Class of 2023: Medical doctors who are already making waves in healthcare
Published: 09 Jul 2023
DOREEN GOH SHU LIN
Class of 2023; first graduand with an MBBS and Master of Science (Research), under the MBBS Intercalated Year Programme by NUS Medicine
House Officer, Orthopedics, Singapore General Hospital
For many medical students, studying for a five-year Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) is already an achievement in itself. To throw a Master’s degree into the mix while studying for an MBBS is an incredible feat, and something that Doreen feels fortunate to have succeeded in completing during her time in medical school. Under the recently-launched MBBS Intercalated Year Programme (IYP) by the NUS Medicine Division of Graduate Studies, Doreen will be the first graduand from the Class of 2023 graduating from NUS Medicine with both an MBBS and Master of Science (Research) this year. The MBBS IYP allows students to take an academic year off to pursue another area of study full-time between Year 4 and 5 of their MBBS programme. Doreen jumped at the chance as it allowed her to experiment with reagents and harvesting samples, something which she thoroughly enjoyed doing in the labs of A*STAR and NUS even before she entered medical school.
Doreen joined the NUS Tissue Engineering Programme under Emeritus Professor Lee Eng Hin and Senior Research Fellow Dr Yang Zheng to study cartilage regeneration, and the manipulation of cartilage stem cells to understand cartilage regrowth after injury.
The gap year that Doreen took to explore the research field proved to be one of the most memorable and eye-opening experiences during her time in medical school. Grit and tenacity – the two biggest takeaways that Doreen gleaned from her time in the lab. There will be many times when experiments fail, Doreen recalled. “I needed to exercise a lot of deliberate care to make sure that the cell culture did not get contaminated, a misstep would mean more costs incurred and more time wasted,” Doreen added.
Since graduating from medical school, Doreen is optimistic about the different pathways that allows her to merge her interest for medicine and research to create solutions to drive the frontiers of medical science in Singapore. “Within research, it helps to have people with different perspectives and different backgrounds view the same problem because it does create a good solution that is truly beneficial, since we are all working towards the same goal.” With the goal of becoming a clinician-scientist in the future, this stint has given Doreen insights into how translational research is important in helping to shape the holistic development of future doctors, and further encourage her to think flexibly and laterally in preparation for a career and practice in the realm between medicine and science.
MATTHEW SCOTT LAU WEN JIANG
Class of 2023; National Sailor, Co-Founder and Project Director of Sail SG Challenge
House Officer, General Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital
The sense of adventure and being very close to nature first sparked Matthew’s interest in sailing. It was the learning curve and competitive aspect of sailing that ultimately got him hooked.
Even with time and years of practice, it never felt easier juggling both sailing and academic pursuits. The journey only became harder when Matthew entered medical school. However, Matthew shared that enjoying both passions — Medicine and sailing, and relishing the challenges that come with them have allowed him to cope with the rigours of study and sport. “Being out in the waters after an intensive day of practising Medicine helps me to relieve stress, and the same can be said when it is time to hit the books after an intense sailing competition. Both passions provide a different change of pace that is helpful with managing the stresses.”
For Matthew, being adept at managing stress, while identifying patterns is important as a sailing tactician. He has to observe situational cues in the moment, such as seeing how the wind is blowing in the water, the movement of the waves and current flow, and how competitors are positioning themselves. These cues need to be fitted into a pattern for a plan to be formulated and communicated to teammates before execution. Similarly, in Medicine, it is crucial to take note of clinical features and test results to arrive at a diagnosis, come up with a treatment plan, and communicate it clearly for efficient and effective execution. This has also honed clear communication skills, being adaptable in an ever-changing environment and making the most out of the conditions that he is presented with — these abilities are constantly refined in his current House Officer role in Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Despite feeling a rewarding sense of accomplishment, Matthew does not take the difficulties of chasing multiple passions lightly. He will do it all over again if given a choice. “It may not always feel easy juggling multiple passions at the same time. The feeling does not come to everyone, or something that comes every day. But if you get that feeling, it is definitely something that you should try to run with as far as you can, and see where it takes you.”
AQILAH FAAIQAH BINTE HAJI SHAMSURI
Class of 2023; Director of PEER Community Programme, President of APEX Mentors and Co-Director of Muslim Healthcare Outreach Programme and YMC Healthcare Challenge
House Officer, General Medicine, Changi General Hospital
Aqilah has plenty of experience mentoring and interacting with youths, so much so that she sees herself as one of them.
As the Director of the PEER Community Programme under the Young Mendaki Club, Aqilah manages partnerships with schools, and oversees the organising team that runs six-month long mentorship programmes for secondary school students living in Tampines. Previously, Aqilah was also heavily involved in providing tuition in Mathematics and Science to Primary 6 students, or introducing school-going youths to various healthcare careers, as part of these youth developmental programmes.
It can feel daunting trying to build rapport with adolescents, especially when they are at a rebellious stage. To Aqilah, relating to youths is not as hard as others make it out to be. “I believe in taking the time to listen to them and getting to know them; it will take one to three sessions for them to open up and then it becomes easier to build rapport with them,” said Aqilah. She likens mentoring youths to the patients that she sees daily. “The patients may not always be so forthcoming in answering questions regarding their health status or lifestyle habits. As doctors, we should take some time to get to know them beyond their conditions and their lifestyles, then they will become more open to sharing their problems and it will be easier to tackle the root cause from there.”
This revelation of practicing active listening and relating to others did not come easy to Aqilah at first. For the first two years of medical school, she was so consumed with trying to get good grades in medical school that she had no time for other pursuits. It was only after taking a gap year to be the primary caregiver for her late mother, that the time away from Medicine made her realise that there was more to life than just studying. She needed to pursue her other areas of her life she had neglected after entering medical school, such as spending time with family and friends, as well as her passion in volunteering, to regain the thrill and sense of satisfaction that drove her to pursue Medicine. Now, as a newly-minted doctor, she desires to channel her expertise towards uplifting the medical community and caring for her patients to the best of her ability.
Read more about Doreeen and Aqilah’s story in The Straits Times article here and in NUS News here.
