Duke-NUS - Admissions Blog

Clinicians of the future will not only need to practice medicine, but also play a role in improving the practice of medicine. As a graduate-entry medical school, Duke-NUS trains clinicians who come to medical school with a foundation in an undergraduate discipline such as engineering and social sciences. This adds valuable diversity into medical practice in Singapore, and introduces fresh perspectives on overcoming challenges in healthcare. Third year Duke-NUS medical student, Anthony Li, is one example of a future clinician who is constantly exploring innovation in medicine and medical education. Apart from being the current head of the MedTECH Student Interest Group at Duke-NUS Medical School, he also explores app development in his spare time and has created an online app that allows his peers to post and share their reflections during their clerkships year. We interview him to learn more. You studied Electrical Engineering in university. What led you to pursue Medicine? I graduated from NUS Electrical Engineering in 2013. After working at A*STAR and MOE for 2 years in grant administration and software engineering roles, I decided to pursue my ambition of becoming a doctor.

Tell us about your path to Duke-NUS. Hello, I am Xiaoxi from Duke-NUS PhD Entering Class of 2017, under the PhD in Integrated Biostatistics and Bioinformatics (Biostatistics concentration) programme. Prior to joining Duke-NUS, I spend 6 years in the UK studying and working. I completed an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences and Medical Physics at University College London (UCL), during which I had the opportunity to do a biostatistics internship at UCL Institute of Child Health. The internship allowed me to work on epidemiological data where I experienced first-hand the importance and wide application of statistics in the health and biomedical field. That was when my interest in statistics deepened and I went on to do a Master’s degree in Statistics at UCL. After graduating, I worked as a statistician in the R&D unit of a London-based health tech start-up company, where I delved into the digital health industry, initiated and led a large-scale research project. I then decided to apply to a PhD programme in order to improve and gain more skills in statistics research. How did you come to know about the Duke-NUS PhD IBB programme and what made you apply?

On average, our students enter the MD programme at age 25, with just 5.5% of them already holding a PhD. Ong Lay See, 31, from the MD Class of 2021, took a path less travelled to medicine. Before joining the Duke-NUS MD programme, she completed a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Psychology, and a PhD degree in Psychology. The path to medicine is seldom easy, and familial support can play a huge role in one's journey. Lay See was fortunate to have her parents' and husband's full support in her pursuit of medicine. At her white coat ceremony, we spoke to her family members to learn more about their perspectives.

Tell us about your path to Duke-NUS. Before starting school at Duke-NUS, I graduated from NUS with a BSc (Honours) in Life Sciences (Specialisation in Biomedical Science). I started to toy with the idea of doing medicine in secondary school when I was first exposed to scientific research. Since then, I’ve dabbled in many areas such as microbiology, infectious diseases and neurobiology. Throughout the years, I’ve had many nurturing mentors and colleagues who have inspired me to continue pursuing research. Along the way, I had a few volunteering stints with various organizations, which piqued my interest in healthcare. I came to the realization that medicine would be a perfect blend of these various interests and I’m glad to be able to pursue it.

How do you decide whether to sit for the MCAT or GAMSAT? These are two different tests that medical schools use in their admissions process. If you are applying to Duke-NUS Medical School, you have the option of taking either, as we accept both for applications to the MD and MD-PhD. Here are 10 things you should know before deciding on the MCAT or GAMSAT.

I'm Zhaohan, a first year student from the Duke-NUS Medical School. I'm also a trained and qualified lawyer of the Singapore Bar, having previously read law at the National University of Singapore. I applied to Duke-NUS in the knowledge that a life in medicine was for me, and like my peers, I've run the gamut of experiences to prepare myself for applying to medical school. Some of these experiences include work shadowing opportunities with physicians. If you'd like to know more about how best to make use of such opportunities, this article may be for you.

Read our interview with Wharton Chan, who joined Duke-NUS Medical School in 2016 as an MD-PhD candidate after graduating with a Master of Biochemistry from University of Oxford. How did you decide on pursuing an MD-PhD? For many science graduates in Oxford, one thing always lurks at the back of the mind – should I do a PhD? Some dismiss this straight away, as lab work may not be the most enticing sort of career; but for many others, the Part II research experience provides a change in perspective, and may reassure thoughts of a research career. I fall into the latter group – it seemed that I was good at research, I enjoyed research, and it was ‘the right thing to do’.

First year medical student Tan Chin Chuen splits his time between medical school and rigorous training in his sport - canoeing. An oustanding sportsman, Chin Chuen won a silver medal at the 2015 SEA Games, where he and his teammate finished 2nd in the C2 200m canoeing finals. At the time of this post, we also learnt that Chin Chuen has just received the NUS President's Sports Award 2016. Congratulations Chin Chuen! We interviewed Chin Chuen to find out more about his experience in sprint canoeing and how he came to join Duke-NUS Medical School.

Mervyn Chan (MD-PhD Student) Tell us about your path to Duke-NUS. I was in the pioneer batch of my undergraduate course - Sport Science and Management which started in 2009. Exercise was my hobby and the thought of being able to learn more about a field I loved prompted me to join the course. It was there that I learnt about basic human anatomy, exercise physiology and biomechanics which provided a foundation for the first year of medical school curriculum. Not that I knew I was going to pursue medicine at that point in time. It was a great 4 years spent doing the things I loved. However, 4th year came and it was time to face reality again. My final year in the course was when I really thought hard about what I wanted to do post-graduation. Did I want to go into sport science research? Did I want to pursue public health? Did I want to do something in allied health? It was during my 4th year internship stint at Health Promotion Board, where I spent 6 months learning about health policy and public health, when I knew I wanted to work in healthcare instead of elite sports.

Hi! First off, if you’re reading this page in preparation of applicant day, congratulations on getting an interview! I’m Sam, currently in 2nd year and going through clinical rotations. I majored in Physics in the University of British Columbia and now I’m back in Singapore to pursue medicine. Here are some tips for applicant day that I’d like to share, categorized to pre-applicant day, applicant day and post-applicant day.