1. DECISION MAKING
What subjects did you take in JC and how did they feature in the decision making process of choosing your course in university?
BCME. It prepared me for the scientific rigour in Medicine! While H2 Biology and in a small way H2 Chemistry provided some foundation for M1 Foundations of Medicine (aka Biochemistry), I wouldn’t say the subjects themselves helped me decide more so than being in a class where people were more inclined to explore scientific careers like Medicine.
Which courses were you considering? Which universities were you considering for this course? What made you choose this course at this university?
I considered Medicine at NUS, NTU and UK universities. From my personal experience, the differences between the schools are as such:
NUS YLL
Larger cohort of 300 students
Cheaper cost of ~$28k
More accessible compared to NTU’s location at Pioneer
Smaller chance of staying in hall due to competitive hall/residential college selections
More frequent exams and tests
Lectures and tutorials
NTU LKC
Smaller cohort of ~150 students
Slightly more expensive cost of ~$35k
2 campuses: NTU EMB and Novena CSB
Hall stay is guaranteed at Pioneer or Crescent Hall (the halls for Medicine students and scholarship students)
Team-Based Learning (TBL) format with medical professionals and researchers teaching us as Content Experts and professional Facilitators
Affiliation and exchanges with Imperial College London
UK universities
VERY expensive (especially London universities): you also need to factor in housing and living costs
Few opportunities to work in UK after graduation
Culture of doctors leaving NHS
Slightly different content (e.g. different patient demographics, differences in prescribing drugs)
Learning styles differ based on universities (traditional lectures/tutorials, Problem-Based Learning, Team-Based Learning)
As an 18 year old fresh out of JC, how can we guide/advise our juniors in making the decision that feels the most right to them?
Personally, I process my thoughts in 2 ways to make a decision: an external processing and an internal processing. Both are important!
External processing: look for external experiences that may guide your decision
I would advise you to go for internships that are more than 2 weeks long, preferably around 1 month or so. Spending a significant amount of time in the healthcare industry will help you better understand all aspects of being a doctor. What you understand about being a doctor may be a reflection of your or your family member’s experiences as a patient, what you see from Grey’s Anatomy and what you hear from friends or family who work in healthcare. You know the story of the blind men and the elephant? You need to put together many pieces of evidence or experiences to see the bigger picture. What you think you know may only be the tip of the iceberg and not entirely accurate. A longer internship will give you more time to discover aspects that you love about working in healthcare (e.g. interacting with patients, working in teams, medical humour), and also open your eyes to other aspects that you may not enjoy (e.g. paperwork, short consultation times). When you have seen the best and worst parts of working in healthcare, you will have a fairer idea of what a career in Medicine will look like. Try to fully immerse yourself in the ‘culture’ of the hospital to see whether you can visualise yourself working in such an environment a few years down the road. This will help you greatly in deciding whether Medicine is the right cup of tea for you.
Internal processing: self-reflection and self-understanding
Equally important is self-reflection. Committing to a career is a lifelong decision that can only be made if both parties are clear on who they are and what they want. While you are figuring out whether Medicine is right for you, you must consider whether you want this career to be your bread and butter for the next 46-48 years. I encourage all of you, regardless of which course you are considering, to do some soul-searching and understand your personality and future goals. What is your reason to join Medicine, and will this reason last through hardships? What are your priorities in life? Am I, or is the person I want to grow into, compatible with this commitment to Medicine? Talk to yourself, your friends, your seniors and your family, or write your thoughts down if that helps.
Combine both external and internal processing. When you better understand yourself and Medicine, you will be able to make a more informed choice!
How did you know that you wanted to do Medicine, what made you so sure that you were committed to the next 10 years to Medicine?
My decision to commit to Medicine was not inspired by a single event. It was more of coming to an understanding after reflecting on my interest in pursuing a science and my experiences working and interning in healthcare.
I am grateful for my opportunity to go for an internship, and a few years later, also to work at a hospital for 6 months. These experiences were where I learnt more about what being a doctor entails, and also about the entire medical ecosystem from medical technicians, administrative staff, nurses and doctors. Being able to interact with many healthcare staff and patients helped me learn about the highs and lows of working in healthcare. I admired the doctors’ unwavering resolve. I was deeply struck by the colourful lives, bravery and humanness of the patients. And I loved the compassion I saw from all healthcare professionals and patients. On the other hand I also felt the difficulty of waking up at terrible hours to go to work (though this is nothing compared to doctors’ night shifts!), met difficult patients and got back pains from long hours of standing or walking across the huge hospital (LOL). But these positive experiences and feelings were so deeply impressed into my mind that I dwelled on them for a long time. Even after the novelty of the internship wore off, I still felt drawn to this lifestyle. What better cause can I devote my life and energy to than helping the sick? After I made my own decision, I discussed the options with my family and with their support, I was sure of my commitment.
