MED001 - Asclepius in Medicine, NUS

Describe a little about yourself, are there any character traits that you feel align you with your course of study?

I graduated from Meridian Junior College (MJC) in 2012 and I’m currently pursuing a course in Medicine. I was a Physics student in MJC with only O level knowledge in Biology. My personality profile has always shown me to be an introvert, but I enjoy moderate interaction especially with close friends and relatives. I have a rather casual personality when it comes to playtime but I treat work with utmost seriousness. I wouldn’t say that I have infinite patience but a good level of tolerance and perseverance does help in this course of study.

Why Medicine?

I believe that choosing your field of study depends on your interest. It was from my secondary school days in St. John Ambulance Brigade that exposed me to the joys of helping people. While helping people can sometimes go unappreciated, a little change to someone’s life could have meant a huge difference for others. Being in Medicine allows me to make small changes that together mean a huge difference in peoples’ lives. This would be why I considered Medicine as a career in the first place.

I do have inspirational figures as well who helped me decide to pursue this path. Friends whose parents are nurses, relatives in the healthcare industry and my mother, an allied healthcare worker, willingly share interesting stories about their journey through the years with me. Not all of these are happy stories; many include the period of SARS and the dangers and challenges of medicine as well. Nonetheless, some of them were inspirational and encouraging which have helped me decide to study medicine.

What kind of challenges have you encountered pursuing a course in Medicine? Even with all these obstacles, why drives you?

Medicine can become tiring as the years go by and some people lose passion over time. Some become desensitized with time and practice and also fatigue from studying the same thing and cramming knowledge does prove to be difficult at times. Personally the workload becomes worse with each year that pass and this proves challenging after a while. I think what keeps me going is managing my time well, prioritizing my commitments (I’m first a medical student!) and really putting small periods of breaks and relaxing in between the endless studying throughout each academic year. Above all else, I have a goal in mind of becoming a good doctor in the future and I work towards it :)

How is an average day in Medicine like?

This really changes with the years. In the first year, contrary to popular belief, I found that it was really manageable with classes ending around noon or earlier on most days (classes always start at 8.30a.m unless otherwise stated) with the exception of days with tutorials (Fridays) and lab work. In the second year, life becomes slightly busier not due to classes ending later but due to the greater amount of information learnt. Subsequent academic years (year 3 and onwards) are postings in hospitals whereby days can end really late, varying greatly with individuals. In this course, a lot of emphasis is placed on self-directed learning above the usual spoon-feeding in lectures so it could get really busy with each year that passes.

 How are your classes like?

Medicine gets increasingly content heavy with each year that pass with more practical involvement as well. Lectures and tutorials are the standard in the lower medical undergraduate years while these opportunities become lesser with higher undergraduate years. Overtime, a lot depends on our initiative to ask for help and self-reading to survive and excel in this course.

Is Medicine your first choice? What were your other choices?

Yes, Medicine is my first choice. I did apply for Law and Business in NUS as my “backup” but I already knew that I was not cut out to be a lawyer given my personality while business was something that I was not really interested in studying. If I had not received a Medicine offer from NUS, I would have rejected law or business as substitutes anyway simply because I cannot envision myself having a career which I do not have any interest in.

What kind of career prospects does a medical graduate have? What do you wish to do with your degree?

Medicine graduates have to serve a 6 year bond with the MOH unless you wish to break the bond and pay for the damages (it’s about $500,000 FYI). So within the 6 years, most of us have a fixed career path of working up from a junior doctor. You do have a choice to apply for a specialty, in other words, which field you wish to be a doctor in after you graduate though. After the 5 years, you may wish to stay on with the public health service, go private, work part-time as a doctor, become a politician, run a business, become a researcher, professor, performer, Dad, Mum or even assume the role of all of the above if you’re capable enough. I can’t say for sure what I plan to do with my degree at this stage of my life 5 years after the bond, but at least I do know I won’t burn it or throw it away within 5 years after I graduate.

What do you think are things that someone should be aware of before embarking on a degree in Medicine?

Firstly, seriously consider if you want to pursue it. I personally view that money and a stable career are not wrong reasons for starting a degree in Medicine but they should not be your primary or your only reason for doing so. Ask yourself if you are really interested in it or are there other reasons why you would want to start going for this degree. Also consider about why you do not wish to go for a degree in nursing and allied health instead when these career paths can make significant changes to the life of patients as well (sometimes even more than doctors can do so). Convince yourself that this is really what you want to pursue so that you can convince others. Learn more about it by talking to those with experience and exposure to the field of healthcare. Lastly, ask and answer yourself this question that was asked to me during my interview, “If you were to make an oath to your patients upon entering this course, a binding oath to them and to yourself. What would your pledge be?”

If you have any questions regarding the sharing by Asclepius, feel free to ask your questions at the Contact Us tab and we'll contact Asclepius to answer those questions for you! :)