Learning Content

In Year 1, you learn things like Basic Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry. Generally, learning is pretty chill and very similar to JC. The only difficult part is probably the terminology which makes things ambiguous. In Year 1 you learn what is normal.

Work-Life Balance in M1

The curriculum of M1 and M2 is structured in such a way that there is time for students to do extracurricular activities. The intensity of M1 depends on whether you want to score distinction or to pass. I just wanted to pass, so I studied a decent amount, enough to score average grades, but that meant that I could maintain a good social life through M1 and M5. For example, I took part in a cheerleading CCA, despite being in Medicine.

To me, the studying of Medicine never really felt forced or intense – it was natural. Hence, I didn’t really feel stressed out. I would say that the biggest difference between Med School and JC is that there’s a lot of uncertainty in Medicine, sometimes you just don’t know answers to questions and that is okay.

Academic Resources

Usually the lecturers will tell you what content is important and what is likely to come up in exams.

For example, on the topic of anatomy, Don’t fall into the trap of buying thick books! I usually refer to seniors notes for the most important and high-yield information. In Medicine, we have lots of senior notes, past year common exam questions: these seniors notes are often the most important! Buy the baby anatomy book, you’ll get what I mean.

The content you learn in M2 is pretty similar to M1, but the content in M2 has to be learnt within 2/3 of the given time in M1. However, there is a 2-3 month holiday break between M1 and M2 for good rest.

The harder topics in M2 probably include: Pathology and Pharmacology, where you must read up more.

In M2, there is some clinical exposure but it purely lets you know how the hospital operates. More accurately, they are more like “shadowing” opportunities.

Generally, the first two years of Medicine are okay. There are times when you won’t know the answer. Don’t worry about how much you’ll need to study – you will eventually know when you need and how you need to study!

Academic Year

M3 is probably one of the harder years out of the 5 years as a Medical Student. There are clinicals everyday morning (Mon-Fri), and sometimes tutorials in the afternoon. A lot of people are overwhelmed in the first few months of M3, since as M1 and M2’s you are mainly sheltered and only expected to study.

You learn a lot more things in M3; there are a lot of resources and not enough time to study. However, you have to accept the fact that you are never going to be proficient in all these resources by the end of M3. You will just have to revisit these topics in M5 for your finals.

Clinicals

M3 is the first clinical year at NUS Medicine. Basically, M3s shadow House Officer’s (HO’s)in hospitals. For all 3 clinical years, you are expected to reach the hospitals at the same time as the HO’s, around 5-6am, depending on your posting location. Back in my time, clinicals were split into 4 rotations of 8 weeks each. From M3 onwards, you have to look at the attitude (脸色) of bosses, tutors and patients and that’s normal. You will just need to a thick skin and get used to people scolding you (e.g. they might say “you’re stupid”, but this is normal!)

The time spent during your clinical years is not the best, since you still have to go to tutorials as well: However, this is a preview of what your future work will be like.

Academic Year

M4 is similar to M3. There are clinicals every day in the morning (Mon-Fri), and tutorials in the afternoon.

Back in my time, M4 was the Best Year. Between M3 and M4 there are 4 weeks of electives, where people use the chance to go overseas to have fun! Most people don’t go for local attachments, since they are mainly reserved for M4-M5 med students. Majority of the people have fun in M4, since M4 is meant to be a “break” between M3 and M5 which are the most stressful years.

In M4 there is also this compulsory Community CIP you have to do. M4 is also the time for students to do CCAs (for students who did not take up any in M1/M2) and also expose students to other departments in the hospitals.

Learning Content

In M4, you learn things that are fun but don’t come out often in exams; Eg. You have to do rotations at A&E, Ear, Nose, Eye, Anesthesia, etc. The content is important, but most of it won’t come out for exams. I think that M4 is the easiest year to pass and the most chill – most people take a break in M4 as M3 and M5 are the most intense years.

Academic Year

Again, there are clinicals everyday morning (Mon-Fri) and tutorials in the afternoon for about half the year and time to self study for the other half. Similar to M3, you have to study a lot as a M5. However, a large percentage of the assessment is related to practical, not theory knowledge.

Studying for Finals

Students usually run through scenarios so often that by the end of M5, they are able to proficiently make a good diagnosis confidently. For example, my friend and I would usually practice with each other for the standard physical examinations. There are only so many cases that will come out for the exams, since during exams you need patients who are stable and not extremely sick.

However, a problem with M5 MBBS is that although 90% of the exams are relatively easy cases, there are still curveballs. Hence, 10% of the questions will be hard and challenging. Unfortunately, 5-10 people every year will have to retake the finals due to these curveballs (95% people pass), not because they haven’t studied but because they were really unlucky. However, after a few months these minorities who have to retake the exams will eventually still pass.

