Students' Take: Reflections on our shared humanity

 Valedictory Speech by Dr Girvan Tay, Class of 2023 

Presiding Officer, Distinguished Guests, Professors, Fellow Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Girvan, and I am from Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.

Not too long ago, we sat where we are now, anxiously awaiting the moment when our White Coats would be donned on us. We entered a fraternity so steeped in legacy that the road ahead seemed daunting. Looking back at that time, I found myself reflecting on my personal journey thus far.

I believe I speak for most of my peers when I say that what drew me to medicine was the fact that we would be acquiring skills and knowledge to aid others in the very fundamental and universal domain that is their health. Yet due to the unending demands of medical school and our profession, we often found ourselves crushed by Sisyphean expectations. We soon discovered that preserving the ‘why’ we chose medicine, was a challenge we had to struggle with, and will continue to struggle with in the years to come.

Personally, this struggle led me to think about clinicians and peers whom I look up to, in the hope that their example will guide me to someone I hope I can become someday.

Through our clinical years, I realised that what made certain clinicians inspiring was not their clinical ability, but rather their kindness and humility. I remember on the first day of my Year 3 Internal Medicine posting, during rounds, Prof Endean knelt by each patient’s bedside to engage them at eye level.

I remember Sister Ramani spending her weekends with us in the skills lab, helping us hone our skills when she could be home resting with her children. She has — on many occasions — called us her ‘other children’, and she always made us feel that way. 

I remember receiving a care pack from Mr Emmanuel while a bunch of us were quarantined at the height of COVID. In the confines of my quarantine room, where days and nights were just numbers on a clock, his kind act made me feel freed. 

I remember being helplessly battered by illness, kept afloat day-to-day by the compassion and support of my friends.

I remember the final stretch before MBBS, when my teammate Angela pulled out a delicious matcha cheesecake and handwritten notes of encouragement. While MBBS has passed, the reassurance that I was not going through tough times alone persists still.

After the past five years, I have realised that the people, who to me embodied what it meant to be a clinician, did so not only through their competency, but also their humanity.

For while competency makes a functional doctor, humanity makes an exceptional one.

While this is my own personal journey and takeaway, I am certain that each and every one of us has undergone many challenges which we have each grown from and overcome. To my batchmates, and to our Engineering postgraduates, thank you for being here, and congratulations once again.

I believe many of us, myself included, would like to take this opportunity to thank three groups of people who have been crucial in our growth thus far.

First, I would like to thank our tutors, both in NTU, Singapore and in institutions across Singapore. If not for your unwavering support and guidance, we would have never acquired the skills and competencies which we wield today. Each of you are such extraordinary teachers, yet never fail to inspire us in the most ordinary of ways. And for that, we are forever grateful.

Next, I would like to thank our families and loved ones. If not for your unconditional love and support, we would never have found the strength to keep going through tough times and be sitting here today. Thank you, and we seek to show those around us the same unconditional support you’ve given us.

My dear fellow graduates, please stand up, and turn around to face your parents, family, and friends. Please join me, to give them a round of applause for all that they have done for us.  Now, please be seated. 

Last, but not least, I would like to thank our friends sitting beside us today. Through the ups and downs, we have stayed anchored to each other. We have weathered many storms together, and I am confident we will weather many more. 

Even as we leave this hall, I am certain that in the years to come, we will continue to stand by each other, facing the day-to-day challenges shoulder-to-shoulder, never forgetting why we chose this path in the first place.

Till we meet again! Thank you.