NTU LKCMedicine Year 1 and 2 (Pre-Clinical) – A Student’s Guide

Some basic facts and abbreviations:

• M1 = Year 1, M2 = Year 2, and so on
• Med school is split into the Pre-clinical (M1-2) and Clinical (M3-5) phases
  • Pre-clinical = study theory (mainly)*
  • Clinical = rotations in hospitals (+ continue to study)
• CSB = Clinical Sciences Building – aka our Novena campus
  EMB = Experimental Medicine Building – aka our NTU campus

*Note: At LKC, we also incorporate skills, physical examination, taking history, etc. from Day 1 + we have early patient contact and Hospital Week and Polyclinic Week in M1.

General Structure and Overview

Pre-Clinical Years

In terms of how we learn and how our lives are structured, M1 and M2 are quite similar. M2 is just like a continuation of M1. That’s why they’re discussed together here rather than separately.

Learning by Blocks

At LKC, we learn by body systems, aka “blocks”. In each block, we cover the whole gamut from anatomy to physiology to pathology and pharmacology. Sort of like: what’s normal (structure + function) → what happens when it goes wrong → how to treat.

Very helpfully, we also learn the corresponding physical examination at the same time. For instance, we learn how to perform a cardiovascular examination during the Cardiorespiratory System block. Also when you’re learning to take history, the simulated patients will present with a cardiovascular or respiratory condition.

As you can see from the list below, some blocks are longer than others. The number of weeks gives a rough estimation of how much content there is in that block.

The Team System

We’re split into teams of 6 (you get a new team every year). In this group of 6, you not only do TBLs together (see below), but also just about attend every other lesson together.

Curriculum – What We Learn

Everything you’ll cover in M1:

• Foundations of Medicine (10 weeks)
• Cardiorespiratory System (10 weeks)
• Endocrine System (5 weeks)
• Renal and Urinary System (4 weeks)
• Musculoskeletal System (5 weeks)
• Skin (2 weeks)

Everything you’ll cover in M2:

• Gastrointestinal System (6 weeks)
• Blood and Lymphatic System (3 weeks)
• Infection (3 weeks)
• Ear, Nose and Throat (2 weeks)
• Nervous System (5 weeks)
• Visual System (1 week)
• Mental Health (3 weeks)
• Female Reproductive System (4 weeks)
• Child Development and Health (4 weeks)
• Ageing (1 week)
• Family Medicine and Community Health (3 weeks)

In both M1 and M2, you’ll also cover:

• Digital Health (DH)
• Professionalism, Ethics, Law, Leadership & Safety (PELLS)
• Public Health & Epidemiology (PH&E)
• Scientific Enquiry & Evidence Based Medicine (SEEM)
• Pharmacology – only in M2*

All of the above are taught mainly using the TBL format (see below) and represent all the examinable content that will appear in your written paper.

*Note: While Pharmacology supposedly only begins in M2, because of the way we learn (everything integrated in the same block), you’ll definitely come across drugs beginning from M1.

Lesson Format – How We Learn

All the different types of lessons you’ll have:

Team-Based Learning (TBL)

I think TBL is covered quite well on the LKC website and in this Instructional Video. But you’ll never know what it’s actually like until you’ve experienced it for yourself.

TBLs are usually scheduled 9am-5pm but seldom ever end at 5pm (usually around 3pm? but varies depending on the class). Half-day TBLs are typically 9am-1pm.

In summary, here’s how the day goes:

Also FYI, during the two years of COVID-19, TBLs got converted to fully online over Zoom (it worked really well actually!). I think moving forward the school is likely to resume in-person TBLs. Majority will be at EMB, though things may change in the coming years.

In-person TBLs are held at the Learning Studio (CSB and EMB each has one). All 160+ people in the batch, plus the profs and facilitators, will be there.

Anatomy Practicals

Anatomy Practicals are held at the Anatomy Learning Centre in CSB. We use a mix of plastinated specimens, plastic models, the Anatomage Table, and apps with 3D anatomy.

These sessions are typically 3 hours long. You’ll cycle through Gross Anatomy, Histology, and Radiology. (Some sessions may not have Radiology or Histology.)

• Gross Anatomy = structures you can see with the naked eye
• Histology = cells and tissues under a microscope (aka “50 shades of pink”)
• Radiology = imaging e.g. ultrasound, X-ray, CT, MRI

Anatomy learning at LKC in already covered in-depth in a separate article, so I won’t dive into the details here.

Each Anatomy Practical is followed by a half-day TBL session to consolidate our learning.

