosis Day on 20 October with the hopes of making an impact on the fight against osteoporosis. Finally, there were also food stalls organized by each of the Kulliyyah of Medicine student batches with a large variety of food ranging from popia carbonara, Vietnamese rolls, sandwiches, and drinks such as bandung cincau, and ribena laici all available for purchase.

MEDIFEST 2024, the first ever festival held at the Kulliyyah of Medicine successfully managed to bring together medical students, healthcare professionals, and the public. All thanks to the dedicated committees and participants who found time to join the fun. The organisers look forward to seeing the event grow in the future and hope for it to become an annual occurrence.***