Coming from a single-parent household where finances were tight has taught Dr Arturo Neo, 24, to work hard for what he wants.

And the newly minted doctor has done just that.

During his valedictorian speech at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) University Cultural Centre yesterday, he shared an encounter with a patient during his first month of housemanship.

The patient, an Indian national who has worked for a construction company here for 20 years, had suffered a massive stroke and was partially paralysed.

Dr Neo and his colleagues made many calls and arranged a meeting with the man's employers to convince them to choose a better, but more expensive, healthcare option for the man's recovery. In the end, the company agreed to do so.

Said Dr Neo: "We are often caught up in day-to-day administrative tasks and we may not have time to stop, to think about what else we can do to make the lives of our patients better, unless we make an active effort to do so."

The experience taught him to "fight for our patients", he added, addressing around 300 fellow Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery graduates at the commencement ceremony.

Before graduating, Dr Neo, whose parents divorced when he was two, volunteered regularly with NUS Medicine's Neighbourhood Health Service, which offers health screening to residents of rental flats throughout Singapore.

He told The Straits Times before the ceremony that while his family struggled financially, it paled in comparison to what he saw some of the residents go through. His mother had brought him and his two siblings up on her monthly income of $1,500 as a childcare teacher.

Serving the underprivileged has taught Dr Neo to empathise with patients, especially after realising that this group often have a host of other concerns and, as a result, medical care is sometimes the last thing on their minds.

Also speaking at Sunday's ceremony was Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, chief health scientist at the Ministry of Health and executive director of the ministry's Office for Healthcare Transformation.

In his speech, Prof Tan reminded the graduates of the "precious gift" of skills and knowledge gained in their five years of medical school.

"They not only allow you to diagnose and heal, but also to serve patients well, be a source of comfort, and to have a positive impact on communities, no matter where they are."