It is very low, usually 2-3/300 people. People who drop out usually do so in the first few years of Medical School. It’s very rare for people to drop out. If they drop out it’s usually because they aren’t suitable, not because they think it’s hard. People fail not because they are unintelligent but because they are lazy. I think that Medicine is difficult but ultimately not overwhelming. As long as you are hardworking, you will do well. 95% of the people do well in general 🙂

Usually, no one usually fails in the first two years of Medical school, but in clinical years, people do fail.

Despite lots of online comments that Medicine is extremely hard to study and do well in, everyone that I was surrounded by during Med School all eventually passed their examinations and are now doctors.

I think it boils down to whether Medicine ultimately aligns with what you want to do. It’s important to talk to people who are working as a doctor so you can understand the demands of the job, and ask yourself if this is something you really want to do.

I didn’t really have a burning passion for Medicine as compared to a lot of my peers, however I wanted to do Medicine because it is a career that aligned with what I wanted in life. Medicine is not boring; it is a challenging, dynamic career which also provides a stable income.

What you learn in JC Bio and Chemistry is very different from Medicine. Medicine is hard to describe since it really is a combination of both Science and Humanities. Bio and Chemistry doesn’t really matter that much – instead, common sense is what you really need.

As a HO, there are 3 postings that you need to complete and each posting lasts for 4 months. The Compulsory posting is General medicine.

For the other postings you can choose from OB&G, Pediatrics, General Surgery or Orthopedics.

As a House Officer (HO), it is normal that you see people cry, break down and get really stressed out. You will eventually realise that not all doctors and people are pleasant to work with. Some people are just mean and your working environment really depends on personality. The majority of the people will get used to this life eventually. 

HO is very shag because of all the admin work you have to do, you are basically a glorified clerk. Work hours are bad and you have to deal with a lot of small, insignificant things. Basically as a HO, you have to deal with non-medical things half the time. For example, you have to call nurses to ask for empty slots, ask doctors if you can take their OR slots, call the anesthesia department to come in for surgery etc.

There is no one advice that I can give, since for life a HO, it really depends on your allocation. Every department is different, thus the pathways and lifestyle are all different.

Yes, life sucks as a HO, but it shouldn’t paint what work will eventually be like and the silver lining is that life will only get better from here.

There are 2 main things we do as a HO: On call, and take.

On Call

On Call is usually split into active or passive:

• Active On Call: This is very shag; you, your MO and Registrar must see all the new cases and understand patient cases. At the end of night, you have to make the list (a list is literally a list of patient names and their conditions) with patient updates for the next day. (People who are fast typers usually enjoy Active OnCall more!)

• Passive On Call: For passive On Call, the patients are already there, you just need to settle the patient’s diagnosis etc. As long as you keep calm and know your knowledge you will be fine. (If you are on call, you usually cannot sleep!)

Take

In “take”, your department will see all the big cases in A&E, which drastically increases your workload. My own “TAKE” was every Monday where the 20 people in A&E would instantly become my additional patients, on top of the list of patients I had on hand.

TTSH (General Surgery, GS)

My TTSH GS rotation was the most tiring. I would usually reach around 6-6.30am, (on the bright side, you can claim the money for Grab!) and would go home at around 6pm, but sometimes I would go home as late as 10pm!

For GS, I had to reach early to get to know my patients, and use the computer system to understand them. However, in GS you work as a team with the other HO’s, so you can spread the workload evenly.

TTSH (Ortho)

This experience was very similar to my experience GS, except that in GS your bosses (Consultants) are very detailed and anxious about their patients. The GS bosses are very clear in their instructions, so as a HO, you would have no doubts on what to do. However, in Ortho, it’s like the “wild wild west”, where half the time, you decide on the mode of treatment for your cases yourself. A good thing is that for Ortho, there would be good days where things will be chill.

KTP (Internal Med: Renal)

In general, the bosses are all very nice in KTP. The patient load is way lesser (maximum 5-6 patients) and, after a while you will really get to know these patients. All the HOs would agree that there is a very good work-life balance at KTPH.

I would say that things will look daunting initially but you will eventually get through it. Doing my extracurricular activities, bonding through bad memories and making good friends were what made University worth it for me. How you make up your University life and life after Uni is ultimately up to you: Medicine can be your everything and your whole life, but you can also have an identity outside Medicine if you want.

I think you should have the genuine desire to help people rather than for the money alone. Money is good but if you have no heart to serve then don’t bother.

Medical school hours aren’t really any different from other courses per se if you count projects and stuff.

Hours for a doctor are also very variable depending on specialty but to me, it’s worth it lah! It’s not really that crazy except for the first year after you graduate med school.

I would say just enjoy yourself and know that you don’t need to revolve your whole life around medicine. Find your own hobbies, and these don’t have to be related to med!