One thing that is prevalent in the world of medicine is that it is a never-ending journey of learning. Be it in the wards, labs or the operating theatre, there is always something to learn. Medicine is like a lifelong classroom where you learn from seniors and juniors, patients and colleagues, medical advancements and research - it is endless. For instance, each patient may present unique traits that may alter the way we diagnose and treat him or her. Even after years of experience, I am sure my mentors are still continuously learning.

I never held any formal "let's sit down and I'll teach you this topic" sessions with a group of students, be it from Yong Loo Lin or Duke-NUS. But I do try to teach what I know to the

students who are attached to my teams. As a senior House Officer (HO), I also helped the junior HOs adjust to the new working environment. I can empathise with them because when I was a medical student, I remembered feeling very lost when no one in the team told us what was going on. Even now, while I sometimes forget to make the conscious effort to talk to the medical students in my team, especially when I have a ton of changes to do, I try and check in with them every now and then.

At the same time, as a Medical Officer (MO), I am still learning. I did not choose a residency straight after graduating in 2013 because I think many aspects of medicine are interesting. I found things that I liked in the different rotations and for me, I need to actually try working in the different fields before I can commit to a certain one. I think medicine is about finding a niche and for some of us, it takes time to find this. In a way, I do envy those who have found their callings straightaway in medical school but the way I see it, what's a few more years if you're trying to find out what you are going to do for the rest of your life?

Interacting with patients is a joy and has left me with many memorable moments. One of them was when I was pressing an 80 plus-year old uncle's groin to remove an arterial sheath(I don't press patients' groins for fun) and he was telling about his father who had nine wives all living in the same house. We were both laughing at all the stories he had to share about how his dad managed to keep all of them happy at the same time.

Winning the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Junior Doctor Teaching Award definitely came as a surprise to me. I did not think that what I did getting the students involved in the team dynamics was anything extraordinary, but it is always nice to be recognised; and the book vouchers that came with the award will certainly come in handy!

I am definitely open to the idea of mentoring juniors but I will have to learn first. I am no expert in mentoring and teaching students. To be honest, I am nowhere near qualified to teach clinical medicine but I know that if you teach or at least try to, you end up learning a lot in return.

I am looking forward to my residency and the experiences that come with it. In the meantime, let us all remember that we are learning all the time and we should share our knowledge, because you learn when you teach and you can teach when you learn.