LKCMedicine’s 12th and Largest Cohort Initiates Medical Journey

LKCMedicine welcomed its 12^th cohort – the School’s largest cohort to date – on 14 August, at its annual White Coat Ceremony. The ceremony is made all the more special as this cohort is the pioneer class of the NTU-awarded MBBS programme.

Witnessed by Guest-of-Honour LKCMedicine Chairman Mr Lim Chuan Poh, and several distinguished guests from the healthcare family  as well proud parents of the students, this Class of 2029 were officially initiated into the School and the field of healthcare and medicine.

Opening the event, Dean of LKCMedicine Professor Jospeh Sung explained the significance of the White Coat Ceremony, “It is the very first milestone in the journey of medical students, a rite of passage which initiates them into the practice of medicine and reminds them of their servitude to patients.”

Touching on the launch of LKCMedicine’s new chapter just two weeks ago, Prof Sung, who is also NTU Senior Vice-President for Health and Life Sciences and Distinguished University Professor, shared his excitement in seeing LKCMedicine’s newest students start on their medical journey as the first cohort to undergo the enhanced NTU-awarded MBBS programme.

“To the Class of 2029, you have done very well to be [the] pioneering cohort of the NTU MBBS, and I am excited to see how you will grow into competent doctors not just to serve Singapore’s healthcare sector with distinction, but more importantly, become doctors you and I would like caring for us,” said Prof Sung, as he closed his speech.

Making the ceremony even more memorable, Prof Sung had announced the release of LKCMedicine’s very own history book, titled “History Taking, History Making: Walking into Singapore’s Medical Story”. The book was a result of the hard work and effort of LKCMedicine students, who were led by Student Medical Society (MedSoc) President Mr Lim Rong.

It comprised stories from 11 of Singapore’s medical luminaries, as well as the history of Singapore’s healthcare landscape. Prof Sung invited Mr Lim and Ms Joy Loke, also from MedSoc, to present the book to special physician, Professor Chew Chin Hin, who had first raised the idea of a history book to honour the unsung heroes in medicine.

In reflecting on her part in the book, Professor Fatimah Abdul Lateef, Emergency Physician and previous Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC, one of the local heroes featured in the book, said she shared her life ethos with students, “If you have it, give it and share it. If you want it, you have to strive hard to get it. Don’t ever take anything for granted. I live as though each day is my last, and I learn as though I am going to live forever.” She encouraged students to not only always be agile and versatile, but to also be attuned to their capabilities and to do what fulfils them.

Taking the stage right after was Chairman Mr Lim Chuan Poh who delivered his Keynote address. Congratulating the students on this momentous milestone, he stated, “I am now welcoming and congratulating you as the pioneer cohort of NTU MBBS Degree. As you embark on writing a new chapter in your lives, you will also be writing a new chapter with the School.”

Mr Lim then outlined how the NTU-awarded MBBS curriculum will prepare them to face Singapore’s ever-changing healthcare landscape and drew attention to the many career paths that students can choose to contribute to the medical field.

Sharing his recent encounters with healthcare professionals, he emphasised the importance of care and empathy as qualities that doctors should have and that LKCMedicine will imbue in their students.

Reassuring students that their journey in LKCMedicine will not be a lonely one, Mr Lim said, “It is no secret that the learning journey of a medical student is extremely demanding and challenging. But, you don’t have to do this by yourself. What will get you through these difficult times are the support and help that you will get from your fellow Housemates, seniors and even faculty members.”

Then came the much-anticipated conferment of the white coats according to the eight student Houses – up from five Houses last year, due to the increased student intake. Leading the conferment, Prof Sung reminded students that “medicine is always about caring for our patients” and to always “practise with humility, passion, integrity and honour”.

As students took to the stage to be donned in their white coats with the assistance of Prof Sung, Assistant Deans and House Tutors, parents of the Class of 2029 – beaming with pride – burst into applause.

Following the conferment, LKCMedicine Assistant Dean, Curriculum Lead Associate Professor Faith Chia led the students in reciting the Declaration of a New Medical Student, a promise to commit to their patients and to practice with integrity and honour.

This year’s White Coat Ceremony features the chosen poem “In Sickness and in Health”, written by Year 3 student Phang Poh Hui, which was recited by Year 2 students Emily Ho and Koh Kai Yi.

Written in a “twin cinema form”, the poem talks of two perspectives (in two columns), that of a patient, and a medical student, and lessons learnt. When read together, the lines paint the picture of a doctor’s experience and reflections on interacting with patients.

