'Family' dinners, soft skills workshops and more: Creating a culture of support helps medical students adapt and excel

For someone who already has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Life Sciences like Dr Adeline Lam, one might think that getting a Doctor of Medicine (MD) would be a piece of cake. 

But medical school provides its own set of challenges.

At Duke-NUS Medical School, students are assessed several times a week on their medical knowledge, especially in their first year. When Dr Lam began medical school, she found herself playing catch-up with the intensive regimen of testing, particularly for someone who came from the research-centric, benchwork-heavy nature of PhD study.

“It had been some time since I graduated from university,” she says. “Being a little bit older, it took me a while to get used to burning the midnight oil for exams again, so there was quite a challenge in the transition.”

Dr Lam’s story is not uncommon among medical students, according to Dr Suzanne Goh, Associate Dean of Student Affairs at Duke-NUS.

She says: “Our students have to balance many hours of study to acquire and understand the tremendous amount of medical knowledge needed, with long hours in the clinical environment honing their hard and soft clinical skills – all while clearing high stakes exams and participating in research to push the boundaries of how to help patients.”

It is the recognition of these difficulties that drives the Duke-NUS Student Affairs Wellbeing Strategy, continues Dr Goh. The strategy is integrated with the Duke-NUS MD Programme curriculum to help students develop personal well-being while maintaining academic performance.

For instance, Dr Shan Koh-Bundgaard, Duke-NUS’ Lead for Student Academic Development and an alumna from the pioneer batch of Duke-NUS students, holds a regular series of workshops to help students prepare for the United States Medical Licensing Examinations — the battery of tests that all Duke-NUS students must pass. At one of her workshops, students take turns at role playing to practise their clinical reasoning skills. 

But just as important is effective time management, as current MD-PhD candidate Ms Monica Kala can testify.

Under Dr Koh-Bundgaard’s guidance, she realised that simply having a plan is half the battle won — and the other half is sticking to it. For instance, students should spend double or triple the amount of time reviewing practice questions as they spend doing them, Ms Kala says.

“Dr Koh-Bundgaard’s workshops are amazing at giving tips on how to tackle these exams,” she adds.

Dr Koh-Bundgaard’s office is also open to Duke-NUS students who require one-on-one consultations — and all it takes is an e-mail to request a timeslot, as Dr Lam did when she needed help. 

“She even helped me plan my timetable, down to how many exam questions I would do each day, as well as how to incorporate my research time into my schedule,” recalls Dr Lam. 

It’s not just Dr Koh-Bundgaard who is always around to help. The close-knit nature of the medical community — and to an even greater extent, the Duke-NUS community — means that faculty members are always willing to lend a helping hand to students in need, whether it’s academic or emotional support.

“They are always there,” assures Dr Lam. “If they notice that you might be having trouble, they will make sure to touch base with you, to make personalised contact.”

This was most clearly displayed during the height of the Covid-19 circuit breaker measures in 2020. During this time, Ms Kala was the vice-president of academics on the student council. 

Ms Kala, an Indian national who later became a Singapore permanent resident, empathised with many international students who could not travel home to be with family for the holidays because of the travel restrictions.

“So I went to Student Affairs, and I told them that we should do something for the international students, like organise a lunch or a dinner together.”

As Associate Dean, Dr Goh responded by inviting faculty members and alumni to create a family environment for international students through hosting Christmas dinners for them, all while adhering to circuit breaker measures.

The response was overwhelming. In less than a week, almost every single international student had been adopted by a “family”.

“It was really nice,” recalls Ms Kala. “When you’re in your second year especially, you’re constantly stressed, thinking, ‘Are you learning enough? Are you a good enough doctor?’

“It was nice to have someone invite us home, take care of us, give us food, tell us that they have been through similar things,” she continues. “Just having someone to talk to and listen to us is very reassuring.” 

Even as the pandemic subsides, these heartening Christmas dinners – which also took place in 2021 and 2022 – have become a new annual tradition for Duke-NUS. 

But Ms Kala, then a student council member, was also an advocate of peer support in helping her fellow students achieve academic success while caring for their mental well-being, the need for which was particularly acute during the pandemic when gathering in groups was not always possible. 

When it was impossible to have face-to-face interactions during the circuit breaker, for example, Ms Kala made sure that her peers managed to practise physical examination skills.

So she and her fellow council members organised video call sessions over Zoom, with over 100 students breaking out into groups of three or four for assessments. It took three whole weekends, but every student eventually received the opportunity to practise their physical examinations virtually.

With support from Student Affairs, she also organised several student wellness initiatives, like the distribution of festive welfare packs and terrarium making. 

Since then, the school has continued to organise activities and events aimed at supporting students’ mental and emotional health, such as the WellNUS Festival. Held in conjunction with World Mental Health Day in October, the festival promotes wellness among NUS staff and students through fun activities such as archery, kayaking and latte-making. 

The Student Affairs team also hosts quarterly meetings with each class over a meal to create a safe space for students to connect, voice their opinions and collaborate, says Dr Goh.

“That’s just the culture of giving back in Duke-NUS,” Ms Kala says. “I was told by my seniors in Year 1, ‘we are doing this for you now, in the hopes that you will do the same in future’.

“That is the essence of medical service,” she continues. “That is the essence of Duke-NUS.”