Alumni Profile: From Pioneers to Future Leaders in 15 Years of LKCMedicine

By Sanjay Devaraja

LKCMedicine’s journey in the last 15 years is perhaps best reflected through the voices of its alumni – those who paved the way and those who are just beginning to walk in their footsteps. From the pioneering cohorts who laid the foundation to the newest batches who carry the School’s vision forward, our students’ journeys, aspirations, and achievements not only enrich the LKCMedicine community but also affirm the School’s commitment to nurturing compassionate leaders who will transform healthcare for generations to come.

We bring together the perspectives of two graduates from different generations of the LKCMedicine family: a member of the pioneer Class of 2018, who has witnessed the School’s growth from its earliest days, and a graduate from the Class of 2025, who carries forward its vision into the future. Together, their reflections capture how far the School has come, the impact of its education, and the shared hopes that unite past and present in shaping the next chapter of LKCMedicine’s story.

Dr Tan Yuan Rui Leon
Class of 2018, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Recipient of Nanyang Alumni Service Award 2024
Senior Resident in Paediatric Medicine, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital

As part of the pioneer cohort of students, I am truly grateful for the many opportunities the School has provided me and my peers over the years. In lieu of this milestone, I was thinking about how to best encapsulate my experience over these years. The acronym L-K-C came to mind.

Dr Tan with his peers in Year 4 during Emergency Medicine.

L – Learning
LKCMedicine’s pedagogy of Team-Based Learning (TBL) has provided a useful framework on how to approach independent learning prior to clinical application. It was truly a different experience back in the first two years of study when we had to do our own pre learning via prerecorded lectures, before attending tutorials to answer clinical application questions, when compared with the spoon-feeding methodologies many of us were used to in our junior college days. Given that the real world doesn’t work like that, LKCMedicine prepared us well. The School’s mode of learning has taught me an important skill set that I continue to use in my daily work today, as a resident in Paediatric Medicine.

Dr Tan belongs to the first batch of the Lim Boon Keng House.

K – Knowledge
Everything that I have learnt in medicine was built on the foundations of the knowledge I had acquired in LKCMedicine. I am thankful to each and every tutor and mentor who took time to craft our programme, plan our curriculum, and contribute to our education. We were so blessed as the pioneer cohort – to have many academic giants teach us. I felt that I learnt from exceptional mentors during my clinical years in the School.

C – Community
LKCMedicine has given me so much more than just medical education over the years. I’ve gained many close friends who journeyed with me through medical school and whom I continue to keep in touch with, including mentors I can consult personally. The Novena Campus serves as a physical space for many of us alumni to go back to – be it to use the gym, library, or catch up with one another. Being part of the bigger NTU community also allows us to interact with peers and seniors from other faculties, broadening our perspectives beyond medicine. I was also lucky to have met my wife at School!

Dr Tan with friends at the first LKCMedicine Dinner & Dance at the end of their Year 1 in 2013.

Putting these together, LKCMedicine has given me numerous opportunities and has truly been my home. It shaped me through its innovative Learning pedagogy (L), equipped me with the foundational Knowledge (K) for my career, and gifted me a Community (C) that I deeply love and cherish. Thank you, LKCMedicine, and may the School continue to shine for many years to come. 

Dr Lim Rong
Class of 2025, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Recipient of Lee Hsien Loong Award for Outstanding All-Round Achievements
House Officer, National University Hospital

When I first began my journey at LKCMedicine, there was a sense of apprehension that accompanied the excitement of starting medical school. LKCMedicine was then only 10 years young, and there were many challenges ahead for the School. Being a young medical school, many parents doubted whether the School’s MBBS programme would be successful. Prospective students were drawn to the well-developed programmes and opportunities of other, more established medical schools. 

Dr Lim Rong with friends after a 20km run around the Novena campus.

However, as I had come to realise during my time at LKCMedicine, the School leverages on its youth to its advantage. Students are given a lot of freedom to initiate new programmes or change established ones, without having the burden of legacy. I have seen many of my peers introduce multiple student-led initiatives – such as senior-junior teaching programmes, community involvement projects, and other co-curricular activities. Our faculty listens closely to student proposals and feedback, supporting students where they can. Beyond simply supporting students and their initiatives, faculty often involve the student body in decision-making. For example, instead of imposing unilateral decisions, students were consulted during curriculum reform. As a student, you have a great sense of agency in deciding how you want your university life to be, and to actualise programmes that you feel will bring benefit to the student community.

Dr Lim Rong with friends at the Imperial College London campus during an overseas elective.

During my time at LKCMedicine, we had a strong senior-junior and peer-to-peer teaching culture. Throughout my years in medical school, my seniors regularly took us for informal tutorials – helping us make sense of the content we learn in School and sharpen our clinical skills. Our seniors also organised formal senior-junior teaching sessions such as our M2-M3 bridging series, which essentially helped us prepare for our examinations. In hospitals, seniors across multiple generations spontaneously took us for tutorials, often taking us to examine cases relevant to our exams. When my peers and I eventually became seniors ourselves, we carried our seniors’ legacy and paid it forward to our own juniors. I am confident our juniors would do the same as that is the unique culture of camaradie, teaching, and peer support that we have at LKCMedicine. 

Dr Lim Rong with Professor Tham Kum Ying and team that represented LKCMedicine at the 2024 SIMWars – an educational competition organised by the Society for Emergency Medicine (Singapore).

The seniors have played a crucial role in laying the foundations of the vibrant and supportive culture that we have today. It is the collective effort of our leadership, staff, and students – past and present – that have allowed us to achieve this milestone of 15 years! Establishing a medical school from scratch, with a curriculum that is relevant and exciting, is no easy feat. Fast forward 15 years, the curriculum that we have today, combined with the dedication of our faculty, and the drive of our student community, will continue to allow our young medical school to punch above its weight.

A Christmas gathering at the house of a member of Dr Lim Rong’s “House Family”.