Discover what it takes to pursue a career in medicine

One of the advantages of the liberal arts education offered at Yale-NUS College is the expansive intellectual grounding that allows many students to embark on varied trajectories upon graduation, with some even going on to pursue a career in medicine.

The reasons for this career choice are manifold, but the underlying motivation is the same: to make a difference and help people.

“Growing up, I watched my elder brother, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a young age, prick his finger several times a day to measure his blood glucose and self-administer insulin injections before every meal.”

Image provided by Ricky T. George (Class of 2020).

Witnessing his brother deal with the chronic disease made Ricky T. George (Class of 2020) realise the extent to which medical advancements have empowered people with type 1 diabetes, like his brother, to manage their condition and live fulfilling lives; inspiring him to consider the medical profession.

This life-long goal began to take shape during his undergraduate years with a little nudge from the Centre for International & Professional Experience (CIPE).

“During a conversation in my junior year about post-graduation plans, my CIPE advisor suggested that I apply to Duke-NUS Medical School since I had expressed an interest in medicine. The CIPE office was helpful throughout the application process,” shared Ricky, who is in his second year at Duke-NUS.

Lim Chu Hsien (Class of 2018) at an art jamming session. Image provided by Chu Hsien.

For final year Duke-NUS student Lim Chu Hsien (Class of 2018), her time at Yale-NUS was similarly pivotal. It ensured that she can one day devote her time to continuously gaining biopsychosocial knowledge about humans and use it to their betterment. “My four years in Yale-NUS were important in catalysing my abilities to draw from a wide range of perspectives and disciplines when looking at any issue, including patient care, which necessitates a holistic approach,” explained Chu Hsien.

“The multinational milieu of [the College] also strengthened my empathy in interacting with individuals from all walks of life, helping me to form genuine relationships with my patients,” she added.

As she will soon be entering the workforce, Chu Hsien hopes these experiences will continue to serve her well in putting her patients at the centre of care — by considering their social, cultural, and psychological aspects in addition to their biological ones.

Image provided by Ang Yukai (Class of 2017).

Presently a House Officer, Ang Yukai (Class of 2017) can attest to the long-lasting influence Yale-NUS has had on him, both while as a medical student and a doctor.

A research project during his third year at Duke-NUS required him to utilise the knowledge and skills from the Mathematical, Computational and Statistical Sciences (MCS) courses he took as an undergraduate. Being equipped with a conceptual understanding of statistical programming and machine learning as well as the basic skills needed to pick up different programming languages proved to be extremely useful.

“I found myself applying a lot of the skills I learnt from my MCS modules in this research. If it were not for those courses, I am sure I would not have been able to clean the dataset nor analyse it,” remarked Yukai.

Yale-NUS also presented the opportunity to broaden his worldview through his courses and interactions with people from different cultures, which helped Yukai become more aware of his privilege in society and have a better understanding of the plight of marginalised communities.

“Medical issues are often closely intertwined with socioeconomic issues, and I try my best to be more empathetic when approaching patients with complex social situations,” he reflected.

Image provided by Grace Kwak (Chae Woon) (Class of 2020).

Similarly, Grace Kwak (Chae Woon) (Class of 2020) believes that her years at Yale-NUS imparted many skills, such as thinking and writing clearly, public speaking, and social awareness, that have come in handy in medical school and when handling patients during clinical rotations.

“It is the individual people that makes the [Yale-NUS] community, and this community has created the culture of Yale-NUS, which has shaped my identity, solidified my long-standing interest in medicine, and equipped me with ‘soft’ skills that cannot be learned overnight,” elaborated the second year Duke-NUS student.

When asked what advice they would give to Yale-NUS students looking to become a medical professional, all four alumni shared similar counsel — be sure of what you are getting yourself into. With COVID-19 unflaggingly rearing its head, this advice should not go unheeded.

The suggestions offered to build that conviction range from participating in job shadowing programmes, being as cognisant as possible about the reasons for embarking on this career path to talking to junior doctors or other healthcare professionals and leveraging on the opportunities provided by Yale-NUS to explore one’s interests.

“It is tough being a junior doctor, but I do what I do because I love and appreciate my job,” said Yukai. “As a doctor I can still make a difference in my patients’ lives with my actions, even when I do not always have the cure to their medical problems. Sometimes, it is the smallest acts of helping a patient, like wiping vomit off their face, that makes them feel better. Sometimes, there are extremely fulfilling moments where patients do get better, and they or their relatives thank you for it.”