Same as for TBLs, there are pre-recorded voiceover PPTs and materials. You are expected to know your stuff before going for the Practical! Prof can ask you “what is this” (points to structure) and if you can’t answer… well… it’s actually fine haha the profs are really nice. No one is expected to have perfect memory but yes do the prep beforehand.

Science Practicals

Science Practicals are conducted at the science labs in EMB. I guess it hearkens back to science pracs in secondary school and JC, but way more fun.

I don’t think you’ll want spoilers so I won’t mention too much what each practical entails. But just for a taste, here are some things that have appeared in practical sessions: micropipettes, petri dish, ice water, snorkel, ultrasound, ECG, stationary bike, eggs.

The small downside is that for selected practicals, you’ll have to write a Lab Report. But overall the practicals are really enjoyable and you learn a lot hands-on.

Foundations of Clinical Practice (FCP)

FCP actually encompasses 3 different lessons:

1. Clinical Communications: take history from a simulated patient (i.e. like a clinical consultation)
2. Clinical Methods: learn and perform specific physical examinations (e.g. cardiovascular examination) on from a simulated patient
3. Clinical Skills: learn and perform specific skills on task trainers (e.g. PPE, suturing, take blood, give injection and IV)

Note: Simulated patients are real people (not mannequins) while task trainers are fake arms, fake skin etc.

These 3 aspects—history, physical examination, and skills—are what’s tested for your OSCE exam (from M2 onwards).

Personally I deeply appreciate the fact that in LKC we start on all this since M1. It really helps to build up our foundation, and attunes us to the clinical aspect—which will be super important later on.

Medical Humanities

This is one of the few lessons that’s a bit more sit-down-and-listen style. It’s not a lecture but a smaller cohort in a classroom. We read book excerpts, watch films, and even appreciate artwork. For each lesson there are different in-class activities as well.

The themes are very pertinent (again I won’t spoil it for you!) and the lessons extremely well-designed. You also get to express yourself through creating a piece of artwork (M1) and writing (M2).

Long-Term Patient Project (LTPP)

This is where we get to interview an individual with a chronic condition. (The school helps us to arrange this with various organisations.)

Usually you go in pairs with a teammate. Ideally you’d chat with the same person again in M2, thus following the same patient and seeing the progression. This helps to hone our communication skills, whilst giving authentic insight into the challenges of living with a chronic condition.

We have a tutorial some time after the encounter. Here we share about our patient, their condition(s), and reflect on what we’ve learnt.

Early Patient Contact (EPC)

In tandem with LTPP, throughout M1 and M2, the school invites patients to come and share with us about their conditions. These are just sit-down-and-listen type sessions (of course with engagement and Q&A at the end).

They’re deeply meaningful; the patients share so selflessly about their most vulnerable moments. It really makes you feel the impact that illness can have on someone’s life.

Hospital Week and Polyclinic Week

Sometime in the middle of M1, you get to spend one entire week at a hospital and another at a polyclinic.

This is an invaluable experience—a chance to step into the wards before M3. It gives you the chance to see what the work is really like. You might even get the chance to try some things hands-on. (No procedures on real patients, of course.)

For me I got to see a lot of the allied health professionals and what they do, e.g. nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists. These are all very essential as you’ll be working in one of these multidisciplinary teams in future. Others have had the chance to observe surgeries and so on.

Innovations in Medicine

Guest speakers (profs, researchers) are invited to give a lecture on a specific topic. These are quite enlightening, only 1 hour long, and do not demand any assignments out of it.

Exams and Assessments

Both Forms and Summs are marked, but Summs alone constitutes 100% of your grade. You’ll also get a mark for Anatomy Tests, but these are like iRA with no consequence—pretty much just make sure you pass.

All others are simply graded “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory”. You just have to get a “Satisfactory”.

Student Life

House System

We are all sorted into 5 Houses:

Each House is named after a prominent figure who has impacted the field of medicine. More on this and a nice summary of each House is on both the official school website and the LKC MedSoc website.

Within each House, we’re split into House Fams of 5 to 7 people from each year. (Yes, House Fams run through the years from M1 to M5! And even PGY1 and beyond…)

Besides your team (which you’ll be stuck with for all lessons), this forms a key part of your support system in LKC.

Each student is also assigned a House Tutor. This is a prof or clinician from the LKC Faculty. They will check in with you during House Meetings, and make sure you’re doing alright. Some of them also teach some of our lessons, and consequently are well-recognised by the whole batch.

Medical Society (MedSoc)

MedSoc is sort of like the Student Council of medical school. There’s the Exco and various other roles branching out below that.

I won’t dive into the minutiae—you can read all about it on the LKC MedSoc website. There’s even a chart showing the hierarchy of positions.

If you’re interested to take on a leadership role, you can run for any position in MedSoc (there will be campaigning, voting, and all that).

