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Saturday, 03 Jun, 2023

Celebrating the newly minted doctors from Duke-NUS Class of 2023

The long processional march was a magnificent sight as the Class of 2023—the largest cohort to graduate from Duke-NUS to date—filed into The Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium on 3 June 2023 for their graduation ceremony. They were joined by Guest-of-Honour Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, and keynote speaker Professor Ivy Ng, Group CEO at SingHealth, as well as leadership members from Duke, SingHealth and Duke-NUS.

Among the 89 students making up the Class of 2023, 74 received their Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees, 13 received their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees and two received combined MD-PhD degrees.

Graduation and Hooding Ceremony 2023
 
Graduating Classes of 2023
 
Graduating Classes of 2023
 

Alongside their family and friends, Mr Goh Yew Lin, Duke-NUS Governing Board Chairman, his predecessor, Founding Chairman Mr Tony Chew and Professor Eugene Washington, Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University, also came to show their support. For Prof Washington, this was a particularly poignant occasion as it was the last graduation he attended as Chancellor for Health Affairs.

Once everyone had taken their seats, Duke-NUS Dean Professor Thomas Coffman stepped on stage to address the graduands. He commended the class for their resilience, a quality they demonstrated repeatedly as they aced their studies amidst the pandemic. But he also stressed that their transition to being full-time doctors will pose a whole new set of challenges—developments such as the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare which could have “unpredictable impacts”.

“In the face of these changes and disruptions [to the way medicine is practised], you will need to hold closely to the humanism and ethical principles that lie at the heart of medicine,” Prof Coffman said.

Addressing the graduands next, Ms Indranee, who is also Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for National Development, applauded the strong sense of determination demonstrated by the Class of 2023, calling them “healthcare heroes”.

Using triaging or the prioritisation of patient care as an analogy, she advised the graduates that even ‘non-urgent’ issues, the lowest category in the World Health Organisation’s triaging model, cannot be ignored.

“My challenge to all of you today is for each of you to reserve some space to address the non-urgent issues of our day,” she said. “For a start, we should continue challenging ourselves to reimagine the future of medical education and rethink how our healthcare professionals can address existing and emerging care gaps in and beyond Singapore.”

After Ms Indranee’s address, Prof Ng took to the podium to deliver her keynote address, in which she focused on two themes: dreams and attributes. First and foremost, she urged the graduands to “dream big”: “Dreams help you to keep going and pursuing a goal that may seem impossible.”

Dean Professor Thomas Coffman
 
Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for National Development Indranee Rajah
 
Prof Ivy Ng

Next, she talked about the key attributes clinicians need to thrive: adaptability to scale obstacles and seize new opportunities; bravery to go into unchartered territories; compassion for all patients and the self; and determination through difficulties. “If you forget everything else… never give up,” she concluded.

Following Prof Ng’s inspiring remarks, Dr Nurul Ain Binte Rejap, Duke-NUS alumnus from the Class of 2022, officially presented the Class of 2023, as the graduands walked on stage as students and left as doctors, holding the newly earned scrolls they had just accepted from Ms Indranee.

Dr Nurul Ain Binte Rejap, alumnus from Class of 2022
 
Dr Lim Mei Chee, PhD Class of 2023
 
Dr Michelle Ko, MD Class of 2023
 

Afterwards, the MD graduates rose to their feet to recite the Hippocratic Oath, led by Vice-Dean for Education, Professor Ian Curran. Clinical faculty members joined them in the recitation of this ancient oath that continues to capture the essence of the doctor-patient relationship.

Taking to the stage next, PhD class speaker Dr Lim Mei Chee posed a thoughtful question to her fellow graduates: “As we often look to understand the human body, how much do we know our own selves and what we can do as a person?”

Dr Lim’s response to her own question was both heartfelt and inspiring. For her, there had been moments during her PhD journey where a lack of knowledge or the absence of positive results felt insurmountable. But it was in overcoming these self-doubts that many of them grew into people “full of grit and sheer willpower”. Before handing over to the MD class speaker, Dr Lim encouraged everyone by saying, “Don’t forget, we are tough too… And we will continue to survive and thrive in anything we choose to do next.”

MD class speaker Dr Michelle Ko reflected on the different ways everyone took care of each other during the pandemic. She recalled classmates and faculty members welcoming international peers into their homes for festive celebrations, while various interest groups formed and bonded during a time when isolation could have easily set in.

“As we step out of these doors, I hope that you’ll never forget the Duke family we’ve built over the past four years,” Dr Ko said. “Please continue looking out for one another, sharing useful resources, and collaborating with each other during your clinical or academic pursuits.”

As the ceremony came to a close, the newly minted doctors left the auditorium, with their hoods, proudly holding their scrolls. The atrium reverberated with echoes of their excited conversations as they posed for a rousing class photo, making it clear that while they may have completed their journey at medical school, they will have each other as they step into the next chapter of their careers.

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