News: LKCMedicine MBBS offerees attend first-ever #whyLKCMedicine virtual event

As prospective medical students decide where to pursue their dream, LKCMedicine typically invites them and their parents to step into the shoes of an LKCMedicine student. From mock Team-Based Learning (TBL) sessions to hands-on anatomy and clinical skills practice, the visitors can experience a day in the life of. This year, however, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic coupled with extended circuit-breaker measures forced the School to hold this event in the cloud. 

On Saturday, May 16, more than 50 LKCMedicine students, alumni, faculty and staff signed in from their homes to engage a group of more than 160 pre-university students who had been offered a place in this year’s MBBS intake. The #whyLKCMedicine virtual event, conducted using video conferencing tool Zoom, began at 2.30pm with three simultaneous Meet the Crew sessions hosted by current students, followed by a Meet the Council session hosted by the Dean, Professor James Best.

 


The Meet the Crew sessions opened with a short welcome video by LKCMedicine Dean Professor James Best, who said that through LKCMedicine’s experienced local and international faculty and excellent modern curriculum, the School nurtures world-class medical graduates who practise medicine with both hearts and heads.

The invited students then had the opportunity to hear from students, alumni and faculty about the programme’s unique features and what sets the LKCMedicine experience apart. They also asked their most burning questions which ranged from the ease of studying across the School’s dual campus, anatomy teaching, the format of the White Coat Ceremony and Orientation, the prospects for LKCMedicine graduates in Singapore’s healthcare sector and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on teaching and learning at LKCMedicine.

 

Questions were fielded by students, alumni and the many faculty who were online. Addressing the question about anatomy teaching in one of the sessions, Head of Anatomy Assistant Professor Reddy Mogali pointed out that what makes the School’s anatomy teaching unique is the integration of imaging into the lessons, as well as the expert interdisciplinary input from surgeons and pathologists.

After a 15-minute break, participants from the three Meet the Crew sessions re-convened for the Meet the Council, where they were once again welcomed by the Dean, who said that students are treated as junior colleagues from the day of the White Coat Ceremony, which signifies the start of their lifelong professional journey. He added that the whole School will support them on the journey, on which they will make many lifelong friends.

In the short presentations before the Question and Answer session, Vice-Dean for Education Professor Naomi Low-Beer spoke about the quality of the School’s graduates, learning environment and extensive partnerships. Imperial Faculty of Medicine Vice-Dean for Education Mr Martin Lupton talked about the 3Rs that link the two institutions together: resilience, relationship and research before Vice-Dean for Faculty Affairs Professor Michael Ferenczi and Vice-Dean for Research Professor Lim Kah Leong introduced the School’s research endeavours and how students are exposed to research.


After the quick introductions, Vice-Dean for Clinical Affairs Professor Pang Weng Sun assumed the lead by opening the floor for questions. The Q&A panel comprised the Vice-Deans and LKCMedicine Chief Operating Officer Dr Serene Ng as well as LKCMedicine MedSoc President Ashwin Singaram, current students and alumni. 

The students and their parents posted more than 70 questions on the dedicated Q&A room on Slido and raised more questions via the Zoom chatbox. Prof Pang and the panellists tackled the most popular questions on curriculum, clinical placements, scholarships, fees, hall living, clinician-scientist track, timetable, adjustment to TBL, and anatomy teaching without the use of silent mentors, while the team answered the remaining questions on Slido directly.

The Meet the Council session ended with a video that highlighted the LKCMedicine student community.