(Article contributed by Lee Zheng Yii, Master in Science graduate)

“Specializing in the area of clinical nutrition was always my goal since I was exposed to it during my undergraduate study as a dietetic student.” Dietitian is a profession that is an expert in the relationship between diet and disease, and one of the important areas is clinical nutrition (nutrition care for the patients in the hospital). Among the various patient population group in the hospital, Zheng Yii has chosen to study patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). “Patients in the ICU are critically ill and require specialized nutrition care from the dietitian, which affects their recovery and survival.”

Beside managed to graduate on time, Zheng Yii has successfully published 5 papers (3 of them are in Q1 and Q2 journal) from his master study and written a book that serve as a guideline for the dietitian in Malaysia for the nutrition care of critically ill patients, published by the Malaysians’ Dietitian Association (MDA) and endorsed by the Ministry of Health Malaysia. Furthermore, he has also received various awards such as the travel grant award from the International Society of Endocrinology and the Best Poster Award from the Malaysia Society of Intensive Care. He was also appointed to be the Assistant Honorary Secretary for the MDA to serve the profession and to promote research and evidence-based practice among the dietitians in Malaysia.

Zheng Yii is very passionate in research as he believes that healthcare can only be improved by good quality research. He decided to continue his PhD study in Malaysia so that more local data can be generated to further improve the healthcare quality of the country. Besides, he also loves to share his knowledge and hopes to train more research passionate dietitian in the future. “I hope to be a lecturer in the near future so that I can continue to conduct research and share my knowledge in the university”.

"Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” This quote teaches me to be persistent and not to be lazy. Success won't come if we never take any action, or if we only do the minimum just for the sake of passing a test. Besides that, Zheng Yii also advices prospective postgraduate student to thirst for knowledge and be proactive in seeking solutions to the problems encountered.

Lee Zheng Yii won the Gold Medal Master in Thesis in 2017

Date of Input: 03/09/2018 | Updated: 06/12/2018 | azimin