ivided into mini-orientation groups, the incoming batch of NUS Medicine students were introduced to one another in a cosy setting, as they exchanged perspectives and aspirations about starting their journey in the medical school. In addition to sharing sessions, the online camp pitted the teams against one another at mass games and intergroup games. These included “Teachers’ Pet”, where students had to carry out a set of tasks over Zoom without the ‘teacher’ noticing, Haxball, an online multiplayer soccer game, as well as online charades.

The organising committee also introduced a special edition of the Minecraft world, which was creatively conceptualised and constructed from scratch through a version made available to NUS students, within just a month. In the Minecraft world, games included “Finders Keepers”, where teams had to find as many enchanted books as they could, “Maze Runner”, where each team had to find landmarks within a maze and escape together, and “Medriokart”, where teams competed to finish a kart race within the shortest time. In addition to these games, all the players also had to work within their teams to create the most impressive Minecraft world with building blocks, and present their works during the finale of the camp.

New students at NUS Medicine were introduced to one another at Medicamp 2021

“Despite the COVID-19 restrictions and medium through which the camp was conducted, we managed to make the most out of the camp and definitely got to know one another better through the games and sharing,” shared one of the Phase I students.

The incoming students also had the opportunity to role-play during the Simulations (SIMS) segment, where they experienced the steps and interactions they would have to manage as junior doctors in the years to come.

“While the pandemic has changed the face of how orientation was traditionally conducted, our organising committee has tirelessly worked through many changes to ensure that the new students would have an enjoyable experience. We hope that the students have built good rapport with one another through the camp, as we believe having a close community is very important to follow us through the five years of medical school,” reflected Phase II students, Charmaine Chua and Timothy Ng, who were the directors of Medicamp 2021.

Instead of the Welcome Dinner which used to be the first event to formally induct new students into the medical fraternity, the School came up with COVID-19-safe ways of welcome, before the semester began in August 2021. Spearheaded by the Events Core Team, the School prepared close to 300 surprise Welcome Packs for them. These packs were delivered to their homes, with Meddy, the School mascot, accompanying the delivery team to some locations.

The Welcome Packs, comprising white coats pinned with name tags, class ties and scarves (for male and female students respectively), messages from the Dean and House Master Mentors, Meddy plushies, official School masks and Vanda NUS Medicine hand sanitisers, were put together in boxes bearing the crests of the Houses to which the students are assigned. Each pack was also individualised, with the student’s name printed on the spine of the box.

The students posed for a shot with Meddy upon receiving their Welcome Packs.

Grateful for the gesture, the students penned notes of appreciation to the team in helping them establish a sense of belonging to the School despite the lack of in-person events to mark the start of their semester. “I am sure all of us will be able to make close friends and forge lasting memories in the next five years,” said Phase I student, Mike Sun.

Click here to see the preparation and delivery of Welcome Packs.