7/27/2019 Proud to be their teacher

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/proud-to-be-their-teacher 1/2

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – 

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

 – from “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

I

 t has now been four years since my classmates and I

started at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. Early 

PEWXQSRXL[I½REPP]GIPIFVEXIHXLIKVEHYEXMSRSJSYV

MD Class of 2013. These are the gallant and resourcefulheroes who started school together with us way back 

MR 3YV½VWX ]IEV GPEWW TLSXS WLS[W MHIEPMWXMG

energetic, and rather young-looking MS1s of various

REXMSREPMXMIW ERH FEGOKVSYRHW;MXL LSTIW FVMKLX [I

TPSYKLIH XLVSYKL MRRYQIVEFPI 8IEQ0)%( WIWWMSRW

 together, in an unending stream of quiz after quiz, like

WXERHMRKEXXLISYX¾S[XVEGXSJXLI%YKIERWXEFPIW[LIR

,IVEGPIWHVSTWF]JSVLMWSRGIMREGIRXYV]FSYXSJEVIE

cleaning.

*SVSYV1(GPEWWQEXIWWXVMHMRKGSR½HIRXP]HS[RXLI

WXEKIMRXLIMV¾S[MRKKVEHYEXMSRKS[RWEXXLIKVEHYEXMSR

GIPIFVEXMSR JSYV ]IEVW VITVIWIRXW XLI GSQTPIXMSR SJ

 their medical school years. However, for the handful of 

YW VIQEMRMRK MR XLI (YOI297 1(4L( TVSKVEQQI

four years only brings us to our halfway mark as we

go through our PhD qualifying examinations. My well-

meaning colleagues, concerned for our collective sanity,

often asked me why anyone would want to delay graduation by at least three more years for additional

4L(XVEMRMRK0YGOMP]JSVYW±HSMRKER1(4L(²MWRSX

MRGPYHIHMR(71-XMWEXXLMWTSMRXXLEX-[SYPHPMOI

 to share a little bit about the mysterious things we get

YTXSMRSYVPEFSVEXSVMIWMRXLILSTISJIHYGEXMRKERH

entertaining the reader.

3YV 1(4L( TVSKVEQQI JSGYWIW SR XLI FEWMG

WGMIRGIWMR½ZIFVSEHHMWIEWIEVIEW8LIKSEPSJXLI4L(

TLEWISJSYVXVEMRMRKMWJSVYWTPYGO]PEFVEXWXSZIRXYVI

The Road Less Travelled

OPINION

– Journeying with the Duke-NUS MD/PhD ProgrammeBy Kenneth Goh

Photos: Kenneth Goh

/IRRIXL½VWXJVSQVMKLX[MXLLMW8IEQ0)%(KVSYTNYWXFIJSVIKVEHYEXMSRXLMW]IEV

40 • SMA News July 2013

7/27/2019 Proud to be their teacher

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/proud-to-be-their-teacher 2/2

Kenneth is currently in the fourth year of the Duke-

NUS MD/PhD programme. When he’s not running 

science experiments in the lab, he can be found taking 

photos for school events or reading PubMed for leisure.

Before medical school, Kenneth spent his undergraduate

 years at the Uni versit y of Chicago.

off into realms of knowledge much farther from the

clinic than many readers of this august newsletter are

accustomed to. Ever since we switched our short-sleeved

medical student white coats for the long-sleeved lab

ZEVMIX][ILEZIWOMTTIHWXVEMKLXELIEHXSXLIZIV]GYXXMRK

edge of medical research – molecular and cellular biology,

KIRIXMGWKIRSQMGWERHTVSXISQMGW8SWSQIXLIWI[SVHW

QMKLXEW[IPPFIQEKMGWTIPPWJVSQHarry Potter , but they 

are actually amazing new tools that allow us to study 

diseases, their causes and effects in greater detail than

IZIVFIJSVI±)\SXMG²WGMIRXM½GXSSPWPMOIT]VSWIUYIRGMRK

KIRSQMG QMGVSEVVE]W ERH HMKMXEP TSP]QIVEWI GLEMR

VIEGXMSR LEZI RS[ FIIR FVSYKLX XS FIEV SR TEXMIRX

WEQTPIWJSVVIWIEVGLXLIHE][MPPWSSRGSQI[LIRXLIWI

 XSSPWFIGSQIGLIETJEWXERHVIP MEFPIIRSYKLJSVVSYXMRI

GPMRMGEPYWI7YGLI\GMXMRKTVSKVIWW[EWYRMQEKMREFPINYWX

EJI[]IEVWEKS[LIR[I½VWXWXEVXIHQIHMGEPWGLSSP

;MXL EPP XLIWI RI[ QIHMGEP HIZIPSTQIRXW VETMHP]WYVJEGMRK [LS [SYPHR´X [ERX XS FI E TEVX SJQEOMRK

TVSKVIWWLETTIR#8LSWISJYW[MXLEGIVXEMRQEWSGLMWXMG

WGMIRXM½GFIRX[MPPXIPP]SYXLEX[I[SYPHRIZIVHVIEQ

SJQMWWMRK SYX SR XLMW STTSVXYRMX] XS EHZERGI GPMRMGEP

ORS[PIHKISRFILEPJSJXLITEXMIRXWXLEX[IEVIYREFPIXS

 treat today. The beauty of taking combined MD and PhD

 XVEMRMRKMW XLEXMXYRMXIW X[SKVIEXERHQYXYEPP]FIRI½GMEP

½IPHW¯IEGL[MXLMXWS[RUYMVOWGYPXYVIWERHXVEHMXMSRW¯

MRXSSRIPEVKIV[LSPI8LMWMWXLIWEQITVMRGMTPIFILMRH

 the Megazords [combinations of smaller zords or robots]

from Power Rangers,ERHQER]SXLIVKMERX½KLXMRKVSFSX

GEVXSSRW3YVTVSQMWIJSVXLIPSRKIVXIVQMWEFIXXIV

understanding of diseases and better ways to treat them.

And now, here we are, after four years of school at

(YOI2973YVFIPSZIH1(GPEWWQEXIWLEZIGSQTPIXIH

 their time as students here, while we will be staying behind

JSVEJI[QSVI]IEVWSJI\GMXMRKWGMIRXM½GHMWGSZIVMIW;I

[MWLXLIQEPPXLIFIWXEWXLI]IRXIVXLILSWTMXEPW;I[MPP

GEXGLYT[MXL]SYWSSR

8LI1('PEWWSJ[MXL4VSJ4MIVGI'LS[½VWXJVSQVMKLXEXE'LVMWXQEWTEVX]MR

4VITEVMRKJSV'EQT7MQFE[MXLJVMIRHWJVSQ=SRK0SS0MR7GLSSPSJ1IHMGMRI

+VEHYERHWJVSQXLI1('PEWWSJTVITEVMRKXSQEVGLMRXSXLI+VEHYEXMSR+EPE(MRRIV 1IQFIVWSJXLIKVEHYEXMRK1('PEWWSJ

July 2013 SMA News • 41