Of course, making this commitment is no easy feat! It takes lots of time and soul-searching. But it also needs initiative and constant drive! Even as I go through challenging times, I will remember and honour my commitment. The best work comes from a place of love and inspiration c:
2. Application Process
What was the application process like?
NTU LKC Medicine Timeline
Take the BMAT in around end-October in JC2/during NS (you can only use BMAT scores within 12 months of application)
Aptitude and Skills: 1h of 35 MCQs
Scientific knowledge and applications: 30 minutes of 27 MCQs
Writing: 30 minutes of 1 writing task
Online Admission Application from October to April
Personal statement of 300 words or less that includes content about why you want to study medicine, leadership and teamwork experiences etc. Your personal statement will be discussed during MMI.
2 Recommendation letters from people whom you think will know you well and highlight your strengths (e.g. teachers, CCA coaches, organizations that you worked with etc). Choose wisely because this is quite important!
Selection Interview (MMI: multiple mini interviews) in April
Offer and Acceptance from April to June
Health Screening from June to July
Matriculation and Orientation in July
Advice for BMAT
I did my BMAT in J2, which meant it was only a few weeks away from A Levels. A Level knowledge was quite handy for the science part of BMAT.
I mainly did BMAT papers and borrowed BMAT practice books in the library, which I did during my free time of maybe 1-2h a day. I would recommend starting ~1 month before and sparing a little time everyday to do consistent work, but do find a balance between BMAT and A Level prep. It would be good to find out what baseline you are starting from after doing 1 practice paper or a few practice questions, and tailor your revision routine according to your baseline and your goals.
BMAT Science component:
Physics is similar to IP/O Level physics
Biology has new topics that are not covered in IP Biology
Chemistry should be alright if you have a grasp of A Level Chemistry.
BMAT Essay component
Most important part is to answer the essay question! (No matter how eloquent you are, if you go off-topic… Will not bode well.)
Follow instructions like keeping to word count (they are particular about instructions).
Make logical and coherent arguments
Use decent English vocabulary and grammar
Any tips on how to prepare for the interview/personal statements?
Interview Preparation
Reflect on experiences that are important in guiding your decision to pursue Medicine and your growth as a person and leader. Make sure you are clear about these experiences and are ready to elaborate on them when asked.
Find ways to keep calm. MMIs can be intimidating, and it’s easier said than done to keep calm, but being confident and steady is important! Find some good methods to calm yourself down (e.g. breathing exercises, listening to music).
Hone your interview skills! Small things like body language, avoiding fillers, eye contact are all important in presenting yourself to the interviewers. Practice!
Believe in yourself and give it your best shot!
Personal Statement
For the personal statement, I kept it short and succinct (due to word limit) and highlighted key points that I could elaborate on during interviews. My advice to juniors is to follow the word count – think summary skills combined with eloquent writing! Keep away from unnecessary words or draggy sentences, and get to the point nicely. Next, highlight experiences that are life-changing to you and unique to the interviewers. Lastly, be prepared to explain the experiences you have written about during the MMI.
Overall, be prepared but also be real. Be YOU. Make sure you’re prepared to talk about what is important to you, but make your answers unique. Do avoid wishy-washy answers when you have to state your stance on a controversial issue, and also avoid politically correct answers that are unrealistic. Interviewers would like to find out how you think through tough situations and assess your morals, so I would encourage you to voice your thoughts in a logical manner and follow your own moral compass. In short, be yourself and if your values align with Medicine, LKC will love to have you!
3. TEACHING CURRICULUM
(School Website: http://www.lkcmedicine.ntu.edu.sg/Programmes/Intro-to-MBBS-Programme/Pages/Curriculum.aspx)
What’s your course structure like?
M1 syllabus
Foundations of Medicine
Cardiorespiratory
Renal Endocrine
Musculoskeletal and Skin
Public Health and Ethics
Foundations of Clinical Practice
Interactions with Simulated Patients
Physical examinations
Clinical skills (e.g. blood glucose test, wound dressing)
Medical Humanities
Long Term Patient Project
What is the format of exams like?
