Back in March 2018, after being rejected by the two local medical schools, I was ready to give up my dream of becoming a doctor. I chose to study Accountancy and Business at Singapore Management University (SMU). Due to the hefty cost of an overseas medical education, I did not apply to any of the medical schools in the UK and Australia, as I did not want to increase the financial burden on my parents.
However, my mother chanced upon a newspaper advertisement by Irish Universities & Medical Schools Consortium (IUMC) Singapore, as they were recruiting students to study medicine or dentistry in Ireland. She showed me the advertisement, encouraged me to apply first and decide whether to take up the offer later. I thought to myself, “Why not just give it a shot? I may not even get it.” I did not have high hopes of getting accepted, much less to pursue medical studies in Ireland, as I knew that it was not any cheaper to study medicine there compared to the UK or Australia.
Little did I know that this decision to “try my luck” would have a radical impact on my life’s trajectory.
Disclaimer: The application process may have changed, thus it would be best to consult IUMC Singapore regarding the latest application procedure.
Fortunately, the application process was rather straightforward. I had to submit the standard documents including my personal statement, high school and junior college transcripts, and a list of extra-curricular activities. Thankfully, it was not a requirement to submit any additional test results, such as the BMAT and UKCAT for UK, and ISAT for Australian medical schools, as I did not take any of these tests.
Subsequently, my parents and I were invited to an introductory event hosted by IUMC Singapore, held at one of the local hotels. Professors from the various medical schools were present at this event and they gave us a talk about studying in Ireland. During the talk, they told us more about the different schools, their respective curriculum structures and cities in which they were located, as well as approximate tuition fees. We were also given an opportunity to pose questions to the professors.
After the talk, depending on which school we listed as our first choice in our application form, we had to go through an interview with professors from that particular school. During my interview, the two professors from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) asked the usual questions, such as “Why do you want to study medicine?”, “Why did you choose TCD?”, and “Tell me more about your extra-curricular activities.” It was a good chat with the professors as I thought I answered the questions well and they seemed to be pleased with my responses.
Based on this initial interview, applicants were ranked according to their performance. I eventually found out that I was ranked near the bottom of the list. 🥲 I guess I did not do as well as I thought…
Nonetheless, based on this ranked list, applicants were then invited to the IUMC Singapore office to have a second and final interview with Dr. Stanley Quek. Dr. Quek is the “gate-keeper” standing between hopeful applicants and their aspirations of studying medicine or dentistry in Ireland. He decides whether or not you should be given a place in any of the Irish universities and which school you will go to. I was told to bring a parent for this interview, and my father tagged along. The bulk of the interview was one-on-one with Dr. Quek.
During the interview, he was stern and you could tell he was a “no-nonsense” person. He got straight to the point and asked me about my back-up plan if I was unsuccessful in my application. I told him I was ready to pursue a completely different course at SMU. He also asked me to list five important qualities a doctor should possess, and to explain which of the five is the most important (empathy). He then asked how I showed empathy, and what are the legislations involving abortion in Singapore.
Once he was done grilling me, Dr. Quek invited my father into his office. Dr. Quek was concerned about my parents’ ability to afford the five-year medical education in Ireland. Needless to say, my father said that it was doable, even though at that point I was not so sure whether my parents could actually afford it. I thought I did well for this interview, but I did not have high hopes about getting accepted into TCD, having learnt my lesson from the earlier interview with the professors.
A couple of weeks later, I was notified by the secretary of IUMC Singapore that I was offered a place at TCD to study medicine. I was ecstatic and could not believe that I was finally accepted into a medical school! However, it was not long before reality hit me. Then came the question of whether my family could afford this five-year financial commitment.
I had a lengthy discussion with my family about whether or not to accept the offer. I knew that my family’s standard of living would be significantly impacted if I were to take on the offer. My three siblings were about to embark on university soon and I did not want them to suffer because of my selfish desire to pursue my dream. It would probably mean that my parents would have less disposable income to spend on themselves and my siblings. I did not want to deprive them of possible future opportunities (e.g. overseas exchange programmes) which would not be cheap.
Thankfully, my entire family were extremely supportive and I was very touched, because they were willing to make immense sacrifices for me to study abroad. They reassured me that even though it was going to be tough, they would be able to get by the next five years and I should solely concentrate on completing my studies instead of worrying about the family’s finances.
I was determined to do well in medical school and return to Singapore as a qualified doctor to serve the local community. I was ready to spend the rest of my life repaying my family for their sacrifices.
I accepted the offer, and that marked the start of my career in medicine.
Kaiser 