The ceremony came to an end with a closing address by Professor Chin Jing Jih, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, National Healthcare Group.

Prof Chin congratulated the Class of 2029 and expressed his gratitude to the students’ parents for nurturing their children, while acknowledging that the students’ journey ahead will be long and challenging.

He shared his personal motto that helped him cope with the challenges he had faced in his own medical journey, “Forget not one’s original intent… In the face of your challenging journey in medicine, whether as a student or doctor, you should not forget the original or initial feelings and thoughts, or reasons that have inspired and motivated you to choose medicine as a career. These original or initial deliberations and feelings will bring you back to your initial conviction and help to dispel the primary fatigue, cynicism and disappointment that you may experience in the course of your journey.”

With a touch of humour, Prof Chin advised the students to occasionally revisit the memories of the hard work they put in to prepare for medical school and to always keep their initial motivations close to their hearts, as a way to rejuvenate their love for medicine and commitment to their patients.

It was then time for a grand photo of the Class of 2029 – along with the School leadership! Right after, with excitement boiling over, the students made their way to their parents and other family members waiting in the aisles, who were more than happy to shower them with more jubilant smiles and hugs.

And with that, they begin a new chapter in their lives.

Khayr Eddin Bin Ahmad @ Khayr Eddin Ahmad Jamal, a Nanyang Polytechnic alumnus, who experienced being a clinical assistant prior to joining LKCMedicine, expressed his eagerness to start his journey in the NTU-awarded MBBS programme and rejoin the healthcare field, “I’m definitely looking forward to our patient journey experience that will be happening this December. So it’s been quite a while since my medical technologist and clinical assistant days, so I am a bit worried but even more excited to be back in the healthcare setting and even more so in a clinical environment. It is a great privilege to be able to do this very early on in our medical school journey, so I am eager to learn as much as possible together with my peers from the healthcare professionals that I will be meeting during my time there.”

Hwa Chong Institution alumnus Ho Zhi Ling shared Khayr’s excitement. On her reason for pursuing medicine, she recounted her experience with a beneficiary she met while volunteering at Hospice Care Association. The beneficiary had said she was “graduating” from the hospice, to which Zhi Ling said, “I was quite sad because I thought that this meant that she was going to pass away from her terminal prognosis and thinking about death really made me realise the fragility of life. Afterwards, I actually realised that graduating meant that her prognosis had improved to one that was no longer terminal, and I knew how hard her healthcare providers worked in order to improve her situation from one that was so bleak to one that was so full of hope and I found this really inspiring. And in that moment, I realised that if I were able to use my knowledge and skills to improve different patients’ situations the same way that the healthcare providers did for this auntie, it will be a career that I find very meaningful and very enjoyable.”

For Syed Anees Khalid, the people that he met during his volunteering experience at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), Children’s Cancer Foundation (CCF) and Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS), inspired him to pursue medicine. “This inspired me to be part of the team, to be part of the people who care for patients like this, the people who can make a difference in these patients’ lives. And how I hope to help as a doctor and make a difference is to help patients feel like they are cared for, help patients feel like they are being treated and not just their disease, and that we really see what’s behind their disease and see that we want to get them back to living their fullest life,” said the Victoria Junior College alumnus.

National swimmer and SEA Games multi-medallist Ashley Lim Yi-Xuan looks forward to how her swim coaches and LKCMedicine can help her to balance training and studies. “Next year there will be [the] upcoming SEA Games in December, as well as the World Aquatic Championships that’s being held in Singapore in August. Those are two competitions that I’m looking out for. Definitely, with the preparations for those competitions, training will be very intense. So, I’m looking forward to being able to work with my coaches as well as LKCMedicine to work out how to balance both.”

Edsel Lim Hwan Yong acknowledged the academic rigour of medicine while expressing his keenness to engage in NTU’s vibrant student life. The Anderson Serangoon Junior College alumnus shared more about how he plans to balance his studies and hobbies, “I think it really comes down to time management. I think the School has made it very easy for us to manage our time because of the materials that they have prepped for us, the study resources that they afford us, and I think that makes for very easy organisation. It allows us to really have the time on the side to pursue our own interests all at the same time.”

The future looks bright as the Class of 2029 takes their first of many steps into the medical field. As they continue to write a new chapter with LKCMedicine, we wish them all the best in their journey to become doctors that you and I would like caring for us!