Lee Hsien Loong Award for outstanding all-round achievement – Dr Benjamin Tan Yong Qiang
Published: 17 Sep 2013
A Compassionate Leader
Benjamin Tan Yong Qiang or Ben, as he is fondly called, is an outstanding student of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine).
Ben achieved the delicate balance of excelling in his medical studies and active participation in student-led activities; holding key leadership positions in the NUS Medical Society and other initiatives.
One of Ben’s most outstanding achievements was establishing the NUS Medical Society-Christine Chong Hui Xian Bursary Fund. The bursary was established in the name of a fellow medical student who passed on due to lymphoma in 2009, and aims to provide needy medical students with financial assistance for their studies. Although Ben and his fellow students’ initial target was to raise $150,000, the bursary currently stands at over $460,000, three times the original target! Ben’s unwavering commitment to providing the very best for his fellow medical students is commendable and is exemplary. In his “philanthropic” journey, Ben has inspired his juniors, and many are encouraged and motivated to spearhead future projects to raise funds for the bursary.
A natural and charismatic leader, Ben also served as the Vice-President of the 62nd NUS Medical Society. Testament of his dedication to the Society, Ben continued to devote his time to mentoring the juniors and helmed various projects even after he had passed the baton to the new committee. For his enthusiastic efforts, Ben was awarded the NUS Medical Society Excellence Award for Leadership.
As Senior Advisor to the organising committee, Ben guided the 25th East Asian Medical Students’ Conference in 2012. The conference is organizsd annually to address global healthcare problems in the region and was held in Singapore for the first time. During the conference, Ben and his team were successful in presenting a White Paper to improve and ameliorate imperative healthcare problems pertaining to the management of Infectious Diseases regionally. A copy of the paper was also submitted to the Ministry of Health, Singapore and highlighted the principles of effective management of infectious diseases. In addition, Benjamin is also a pioneer member of the Asian Medical Students’ Association of Singapore, and currently serves as the Honorary Advisor.
Hardworking, intelligent and articulate, Ben graduated on the Dean’s list, and is currently in his Post-Graduate Year 1. Together with other graduates, he hopes to contribute to the student community and establish strong alumni involvement to guide the juniors. Befittingly, he has recently been invited to be a junior mentor in the NUS Medicine Houses. Ben’s passion and genuine love for medicine and the community makes him an excellent role model for the students; and many of his juniors look up to him and want to emulate him.
Reflecting back on experiences at NUS Medicine, Ben shared, “It was truly humbling to be part of the student experience, to be able to work with many passionate individuals on causes that we deeply believed in. The inspiration comes in seeing the various initiatives through to the end, and seeing how they come into effect and eventually impact the lives of others. One comes out of all this experiences with a greater sense of responsibility, motivated to drive even more change that will benefit the lives of others and the community.”