There are also Committees under each of these roles (e.g. AnC Committee, CIP Committee). So if campaigning and all is not your thing but you’d still like to contribute, just sign up for any one or more of these Committees! Especially as an M1 when you want to try something new. It’s always M1s and M2s that make up these Committees.

Community Involvement Projects (CIPs)

Of course there’s also the opportunity to serve the community. We have a huge variety of both local CIPs (LCIPs) and overseas CIPs (OCIPs). Again, you can find all the information on the LKC MedSoc website if you’re interested!

LCIPs serve a specific community in Singapore. There’s a whole range of meaningful causes, from conducting health screenings to learning sign language to organising a camp for children with cancer-afflicted family members. OCIPs travel to many different countries and each has their own unique focus.

There’s always a CIP Fair at the start of M1, so no worries you’ll get to know all about these projects, and chat with seniors too.

For OCIPs, you join at the start of M1 and stay till end of M2 (2-year commitment). For LCIPs, you can join at the start of the AY in M1 or M2 (1-year commitment). Though usually people who joined in M1 do continue on in M2.

Student Interest Groups (SIGs)

With the wide range of specialties that medicine offers, we have dedicated SIGs for various specialties (e.g. Anaesthesia SIG, Surgical Society, Emergency Medicine SIG, and many more).

The whole list and an overview of each SIG is on the LKC MedSoc website.

Typically as an M1, you sign up to be a member of these SIGs. This means you join the Telegram channel, and attend any events or sign up for opportunities posted there. There’s no limit to the number of SIGs you can sign up for, and you don’t have to do anything to be a member. So in M1 just join several channels for interest and exposure, and see what they have to offer!

From M2 and beyond, and usually in the later years, you can interview for Exco positions in these SIGs. This means that instead of a passive receiver, you’re now the ones organising these events and creating content for the SIG. Usually you’ll take on such a role if you’re very interested in that particular specialty and might consider it for your future career.

LKCMedicine CCAs

LKC doesn’t really have organised CCAs as in secondary school and JC. But we do have our very own dance group (LKCrew) and acapella group (MedLee). These are student-led, very wholesome communities with passionate people.

Of course, you don’t need CCAs to find people who like to climb, like to cycle, like to spin, like to gym (we have a gym at CSB), like to play table tennis (we have 2 ping pong tables), like to play pool (we have a pool table), like to play Switch (we have 2 Switch consoles), like to play all sorts of instruments (we have a Music Room)… The list goes on, it’s just too long to continue here.

Hall CCAs

The next level is hall CCAs, if you stay on campus. Hall CCAs are typically lower commitment. For instance, you can sign up for a few sports but there’s no real requirement for attendance (except when competing for Inter-Hall Games, I guess). Hall also has chess, scrabble, contract bridge, etc, so there’s really a wide array for you to choose from.

The only hall CCA I would say might demand greater commitment is dance. Each hall has their own dance group, and all of them compete in the annual HOCC (which stands for “Hall Olympiad Closing Ceremony”, but basically is just known as the inter-hall dance competition). You can watch past seasons on YouTube. It’s a big thing, and all halls prepare and rehearse extensively to put up their best show.

That being said, my med school friends have done amazingly in both HOCC and med. So it’s definitely doable and something you might want to consider if you’re into dance!

NTU CCAs

One level above that (highest commitment) would be NTU CCAs. These are university-wide CCAs.

Varsity Sports unsurprisingly would require more time and commitment. However, you can also join various clubs and societies, which won’t necessarily be that intense. There’s a huge variety (my friends told me there’s a wine tasting club??), so definitely go check those out. I like the NTUSU page, but of course there’s a version on the official NTU website as well.

The upshot of both Hall and NTU CCAs is that you get to meet new people and forge friendships outside of med school.

Hall and Campus Life

M1 and M2 students from LKC are guaranteed hall accommodation. For M1, you’re also guaranteed allocation to either Crescent or Pioneer Hall (which are right next to each other). This is great since you’ll get to bond with your med school batchmates. (And also catch the catered bus to CSB.) In M2 it’s mostly CresPion too, unless they run out of space and you run out of luck. 

“Should I stay hall?” That’s the perennial question, and one that’s actually very easily resolved: my advice is, if you’re on the fence, just try. You have to pay the first 2 months’ rent ($600) upfront, but beyond that you can move out anytime. If you find that hall is really not for you, you can move out before 2 months too, just that you won’t get a refund on the $600.

If you want to find out more about hall life and what it’s like, there’s a whole article about that too.

Related Links

Disclaimer: Any views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of any institution.

Have a question? Feel free to contact me or leave a comment below. I read and respond to every message.