Hi. No time no see. I even had to convert my Blogger account to under my Google account.
This was something I wrote for the Medicine gradbook. Thot I shouldn't waste my effort and decided to put it up here 'cos it sounds remotely like a blog entry anyway.
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Osler’s Notes in Reflection (With apologies to Sir William Osler)
“Learn to love the freedom of the student life, only too quickly to pass away; the absence of the coarser cares of after days, the joy in comradeship, the delight in new work, the happiness in knowing that you are making progress. Once only can you enjoy these pleasures.”[1]
In retrospect (pardon the self-indulgent navel-gazing that ensues), I wish I had come across this quote five years earlier, upon “admission to the medical course of the National University of Singapore” (at the then-named Faculty of Medicine) because then I would have realised earlier the many truths that this statement underscores, as examined at the conclusion of these five years. Then again, if you recall, the Dean did offer us advice to similar effect at the Welcome Tea, urging us to make friends widely within and outside of the class, and in so doing, it was hoped that some among us might find our potential lifelong partners. It was also at this Welcome Tea in the CRC auditorium where we collectively, led by Wesley, the M1 class rep, took the students’ pledge which was styled after the professional oath that we will ultimately swear. With that pledge, we engaged, and committed, ourselves in “not a college course, not a medical course, but a life course”[2]. One-odd year later, in the same venue, we further underwent a symbolic White Coat Ceremony, after which we were granted permission to roam free (well, sometimes not so freely) in the wards.
“freedom of the student life, only too quickly to pass away”… It is with some reluctance that I am approaching the completion of my undergraduate medical education. For one, these five years mark the final – and second longest – chapter in our formal schooling lives at institutions of learning. The liberty and the sheltered environment that we have enjoyed thus far would sorely be missed by many, including myself, once we start our working lives, assume responsibilities of patient care, face the music for our mistakes, feel unappreciated (and underpaid?) for our work, and in the middle of a night/weekend/Public Holiday call with no end in sight to the continuous stream of admissions and nurses’ CTSPs.
“the absence of the coarser cares of after days”… I dearly appreciated the opportunity to get a taste of what “coarser cares of after days” as a HO would be like during SIP. This was felt most keenly during the calls that I shadowed: the HO answering phone calls on speaker mode while drawing blood (the trick lies in pre-emptively putting the phone on the patient’s bed); carrying a “battle plan” (use a conspicuous blue letter so you won’t misplace it) and recording “battles” based on priority/location; sleep while he/she could but trusting the phone to ring in the next minute; tempers frayed and thrown, unfortunately, at nurses. The experience often made me wonder if I would be up to the task (and kinder to Ms Nightingales) come this time next year, although the mental preparation and survival skills gained through it should help – fingers crossed.
“the joy in comradeship”… On a personal level, the friendships I’ve made, starting from the Anatomy tutorial group, LT seating arrangements (in which certain territorial rules are tacitly observed) and PBL groups in the pre-clinical years, to the CGs, fellow CGs in the same rotations and CHP group in the clinical year, are a highlight of the past five years. Some of my best friends were made from this class and even if we might have minor tiffs every now and then, it is reassuring that I can always rely on them for company, consolation and support. On a class-wide level, admittedly, we have not been the most cohesive of classes. But events, circumstances, common experiences and grouses have roles in building our camaraderie through the years: Medicamp, Rag and Flag, inter-faculty games, Playhouses, CHP, clinical rotations, social gatherings, parties, communal mugging, as well as recovering from the shell-shocks of O&G OSCEs, and I believe, soon enough, the final MBBS. For many among us, the Medical Library in which they bonded through long hours of studying together left memories to be cherished. Also, over the last few months in the run-up to the final lap, the manner in which we ‘share cases’, help one another better our clinical skills, and pack ourselves in a room clearly meant for smaller capacities to attend neurological teaching have impressed me of our increasing solidarity. While we are hardly one of the most proactive, vocal or conspicuous cohorts in recent years, lacking in the pioneering spirit of the preceding batch (which spearheaded the first faculty-level production) or the spontaneity and exuberance of the succeeding one, we are no less remarkable and interesting as a class. Remember that we have our fair share of Medsoc committee members (Kimberly, George, Anin, Cheesie, Belle…), performers (dancers like Amy and Felicia, musicians such as Wenyuan and Mingwei), volunteers (Ek Khoon in ReliefAsia in the wake of the tsunami crisis), high-achieving individuals, and class ‘jokers/jesters’ (they-who-shall-not-be-named).
“the delight in new work”… Yes, despite having suffered “ischial bursitis” from the occasional “superfluity of lecturing”[3] (recall the mind-boggling neuroanatomic pathways, did-not-yet-make-sense antibiotics, and excruciating pathology of glomerulonephritides), there was a counterbalance of satisfaction in entering the Anatomy Hall (even if we missed our chance at hands-on dissection by a year), clerking and examining our first patient, performing the first venesection/intubation/CPR/delivery, watching/assisting in the first operation, wrapping up the CHP for final presentation, discovering one’s field of interest during electives etc. Having said that, we were, time and again, humbled by our ignorance, our patients’ plights, and our often-limited means to alleviate their suffering.
“the happiness in knowing that you are making progress”… Most of us may be happy that we are improving in terms of clinical skills and judgement, making gains in book knowledge, or progressing to the next stage of our medical career. However, the personal development and character-building – or the so-called “education of the heart”[4] – as an individual I have undergone during my medical school days hearten me and count much more.
“Once only can you enjoy these pleasures.” In conclusion, while we may have had to “study until twenty-five” in order to graduate, let us remain constant to the course of “investigation until forty” and “profession until sixty”[5] (or beyond); pray that we do not lose our initial youthful idealism, interest for Medicine, appetite for learning, and zest for life; and treasure the friends and memories we have made in our five years together. The Class of 2003-2008, I wish us the very best!
Jack Class of 2003-2008
[1] Osler W. The Master-Word in Medicine. In: Aequanimitas, With Other Addresses to Medical Students, Nurses and Practitioners of Medicine, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1932: 362. [2] “The hardest conviction to get into the mind of a beginner is that the education upon which he is engaged is not a college course, not a medical course, but a life course, for which the work of a few years under teachers is but a preparation.” Osler W. The Student Life. In: Aequanimitas, With Other Addresses to Medical Students, Nurses and Practitioners of Medicine, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1932: 400. [3] “Superfluity of lecturing causes ischial bursitis.” Bean WB, ed. Sir William Osler: Aphorisms from His Bedside Teachings and Writings. New York: Henry Schuman, 1950: 46. [4] “As the practice of medicine is not a business and can never be one, the education of the heart – the moral side of the man – must keep pace with the education of the head. Our fellow creatures can not be dealt with as man deals in corn and coal; ‘the human heart by which we live’ must control our professional relations.” Osler W. On The Educational Value of the Medical Society. In: Aequanimitas, With Other Addresses to Medical Students, Nurses and Practitioners of Medicine, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1932: 333. [5] “The teacher’s life should have three periods, study until twenty five, investigation until forty, profession until sixty, at which age I would have him retired on a double allowance.” Osler W. The Fixed Period. In: Aequanimitas, With Other Addresses to Medical Students, Nurses and Practitioners of Medicine, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1932: 383.
