Expanding Perspectives
ADVISORY MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME (Jun-Sep 2022)
I was privileged to be chosen to have Dr Janise Chevrier (Regional Medical Director, Oncology, International Markets and Greater China at Astellas Pharma) as my mentor. In this programme, it is stipulated that I will meet with Dr Chevrier once every month (for a duration of 4 months)
For more about Dr Chevrier: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/drjaniselee
This mentorship has been extremely helpful, as I have a one-on-one session with Dr Chevrier to ask questions and learn more about her journey in medicine, and now in pharmaceuticals. It has allowed me to "go in with my eyes open" and "not with rose tinted glasses", by seeing how medicine is not as glamorous as it looks, and how much sacrifice the healthcare staff have to make in their line of work. Because of her wealth of experience as a veteran in the field of medicine, she has been able to tell me about her stories as a medical student, surgeon, and now a medical director in Astellas Pharma which helped me to understand the medical world better, hearing directly from a professional like her.
Together, we have explored different career options and she has given me her insights on them.
GSK INDUSTRIAL TOUR (online)
This virtual tour gave me a better understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and an exclusive view into what the chemical factories look like.
NUS/NTU MEDICINE WEBINAR (24 Feb 2022)
This webinar was conducted by 2 of our SAJC alumni who are now in YLL and LKC School of Medicine. Their sharing was very informative, it let me in on a glimpse of their life as a medical student in the 2 respective universities, and the process of application for the courses.
SYMF (SINGAPORE YOUTH MEDICAL FORUM) NEUROLOGY TALK (6 March 2022)
This online talk by Dr Wee Chee Keong (Neurologist, Mount Elizabeth Hospital) allowed me to learn more about the speciality of neurology (which I had previously erroneously thought to be equivalent to neurosurgery). I was able to hear about the daily work life of a neurologist, and the requirements to become one.
EU AT YOUR SCHOOL CAMPAIGN (9 May 2022)
We were privileged to be able to hear from Mr Christoph Hallier (Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy in Singapore) about what the EU does and learn more about the work of a diplomat. The sharing and Q&A session opened up my eyes to the whole new world of foreign affairs and I was quite inspired to explore a career in that path after the session!
SHARING BY CURRENT MEDICAL OFFICER (28 Feb 2023)
As part of the SAJC Medicine Interest Group, I joined the sharing session by Dr Heng Li Wei, an alumni who had graduated from NUS Medicine and was doing his housemanship. He shared with us what to expect in a journey in medicine (requirements and application process, the workload and stress, and what qualities are sought after in the medical field.
Hearing about the amount of work and stress that doctors or med school students have to deal with really made me rethink my decision about whether I would want to go into medicine in the future. However, I knew that medicine is something I want to do, because of my strong passion for biology, helping people, and working in a job that allows me to make a meaningful impact in someone's life every day.