Finding a suitable programme was challenging because the entire world was battling the COVID-19 pandemic. One day, while talking to a dear friend of mine, she shared her experience of how she was able to pursue her postgraduate degree in two years at IMU while working full-time at a hospital during the pandemic. This caught my attention, as I am not required to take a long break or travel for weekend classes.

After much consideration, I enrolled in a Master in Pharmacy Practice (MPP) programme specialising in Clinical Pharmacy at IMU. Pursuing a master’s degree not only helped me with my career progress, but it is also a fulfillment of lifelong learning. The course was structured in such a way that it encouraged independent learning among the students. I was working in a primary care clinic in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan. I travel back home during the weekends; however, with the pandemic, I am unable to go back. Since the classes were conducted online and during the weekends, I was able to focus on my work during the weekdays. My expectation was that with a master’s degree, I would be able to improve better service to my patients. Indeed, that expectation was fulfilled. As time went by, I became more detail-oriented and critical in my decision-making. Clinical decisions are often made based on evidence that requires proper analysis. Subjects like evidence-based medicine taught me how to critically evaluate published papers and put them into practise.

As any working adult would experience, balancing work and study can be challenging and, at times, stressful. My situation is not any different. Time management is very important. After my work, I usually spend some time reading articles related to the lectures, completing my assignments, and doing my research. With the support of my co-workers and mentor, I successfully finished the programme, achieving a Distinction. A plus point about this programme is that there is no end-of-semester examination. The programme only has internal assessments.