Preface: This interview seeks to introduce Tammy, a rising Y2 NUS student from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in Singapore. Tammy shares her perspective on how she came to be a student in medicine, why she chose medicine and how she juggles her numerous extracurriculars with a demanding academic schedule.
Question: How did you decide on pursuing medicine?
Tammy: As a child, I used to experience an existential crisis. I would ponder over the reasons why humans lived, what their roles on this planet were, why life was so fleeting, and what happened after we died. After having reflected on all these thoughts, I felt a desire to inject meaning into this insignificant life of mine by helping those who couldn’t help themselves – the voiceless and powerless - through acts of service. It wasn’t easy figuring out my calling in life, but it was a process that I am grateful I went about discovering.
I explored the service industry by taking part in CCAs such as the Interact Club, giving tuition to underprivileged kids, helping out at the old folk’s home and going on overseas service projects. Medicine has always had this service aspect to it and that aligns very nicely with the life that I hope to live in the future: to work in a local public hospital for about ¾ of the year and then to devote the remaining ¼ of each year to serving overseas communities as a humanitarian aid worker. I hope that the knowledge and skills that I pick up from the study of Medicine may empower me to achieve this dream.
I have also always liked Biology. This goes way back to P3 when my science teacher brought a lamb’s heart to class and let all the bright-eyed students dissect it. I was fascinated by the capacity of something so small in powering life, and have, since then, been deeply intrigued by Biology. It continues to be my favourite subject till today, and I am very thankful for this because it has made the study of Medicine equally enjoyable and interesting for me.
Question: What modules/activities have you done so far in your major?
For Medicine, it is important to note that all modules have been pre-allocated to us, so that means that you will not be able to choose any of them. In Y1, I studied anatomy and had the chance to work with human cadavers. There were also a lot of opportunities for medicine students to explore their external interests. For instance, I participated in a global health elective programme where I got to meet with doctors who served in overseas rural health settings. I was deeply inspired as I got to hear about their challenges, the sacrificed they made and, above all, raw encounters with individuals whose mere survivals are at risk every day. I’m usually said to be overly idealistic, but conversing with these doctors helped me develop a greater awareness of the practical issues, such as financial complications, that are part and parcel of humanitarian aid work. Yet, the thing that struck me the most was when one of them said, “If you are willing to live simply, you can do anything”. I couldn’t agree more.
Question: What are you looking forward to learning in your major?
So far, I’ve really enjoyed the study of the human anatomy. I always look forward to going to the anatomy hall, examining human cadavers and studying the spatial orientation of different parts of the human body. Other than that, other interesting subjects we take include physiology, biochemistry, histology, pharmacology, immunology and miscellaneous things like ethics and Medicine and Society.
Question: What are tests and assessments like in Med school?
Assessment in YLL differs from LKC and Duke NUS. For YLL, how we do it is that we have four exams in Y1 - CA1, CA2, CA3 and our finals. Usually, the percentage for each small exam varies from around 8 to 16 percent, whilst the final exam usually has the highest weightage. LKC has all its exams purely in an MCQ format. Comparatively, in YLL, we have a mixture of MCQs, short answer questions and rapid image identification tests, which we call SPOTs.
Our written questions usually provide us with case studies of patients. We are then expected to break them down, name the abnormalities, suggest the underlying pathophysiology, list out possible patient risk factors and the likes.
I find SPOTs quite amusing and fun, actually. The assessment is conducted in a rapid-fire manner where we are given around 1 ½ minutes to identify structures based on pictures of specimens, and then to answer questions related to them. Sometimes, doing this paper almost feels like being part of a game show!
How different is Uni life compared to JC/poly?
Uni life is not completely different from JC but I did feel a drastic change. For one, I could feel a greater sense of independence and liberty to do things by myself. It was quite intimidating initially because, all of a sudden, I found myself not having a teacher to guide or supervise me in my projects. Almost all of the activities that I have engaged in in Uni have been purely ideated, spearheaded and executed by students alone.
In Med, for most of our school-wide projects, we liaise with a middleman: the Medical Society. They have many official documents for us to sign (like a memorandums of understanding) and legal regulations related to sponsorships, etc. I can be quite cool because drafting and signing these agreements make you feel all grown up, but it’s also scary at the same time, because if you mess up, you are the one liable. I guess it’s all part of the process of taking greater responsibility and being more accountable for our actions and decisions.
What would you say are skills that have helped you navigate through Uni?
Firstly, I’ve learnt to find ways to relax and healthier mediums to channel my more complex emotions to. Even though I’ve only been in Uni for a year, in no doubt was it a scary roller coaster ride. Studies is one thing; another would be balancing your countless other university projects and commitments. Things may also happen at home, and whenever that’s case, it often takes a very big emotional toll on your heart. For me, during darker times, I turn to song writing, mainly because I like to play the guitar and write poems. Disclaimer: my songs really suck! But even so, I find that this method of therapy really helps. Because whenever I sing, I find myself grounding my emotions into something more tangible; I learn to face myself better. I really believe in the value of finding something you enjoy and something that brings you comfort, because this will be one of the factors that help you get through, not only school, but life itself.