Formative Exams in January: 1 paper with 120 MCQs
Summative Assessments in June: 2 papers with 120 MCQ questions each
Formative Exams are not counted towards your grade but the Summative Exams will be counted. The grading system is pass/fail, though you are given your individual score for your own development.
What topics interested or appealed to you the most / least?
Most topics in Medicine are interesting, and I particularly loved learning about the Endocrine and Gastrointestinal System because they had very cool Pathology conditions that I could draw links to in real life. In LKC, we do Pathology alongside Anatomy and Physiology, and that really spices things up for me. I also enjoy FCP (Foundations of Clinical Practice) where we learn how to take patient history (a lot of communication skills combined with medical knowledge!) and learn clinical skills like giving IV drips or cannulation (the medical arms and other simulators are very cool). Anatomy Lab is also quite intriguing because we get to see plastinated specimens and our plastinated cadavers (Henry, Andrew and Anna) up close! Sometimes we get to check out the potted specimens to learn about pathologies, and that’s always interesting.
It’s also quite nice that LKC often adds relevant content for us, such as implementing Digital Health lessons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Haha no least appealing topic! Perhaps learning biochemistry will be a bit dry for most students across all medical schools.
Are there many optional modules / chances for interdisciplinary learning outside faculty learning?
There will be many opportunities for learning! There are many language courses available such as Malay, Hokkien, Thai etc. There’s even a sign language course if you’re interested. If you’re looking at non-academic learning, LKC also offers many different community service projects, both overseas and local.
Overseas community service (OCIP) projects include:
OCIP Davao serving Magtuod and Gumalang villages in Davao City, Philippines with our partner organization Sowing the Master’s Seed Ministry
OCIP Daya serving in Kampung Air and Baloi Kolam in Batam
OCIP Aasha serving in Nepal
OCIP Chiang Mai serving in Chiang Mai, Thailand
OCIP Kolkata serving in Kolkata, India
OCIP Songkeum serving in Cambodia
OCIP Asada serving in Chumphon, Thailand
OCIP Isip serving in Bacolod City, Philippines
OCIP Kyanmar serving in Maubin, Myanmar
OCIP Saukya serving in Sri Lanka
Local community service (LCIP) projects include:
LKCares with health screenings by LKCSoM for residents in Singapore’s heartlands
NHG-LKC CommHealth with Hokkien lessons and health screenings
Project RED serving with Singapore Red Cross Community Resilience Department to train first-aid volunteers for Community First Aid (CFA)
Silver Trident which is a long term home visit volunteer programme
Project ANGEL@LKC serving at St Andrew’s Autism Centre
SGMarrow organizing NTU’s annual cheek swab donation drive
Teddy Bear Hospital delivering health education to children and alleviating white coat anxiety among them
Constructing Care Collaboration serving at a migrant worker clinic
Mt Alvernia Hospital Outreach Programme
Project Light serving at migrant worker dormitories
Dover Park Hospice (palliative care for terminally ill patients) serving as befrienders, escorts and event support
Pallipals serving palliative patients
HCA Hospice Care/Star PALS – Medi Minder Service to help parents/caregivers with a few hours of respite care
What is the teaching style like?
The teaching style at LKC is mainly via Team-Based Learning (TBL). TBL requires preparation with materials such as lecture videos and textbook readings. TBL sessions are conducted either half-day (9am to 12pm) or full-day (9am to 5pm) about twice a week. Each TBL has the cohort in the Learning Studio in either NTU Yunnan EMB campus or Novena CSB campus, where each student is in a group of 6.
This is how a session of TBL looks like:
We start with individual readiness assessment (iRA) to test our knowledge from the self-prep
Team readiness assessment (tRA) where each group discusses their answers without checking any notes
Any questions can be raised in the Burning Questions (BQ) section after the tRA
This is followed by an Application Exercise (AE) with more clinical applications of our knowledge
The curriculum and workload in LKC M1 is quite content-heavy (like all Medicine courses in other universities). Despite the heavy workload, I love what I’m learning, and I’m a big fan of the TBL format – I definitely learn better with a team, especially when everyone’s heatedly discussing how to solve the question. Being in such a team-based environment made it easier to appreciate my friends’ abilities and for us to learn from each other. Definitely a more open, relaxed and team-based learning environment than JC!
How heavy is your workload? How much leisure time do you have and what do you do during your leisure time?
The workload is content-heavy but quite flexible. Personally, I spend a few days preparing for each TBL session, depending on the amount of prep material for the TBL.
