NUSWhispers – Confession #37481

Year 4 going onto year 5 medicine senior here. This is for all the incoming medicine students who have written/are following confessions recently. Long post ahead, you have been warned. #37350 it's not true that we don't have a social life. I've known colleagues (even those in clinical years) doing competitive sports, committee work, community service, mentoring juniors and doing research, among other things, which I take to indicate that a decent number of us have some additional time on our hands beyond our academics. Especially in your first and second year, where curriculum follows a lecture and tutorial style similar to other faculties, good time management frees up a lot of spare time. Unfortunately, clinical years tend to equate longer hours, especially in surgical postings in certain hospitals. Add to that the use of normal grading system of A, B, C and everything in between, unlike the pass-fail system of year 1 and 2, some might feel their competitive streak rekindle and overwhelm them with the urge to study excessively. Thankfully, the environment does not outrightly promote competition as grades are granted based on merit, not by a bell curve. Hence, stress from academics comes from being overwhelmed by information instead of trying to squeeze into the top X percentile. Your target isn't another person: it's to level up your proficiency. And this creates an environment where people readily share resources and help one another, making it a friendlier place. After all, the true exam is your first night call as a fresh grad when your clinical skills can mean the difference between life and death. Dating life and our holiday durations will be explained below along with another OP's question. #37410 I've known female doctors and med students dating engineers. Nothing against engineers by the way. Also female med students dating people of other courses, elite and non-elite. Just takes an understanding partner, failing which MY OPINION (disclaimer!) says an overworked partner makes a good substitute. Better to have both busy than 1 relatively free. The rest is just effort. One issue of note is that NUS YLLSOM does not follow the calendar of other faculties. This means, unfortunately, that your exam periods might be during others' recess week/slacker weeks, and vice versa, which makes socialising and dating beyond the faculty a little complicated. Here, I believe good communication, compromise and mutual understanding resolves the issue. An interesting note on our holidays: 1st year - 4 wks + 12 wks 2nd year - 2 wks + 8 wks 3rd year - 2 wks + 4 wks 4th year - 2 wks + 2 wks 5th year - 2 wks + 3 wks after MBBS, following which we start working as "House Officers", or PGY1 as we call it now. Now you see why it is difficult to associate with people beyond Medicine. Personally, I have observed my own circles shrink to a more medicine centric one. But barring any high profile crimes against humanity, you will almost definitely have a circle of friends looking out for you, given the relatively non-competitive environment fostered here. As for ego issues, those exist in any faculty. There will always be an imbalance in individual abilities since no 2 person could have been born and raised exactly the same. Any girl could be facing this same problem by being on the Dean's List of FASS, Engin or Science. In fact, if faculty - which only lasts a few years - can be such a strong deterrent, just a girl being taller or from a well to do family might already bruise the guy's ego. Here's an idea: rather than brooding over the guy's shortfalls, why not celebrate your achievements? #37456 I'm not quite sure what you mean to ask about medicamp? There's simply too much to bring you through, but simply put, most seniors would encourage you to go for it. No incoming student is rejected from it, and it will be your first exposure to your "House", a small community of people you will see more of throughout your first 2 years. It also helps you know your seniors better so you can work on finding a counsellor (a senior who looks out for you). If you're worried about wild and sexualised activities reminiscent of the FOC saga, I would like to assure you that medicamp has been a relatively decent camp, although students generally still have a lot of fun. To put that into perspective, our pageants do not go for mandatory photoshoots/catwalks in swimsuit or wet clothes, unlike in some faculties. For anyone of other faculties who bothered reading till here, no offence intended and no judgement passed here, just stating facts. Lessons in year 1 and 2 are all lecture and tutorial based, similar to what other courses have, and what you have gone through in JC. However, there is no module bidding as we have a standardised curriculum. There will be numerous days when lessons last from 8am to 5pm with only a 30min and a 1h break some time along the day. But closer to exams the number of hours tend to go down significantly. Do note that there are some exams that do not come with sufficient study break, so it is always helpful to be consistent in your academics, especially as you advance through the years. Otherwise, congrats! And welcome to the family!