Additionally, I’m very reliant on my Google Calendar! My memory has always been very bad. - somehow, I can just never remember whatever I have told myself to do. But with my digital calendar, I get to add all the little details (like tasks, assignment deadlines, meetings and classes) into one consolidated app. As Google Calendar is accessible from multiple devices, I also find it very helpful how I can visualise my schedule as and when I need to – even on the go. I treat it almost like my little second brain, and find it so useful in keeping my life in check!
Were there any challenges that you faced in Uni? How have they affected you personally?
There were definitely a lot of challenges that I faced along the way, but the most significant one was what ultimately led me to improve my leadership style. I used to have more of a people-oriented working style – not in a good way, unfortunately. For instance, my meetings used to be very inefficient as I put a lot of emphasis on making sure that my members were having fun during the meetings – that meant that, sometimes, objectives were not properly met. After having had the chance to work with a diverse group of inspiring people in Uni, however, I have come to learn the true value of balancing efficiency and humanity in whatever work I do.
The change wasn’t one that happened overnight, though. It was a gradual process that warranted a lot of trial-and-error, introspection and uncomfortable moments. But I am grateful for having been through those struggles; I am grateful for how I’ve managed to grow as a person through these valuable experiences.
What kind of extra-curriculars did you do while in Uni?
I am currently in an overseas service project called Project Sa’Bai. We were supposed to go on two physical trips throughout our term in order to provide medical intervention and healthcare education to underprivileged villagers in rural parts of Cambodia. Unfortunately, they have been cancelled due to travel restrictions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, our batch has never lost hope – we still strive to leverage on innovative ways to serve our beneficiaries who, on the contrary, need us more than ever right now.
We are currently working in close collaboration with local Cambodian NGOs, our Cambodian medical student committee, and on-the-ground Catholic sisters and village chiefs to tailor our efforts specifically to the real needs of the people. We choose not to limit ourselves, but instead, to explore novel ideas such as the distribution of essential packs, water filter installations, teleconsultations, health forums and upskilling crash courses for Cambodian students. Sa’Bai has really been one of the biggest gifts I’ve received in med school. Working together with such a fervently driven team – all with a common heart for service – has only motivated me to go the extra mile. I simply have so much love for Sa’Bai, for all my members, and for all Cambodians we serve and work with!
Additionally, I embarked on a research project studying the health-seeking behaviour of the elderly and how COVID-19 might have affected that. The reason why we started on this project was because we were concerned that the virus was a deterrent for the elderly to make essential trips to the hospital or clinic, thus failing to receive, for instance, the chronic disease treatment they so need. We really wanted to researcher deeper into this area. Currently, we’re in the midst of getting our approvals by multiple ethics boards – which is one of the biggest hurdles we’ll have to face. Ultimately, our goal is to share our data with some of the organisations we are working with, to hopefully help them understand their patients better in order to tailor their services accordingly.
Would you recommend students to take up activities outside of their studies then? GPA vs holistic education especially since medicine is perceived to be a particularly rigorous course.
Definitely! But I feel that it also really depends on what gives you joy in life. I’m sure that there are a lot of people out there who seek a lot of enjoyment in advancing their knowledge in medical academia and learning beyond the syllabus – that’s a very amazing path to take! Just that for me, I saw a lot more joy in pursuing my external projects. Over the past year, I have had the chance to initiate two charity fundraising projects, acted in Playhouse and Medicamp productions, was part of the Global Health Interest Group executive committee, and the National Officer for Human Rights and Peace for the Asian Medical Students’ Association-Singapore (AMSA-SG). Outside of school, I enjoy dancing, singing, drumming, volunteering (at places like HealthServe, mental health support groups and rescue dog shelters) and spending time with my ahma too :)
During my term in AMSA-SG, I organised a human rights webinar where we invited distinguished speakers from the United Nations, Doctors without Borders and HealthServe to talk about their experiences in medical humanitarianism. It was a very bumpy journey initiating and spearheading such a big event, but I truly treasured the learning opportunities that came out of it. The strangest thing was that when the webinar ended, and I was heading out to have dinner with a friend, I couldn’t stop but just smile to myself the entire way through. I didn’t know why, but I was just so happy. It was just so much bliss knowing that even after all the challenges that occurred, everything worked out. It was such an amazing feeling.
Do you have any words of advice to share with the person who is reading this article?
Embrace the pain and bear your scars with pride. I am not a big fan of brushing away one’s struggles. Instead, I am grateful for the challenges and the hurt that I’ve been through, because they are the ones that have truly moulded me into a better person.
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