Day in my life in M1
Wake up at 7am for breakfast and a little prep work for TBL
Catch the Campus Rider or Campus Red at 8.30am to reach the Learning Studio before 9am
TBL starts at 9am with everyone doing their 20-30 minute individual readiness assessments (iRA), before each team discusses their answers for the team readiness assessment (tRA) as the answers are revealed by each click.
Burning Questions (BQs) are then discussed with Content Experts such as Tan Tock Seng Hospital clinicians and researchers.
Then it’s lunch! Each team usually goes to their favourite places around the area, such as North Spine canteen, NIE canteen, Quad canteen or the Connect71 cafe.
After lunch, we continue with Application Exercises which are discussed by each group, and the answers are explained by Content Experts who will answer any queries.
After TBL ends, I usually spend a bit of time recapping the session, before it’s time for dinner with housemates or friends at the Crespion (Crescent and Pioneer Hall) canteen just below the dorms.
CCA activities are usually held in the evening or at night. I attend Crescent Hall’s Lunatix training from 8-11pm to prepare for the Cult Night performance.
And that’s about all before I try to sleep before 12 midnight!
On days without TBL, there are other activities such as Anatomy Lab, Foundations of Clinical Practice sessions or Medical Humanities, which are usually held in the Novena CSB campus, which means more chances to use the really amazing CSB gym, lounge in House rooms or play table tennis.
There will definitely be enough time for leisure. Many of my friends joined hall activities like dance, floorball, badminton, tennis etc. If you can plan your time carefully between work and play, you will have time for friends and family. Work hard play hard!
What expectations did you have about your course? What do you like & dislike most about the course?
My expectations were that it would be a fun but challenging experience! This is definitely true: lessons are fun and I enjoy the content, but was also academically tough due to the vast amounts of anatomy and physiology and other skills that we learnt.
I love the LKCMedicine culture. LKC is filled with intelligent, driven and diverse students, and the LKC culture is very holistic, warm and social. I have met so many kind and sincere batchmates, seniors and juniors at LKC who have taught me a lot about life. There is a strong senior-junior culture where seniors actively teach and encourage juniors. I am grateful that my House Tutor genuinely cares for my welfare with consistent welfare checks before and after exam seasons, and the professors and staff are very kind and receptive to our questions and requests. When I organized a charity bake sale, I was overwhelmed by the support by not just my batchmates, but also my seniors, juniors, and House tutors! The encouragement from people in LKC was incredible. Overall, LKCMedicine has a wholesome and supportive environment that encourages learning together!
What should I like to survive well in this course?
Medicine is a course that requires both scientific skills and soft skills. You need an inclination towards the sciences to manage the medical content, and also soft skills such as communication, empathy and the ability to build rapport with patients and other people. It is important to be disciplined and self-motivated in both learning and working. You must be prepared to learn continuously. Most importantly, you must have a genuine desire to HELP PEOPLE!
4. CAREER PROSPECTS
What are the career prospects like?
You will be guaranteed to work at a government hospital for 6 years after you graduate.
If I found the life of being a Doctor tough during my attachment, does that indicate that I’m not cut out for medicine?
Depends. It’s good that you recognize the challenges of a medical career! This shows that you are thinking clearly about a realistic future working in healthcare. You need to reflect on whether these challenges can be overcome or whether they will be a dealbreaker. (Re: check above for my advice on making decisions)
Some people prefer not to work in a high-paced work environment, or are overly emotional, or cannot imagine doing night shifts. I would advise juniors to understand what you are looking for in a career and what are your deal-breakers before reaching a conclusion. Of course, it would help if you can immerse yourself in a hospital environment to get a feel of whether this is where you see yourself in future.
What if I feel uncomfortable with blood and gore?
That’s normal! I’m sure many of us aren’t the most comfortable with seeing blood and gore either.
What I can suggest is gauging your level of discomfort. Are you extremely sensitive to blood and gore, or only slightly uncomfortable? Even during M1’s Hospital Week, I saw procedures such as a Central Venous Line being passed through the femoral vein in the groin, and wound dressing for diabetic foot ulcers. If you feel extremely affected by small amounts of blood or bodily fluids, you might feel uncomfortable during clinical postings which will definitely expose you to such procedures. You need to ask yourself whether this is a serious matter that will affect your wellbeing! Which brings us back to self-reflection and your priorities (definitely important to establish those before committing to a course).
