Learning to learn: A life of service for two NUS healthcare graduates

Learning to learn: A life of service for two NUS healthcare graduates

In caring for patients, medical professionals often glean invaluable lessons from them, as two recent graduates from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies at NUS can attest.

Both Faye Ng and Khaider Bin Khalid share their thoughts about their journeys through medical and nursing education respectively, showing how we can find personal contentment by pursuing our passions and making meaningful contributions to others' lives.

Faye Ng: A passion for the arts fuels this multi-talented doctor's journey on the path less taken

Freshly-minted junior doctor Faye Ng is not the typical medical graduate you would imagine: she put her medical school studies on pause temporarily to pursue a gap year at a medtech start-up in the United States. During her time there, she started her own podcast interviewing diverse personalities there - from public health experts to venture capitalists. She is a dancer with two NUS dance groups on campus and a seasoned performer on stage. In her free time, she pens poetry and regular opinion-editorials on medical-themed topics for The Straits Times and TODAY.

Faye made the news in 2023 with her poem "A Pink Crease", when she won the best poem published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, one of the world's most cited medical journals.

Faye's innate curiosity about the world and her love for patients and stories propel her to pursue medicine. "Every patient is unique and has a story that's worth being told. I learn so much from just sitting with my patients and talking to them."

Medical school is no walk in the park. From the third year of the five-year programme at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, students undertake postings in various hospitals and departments, including general surgery, internal medicine, and orthopaedics, as part of their clinical rotations. "It is a process of constantly adapting to different teams and expectations. Some specialities, such as emergency medicine, are very intense, as we deal with suffering and death on a day-to-day basis. I started writing as a way to process the emotions and events I've experienced, which can be quite heavy."

"Being in medicine made me reflect on bigger 'life' questions as well," she said. "For instance, I started thinking about concepts like what makes for a meaningful and well-lived life - does a longer lifespan necessarily make for a better life? Where is the trade-off between quantity and quality of life? What is truly in the best interests of the patient?

Faye uses writing as an outlet to express herself and to think through some of these questions. "As a sentimental person, I document my memories through my writing so they won't fade. Maybe one day I'll look back and show my grandkids that these are the things that Grandma went through, processed, and created."

Faye draws inspiration from other physician-writers. From modernist poet William Carlos Williams to modern-day author Paul Kalanithi, some physicians have been keenly attuned to the similarities between the scalpel and the pen. "As a writer, I find it most humbling whenever I receive responses from readers who find healing and resonance in my writing. It always surprises me that someone out there actually took the time to read what I wrote, made the effort to find my email, and reached out to share their thoughts."

Besides writing, Faye is an avid dancer, a passion that kept her going through medical school. "Paradoxically, it was precisely because of my commitment to dance that I was able to weather the demands and stress of clinicals. Dance was always something I looked forward to at the end of a long week - it provided me structure, a semblance of normalcy, as well as friends and a community."

"I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to join not one but two dance CCAs - NUS Dance Synergy and NUS Dance Ensemble. It made school life much more full-bodied and exciting. I had the chance to meet people from other faculties like Business and Engineering," she shared.

"I wasn't born a natural dancer," she confided. "Dance taught me that I had so much to learn, and so much room to grow."

Faye will receive her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery on 14 July 2024. She is currently working as a House Officer in the Department of Internal Medicine at the National University Hospital.

Khaider Khalid: Former executive in the finance sector finds fulfilment in a second career in nursing

Khaider Bin Khalid had to resign from his previous position at an international bank not once but twice. The first time he did so in 2021, his manager was convinced that Khaider was making a rash decision, and asked him to stay for another year. Khaider acquiesced. But before the year was up, he knew that he had to heed the call to ascend what he described as "the second mountain".

If the first mountain is marked by personal ambition, the second mountain is about deep relationships and a life of service. "I spent a good part of my life on the first mountain, in pursuit of career and wealth," shared the former Senior Vice President in a bank technology department who used to manage more than 60 people across three countries at one point.

"It was only when I had to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic that I realised I did not get to spend much time with my family. I missed my three children in their primary and secondary school years because I had to travel, and work late even on weekends. And I suddenly had to grapple with the fact that they were all grown up," he said.

"But this was also one of the factors that made it easier for me to change careers. My youngest child is 23 and she has graduated, and all my daughters are financially independent," he added.

The push factor, however, occurred at work. "I was on a call with a colleague who was younger than me. The very next day, I was told that he had died of a heart attack. We were all quite shocked. And I also encountered another incident where someone I knew was in ICU due to a heart attack. It left me wondering, am I waiting in the queue?"

"I thought to myself: the money is good but it's not worth it if my health is compromised. There's no point going to ICU or spending three or four months on medical leave or having a chronic disease. I needed to learn about health."

A change in course with a switch to nursing

Khaider said, "By chance, I stumbled on a website that shared some stories of people who had successfully executed a mid-career switch to nursing. I thought to myself, if these people can do it, I can do it too."

"I applied for the accelerated 2-year Bachelor of Science (Nursing) career conversion programme at the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies under the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and was admitted. That was how I returned to NUS for the first time in 33 years," he said. Khaider graduated from NUS with a Computer Science degree in 1989. "We were the third batch of Computer Science students. It was quite intense,so I'd never thought I'd step into this place again," he quipped.

"I had to quickly change gears," shared Khaider on the transition to nursing, "from the fast lane giving orders to a more deliberate one, listening to people."

His eldest daughter, Ms Khairunisa Binte Khaider, said that the family thought that he was joking initially but realised that he was serious when he signed up for talks on nursing and eventually went for the interview. "I was quite worried and wondered if he would be able to cope as nursing is a tough job, but seeing him persevere really inspired me."

Khairunisa, who is also working in the healthcare sector, is in the process of completing a Master's in Public Health at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. "When I was overwhelmed with work and studies, I would look at my dad and tell myself not to give up as he is truly an example of lifelong learning. He showed me how you can accomplish your dreams with hard work and faith in yourself."

A career in nursing is no small feat but it can also prove rewarding. "I worked for 26 years in the same organisation, contributing to its success. But I had no personal connection with the people who benefitted, such as the shareholders or the senior management," shared Khaider.

"In nursing, it's different," he added. "When my patients get better or when their family members thank me, there is a direct sense of gratitude, of having made a tangible difference." Khaider will serve his three-year bond as a staff nurse at the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

"On this second mountain, I want to find fulfilment, meaning, and happiness in serving others."

Khaider will receive his Bachelor of Science (Nursing) on 14 July 2024. At 60, he is the oldest recipient of an undergraduate degree in the NUS Class of 2024.

This story is part of NUS News' coverage of Commencement 2024, which celebrates the achievements of our graduates from the Class of 2024. For more on Commencement, read our stories and graduate profiles, check out the official Commencement website, or look up and tag #NUS2024 on our social media channels!