The Longitudinal Patient Experience (LPE) programme is one full of aspiration, which seeks to inculcate the familiar and yet often overlooked values of empathy, patience, kindness and promote engagement through a one-year community-based longitudinal follow-up of patients living in the community with chronic illnesses. This Phase I medical student volunteer programme is a faculty-supported initiative that was introduced in 2011 and has steadily grown in popularity over the years since. In the past year, a total of 238 out of 300 medical students participated in this programme; this year, 222 out of 300 medical and 62 nursing students chose to undertake this journey.
Two Phase II medical students, Charlotte Choo and Priscillia Lye, share their experiences…
Charlotte’s journey
I was under the mentorship of Dr Citra Mattar, an Obstetrics and Gynaecology Consultant at the National University Hospital (NUH) during my LPE journey. In our first meeting, Dr Citra introduced us to Ms Geetha, a patient in her second trimester, who was facing severe morning sickness symptoms. Due to the great discomfort Ms Geetha was experiencing, she was reconsidering carrying her child to term. Through our conversations with Ms Geetha and Dr Citra, we came to better understand our patient’s condition, dilemma and considerations.
Over time, Ms Geetha slowly opened up to us. She was sometimes like a mother to us as well: sending us encouraging messages when exams were around the corner and wishing us a great time when we were on holiday. This showed us how important it was to build rapport with our patients and to gain their confidence and trust. The process required time and effort, but it was indeed worth it to get to know her better and share in her experiences.
To our pleasant surprise, Ms Geetha invited us to observe her caesarean surgery. It was a ‘bonus’ experience for us, being able to witness the joy of parenthood, see how our mentor skilfully guided our patient through her pregnancy, and finally to delivery. It showed us that despite the challenges of this profession, the joy of doctoring is truly worth it all.
Our last LPE session was particularly heart-warming as Ms Geetha finally agreed to a home visit. We were uncertain as to how her family would react to our presence, but were pleasantly surprised when Ms Geetha’s two other children were very excited to see and play with us. Beyond the fun, it was pleasant to see how our patient was now a proud and happy mother of three beautiful children, despite her initial doubts and worries.
The experience was definitely a novel and valuable one for my partner and me. Although we may not have grasped the full picture of the healthcare system yet, the few interactions provided us with an invaluable lesson. The soft skills and awareness that I gained will definitely be a part of me when I deliver healthcare to my patients in future.
From left to right: Jacqueline Koh (Phase II), Ms Geetha (our patient), Charlotte Choo (Phase II)
Priscillia’s journey
A typical trip to Mdm Shahira’s went something like this: I would be sitting on the sofa, watching television, with my patient Aliff Adrian leaning on me, trying to explain what Spongebob was doing. Mdm Shahira, Adrian’s mother, would be on the adjacent sofa, with her toddler, Aniq Rayhan, in her arms. We would be chatting about her three boys, her cats which she refers to as her ‘fur daughters’ and then her toddler would slip out of her arms to play with Chen Xiang, my LPE partner. There would be loads of toys strewn all over the floor. Evening would come and Mdm Shahira’s eldest son, Audi Rayyan, would return from primary school and the house would bustle with even more activity as the big brother would bring toys back for his younger siblings and recount his day at school. Every visit was one filled with chatter and laughter.
Mdm Shahira is one parent any medical student would have loved to interact with. She was ever so willing to share her experiences; and most importantly, she radiated positive energy. Adrian had been a pre-mature baby and as such, he faced multiple complications in his early years. Due to these complications, Adrian had been diagnosed with autism. Despite the many challenges, Mdm Shahira remained optimistic and counted her little blessings with every small progress Adrian made. She beamed with pride when she described how Adrian had started becoming curious about his surroundings and how he had started to enjoy going to school instead of dreading it.
Dr Khoo Poh Choo was our very patient and friendly mentor. When she accompanied us on our house visits, it was as if there were two mothers exchanging their experiences, not a patient’s mother consulting a doctor. House visits like these were very humbling. They made us realise how deep-seated our prejudices and stereotypes were; and very often, how ignorant we were. There was so much we needed to learn, and unlearn, and apart from our mentors, who better to learn from than our patients.
As a medical student in pre-clinical years, the LPE programme made my learning experience much more real. I knew the patient’s name not because I was supposed to, but because I wanted to. I finally started to appreciate how dynamic healthcare is and the LPE programme provided a peek into the challenges we would face when we graduate as doctors.
From left to right: Dr Khoo Poh Choo, Aniq Rayhan (youngest child), Audi Rayyan (eldest child), Aliff Adrian (second child; our patient), Priscillia Lye (Phase II), Ang Chen Xiang (Phase II)