Medical students from the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) visited Imperial last week to gain 'new perspectives' on their training.

The second-year students visited laboratories and clinical settings during a week-long trip as part of an exchange programme designed to enhance links between the two medical schools. 

During the 'Immersion Week' the 22 students from LKCMedicine had opportunity to mix and learn from their Imperial peers, take part in remote first aid training, explored the role of the NHS and participated in the MERU Spring Conference. They also took part in sessions such as urinalysis, extreme first aid and clinical skills.

The students also had the chance to experience 'life as a student in London' and visit some of the capital's cultural highlights.

LKCMedicine, a state-of-the-art medical school, run jointly with Nanyang Technology University (NTU), builds on Imperial’s world-renowned medical curriculum as it trains the next generation of Singaporean doctors. 

Creative learning 

“At Imperial there are so many international students and people from different backgrounds. It’s a major experience for us in terms of interacting with people from different cultures and seeing how they learn." Mahima Loomba LKCMedicine student

Mahima Loomba said: “At Imperial there are so many international students and people from different backgrounds. It’s a major experience for us in terms of interacting with people from different cultures and seeing how they learn.

"At Imperial there is more emphasis on creation. Students create their own learning material in the session and it helps to learn things very actively. Imperial’s professors are very engaging, which I really appreciate.

"One of the lessons I will takeaway is to be more creative and engaging in the way I learn, like creating and using mind maps.” 

Marcus Chua said: “It’s refreshing to be exposed to a new curriculum, it shows how things are different. I found the sessions here engaging and a lot more hands on.

"Having to adapt to online learning during the pandemic was a bit difficult because discussions can be harder to facilitate, but having a physical class like this again with so many people from Imperial has been a great experience.

"The students here have been very welcoming, we’ve been exploring London for a week. The campus here is really nice and I love that it’s next to all the museums and galleries.” 

Adam Razali said: “Studying medicine, regardless of where you are, it’s easy to be trapped in a bubble surrounded by likeminded people. In a smaller society, such as Singapore, it’s very important to reach out and broaden perspectives. It’s vital to understand where people come from and learn from other cultures.

"Imperial medics place a lot of emphasis on the different backgrounds of people they are treating." Adam Razali LKCMedicine student

"We all have different styles and we do things completely different so this experience is extremely important to furthering our journey and building upon ourselves. I think that one thing that stood out during the trip is that in its teachings, Imperial medics place a lot of emphasis on the different backgrounds of people they are treating.

"They consider the best way to approach the individual and formulate a treatment plan. There is more emphasis on inclusivity and it makes us think outside the box during our approach to who we are going to treat.”