5. STUDENT LIFE
What extracurricular activities does the university offer, and which do you take part in?
These are what I found myself being involved in! Besides Malay lessons and hall dance that have fixed timings, the other activities were flexible. Definitely would recommend trying out what you’re interested in because it made M1 life very fun and meaningful for me.
OCIP Davao – blessed to have good teammates and partner with a great non-profit organization in Davao, Philippines who work closely with us in managing the health of the villagers and the students’ education! It’s very nice to see the tangible benefits that we brought to the Davao villagers (like sponsoring phones for them to continue their education during COVID-19)
Anatomy Challenge organising committee – so many creative and driven people here running one of LKC’s most large scale programmes!
LKC MedSoc Arts and Culture committee – spice things up with fun activities and prizes for students
Lunatix (Crescent Hall) for Cult Night dance – highlight of M1 life! Dance was definitely a new experience for me and I learnt new styles like street jazz and hip hop. Definitely recommend trying out dance or something that you’re unfamiliar with in M1 when you have the most time
Malay lessons
Project Red first aid course
Hall sports like squash, volleyball – these are ad-hoc basis where you can turn up OTOT, with some hall sports being more rigorous than others. If you’re staying in hall, give these a go!
Overview of extracurriculars in LKC and NTU
Service learning
Local CIP (LCIP)
Overseas CIP (OCIP)
LKC Medical Society
Surf’s Up
PB&J Concert
Celebrations (e.g. CNY, NDP, Children’s Day)
LKC Anatomy Challenge
Sports
Hall sports: squash, badminton, tennis, table tennis, track and field, volleyball, floorball, hockey, softball etc https://www.ntu.edu.sg/SAO/WhoWeAre/StudentOrganisations/StudentOrganisations/Pages/home.aspx
University sports: badminton, table tennis, floorball, karate, wushu, taekwondo etc
Inter-Hall Games (Crescent/Pioneer Hall)
Inter-Faculty Games (Team Med)
Dance
LKCrews (LKC dance)
Hall dance: Lunatix (Crescent Hall) and Paradigm (Pioneer Hall) which participate in Halloween dance, Cult Night dance, and HOCC competition
University dance: hip hop, contemp, breakdancing
Language
Malay
Hokkien
Thai
What is your accommodation like? Do you live on-campus or off-campus, and what is the experience like?
In M1, I lived at Crescent Hall in a double room. All M1s will be guaranteed a stay at Crescent or Pioneer Hall, where you can choose whether you want a single/double room with/without air conditioning, and indicate your preferred roommate. The hall is relatively new, and quite nice and clean.
Staying in hall was a brand new experience for me! It was my first time living away from home and with a friend for extended periods of time. NTU was far away from everything else that it felt like an ‘overseas’ experience HAHA. It’s definitely a fun and new experience to have a roomie! We figured out each other’s sleep and wake patterns and weird habits by the time NTU moved us out due to COVID. In your corridor, there’s also a common toilet/bathroom and shared pantry with a microwave, induction cooker and hot/cold water dispenser (you have to bring your own pot to cook). There are also nice facilities like the gym, track, squash courts, badminton courts and a reading room for studying. It’s also very convenient to travel to and from lessons as it’s around a 15 minute bus ride away from the NTU EMB campus, with free shuttle buses to CSB Novena campus. If you’re looking for a lively social scene, hall life is definitely vibrant, and many people go for supper at NTU Extension coffee shop or Canteen 2. That being said, you can choose how you want to spend your time in hall and can also spend more time studying in the reading room or in the many libraries around NTU.
Are there ample opportunities to get to know students from other courses, or do you tend to only meet people from your course?
There is a Hall Orientation Camp where you can meet people from other faculties, and many other camps like Sports Camp or UOC which involve all faculties in NTU. You can also join hall or university activities like sports or dance, or you can befriend your hall neighbours because you’ll see them around in the shared kitchen and bathrooms. You will definitely have a chance to meet students from other courses if you put yourself out there!
Any advice for juniors who wish to study Medicine at NTU in the future?
Reflect! Choosing a course is a big commitment and it can be hard to decide. It will be good to understand yourself (self reflection!), and understand what a career in healthcare entails (internships!), and see you’re a good fit.
Next, continue to develop yourself so you can cope with the intensity of Medicine. Build good habits like discipline and resilience, and work hard for BMAT and A Levels. Write your personal statement responsibly and find trusted people to write your recommendation letters. During your MMI, be confident, morally upright and be yourself.
Good luck to everyone!