Dear Reader,

T

he father of American psychology, William James once said, ‘You’re not what you think you are, but what you think—you are.’ Change always begins with new thinking: new knowledge, insights and understanding will challenge, shape and mould the minds of the Medicine Class of 2027 and Nursing Class of 2025, who start their studies and healthcare careers at an inflexion point in Singapore’s battle against the coronavirus.

We see hopeful signs of an end to the Covid-19 pandemic after nearly 2.5 years of living and working differently. In doing so, our minds have been opened to the many novel ways in which life can continue, with adaptation and adjustment. Some changes will be permanent, such as flexible work arrangements, using AI and technology deliberately and increasingly to achieve better outcomes and augment limited staff resources.

With a return to more pre-COVID-19 activities, we are also able to revive meaningful events that are rites of passage for our students e.g. the White Coat Ceremony, and the Medicine Dinner.

This year’s Dinner on 3 July celebrated the graduating Classes of 2022, 2021 and 2020. Graduates from the latter two classes did not have the opportunity of a final, traditional gathering with classmates and teachers before they were sent off to join the fight against the virus. So, this year’s Dinner was also a long-awaited send-off and reunion for these two groups of alumni.

I have always been amazed and inspired by the talent and energy of our students. Here is yet another example: a paper authored by seven of our students and presented by its first author, fourth year student Ng Cheng Han at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) conference in San Diego, has been selected as the best abstract of the entire conference.

Their mentor, Dr Daniel Huang Qingyao told me: “They have done some impactful work that will help change practice for hepatocellular carcinoma, liver transplantation, and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. One of the students has multiple publications on liver cancer in journals such as the Lancet Oncology, and several more in press, including articles in Cell Metabolism and JAMA Network Open. These students are a rare breed and I am really proud to mentor them.”

Our staff meanwhile, continue to do good work and I invite you to read about it in these pages. One example is the need to find a way to better care for patients who are facing stress, anxiety and depression, or when physical restraint is required.

Compounded by the effects of COVID-19, the rise in mental health issues has led to an increase in instances of agitation and violence against healthcare workers in recent years. As inadequate management of agitation can result in physical and psychological injuries, it is important for healthcare workers to be equipped with competencies in managing agitation safely, holistically, and empathically.

To enhance education on managing incidences of agitation in the clinical setting, a team of doctors, nurses and students has developed a new virtual reality (VR) programme to teach medical and nursing students effective management of agitated patients using empathic means, in a safe, repeatable, and controlled manner. Titled “Virtual Reality in Agitation Management (VRAM)”, the programme helps students learn the skills while handling VR patients that reflect behavioural characteristics of patients often encountered by healthcare workers.

Led by Assistant Professor Cyrus Ho from the Department of Psychological Medicine, the team developed the programme to integrate the learning for both doctors and nurses, so as to provide holistic care for patients in the future.

Finally, and to close on a high, I am pleased to tell you that one of the world’s foremost thinkers in the field of bioethics has joined the School. Professor Julian Savulescu, who has been with the University of Oxford since 2002, brings immense expertise and deep scholarship in the discipline to NUS Medicine as the Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor. His initial three-year appointment at NUS begins in August this year. I am also happy to report that the School has moved up to 21^st place (from 24^th last year) in the 2022 Quacquarelli Symonds ranking of medical schools globally, and remains No. 1 in Asia.

Yours sincerely,

Chong Yap Seng