Activity
Onboarding Program
1
2
3
4
Start Date
24 June 2023
26 June 2023
21 August 2023
18 September 2023
20 November 2023
End Date
–
19 August 2023
16 September 2023
11 November 2023
30 December 2023
Click on each of the following questions/prompts to find out more!
What are the objectives for each block?
ACTIVITY
Onboarding Program
Block 1
Block 2
Block 3
Block 4
DESCRIPTION
Mass Zoom briefing of all mentors and mentees who are participating in this program. In this session, we will be going through the general outline, expectations and potential outcomes of this program. In the second half of this session, we have allocated some time to mainly allow mentees to get to familiarise themselves with their group mates and mentors before the commencement of each block.
Introductions
First Official Group Session between Mentors and Mentees!
The first part of the block serves as an introductory get-to-know-each-other session and to communicate each other’s expectations for the program. The recommended themes of this block are routine when on rotations, everyday challenges at work and maintaining a work life balance.
We strongly suggest meeting your mentor and fellow mentees in-person to bond with one another! (It’s time to unwind together during the break!)
Deep Dive: All about Medicine
This block prepares mentees for the transition after medical school, providing the know-hows on surviving housemanship and the path thereafter back in Singapore. Mentees can also contemplate medical ethics and the complexity of medicine with some interesting cases shared by mentors.
Closer look: Specialising in Singapore
For some, specialising could still be a blur while some might think that considering a specialisation is still ages away. Here, mentees are given the opportunity to understand more about different specialties offered in Singapore, debunking any myths about them and start planning their pathway towards the specialty that piques their interest. Specifically, mentees can find out more about the route to their desired specialty with tips from mentors!
Exam Preparations
It is time for the mentors and senior/clinical year students (if any) in each group to impart some wisdom to the mentees so that they can ace the next few years in medical school! This block will mainly be self-directed, with content and discussions in each session to be purely based on the general consensus in the group. Mentors can host short lectures and tutorials for their mentees or dwell into history taking and clinical skills. Recommended themes are honing clinical skills, final exams and OSCE tips.
School Break, Starting of a New Year, and Everything under the Sun
The academic year is finally over and it is the time where everyone is travelling home. In this session, mentors can advise mentees to make the best use of their summer break and tips on starting a new academic year. Mentors who are keen can also offer shadowing opportunities to their mentees. Discussions on the ILP/Honours program, research opportunities and are also highly recommended. It is also a good time to meet and catch up with your team in-person if you have not done so already.
Most importantly, enjoy the holidays and have a good rest before starting the new term.
Mini-Project
To end off this block, we are challenging each group with a mini project! Each group should make a fun and short video/ TikTok/ Instagram reel to commemorate their past few months participating in this program. The video can be a vlog, a collection of short clips from each meeting or recap on the interesting stories or experiences from this program.
What am I supposed to do within each block?
Start of Block: Decide on the topics you want to talk about. Although there will be a guideline of conversation topics for the different blocks, it is best to discuss potential topics in order to gauge the general interests of the team. Feel free to talk about any additional topics to suit your team’s interest.
Planning: Confirm the meeting time and location (whether online or in person), whereby everyone is available for the mentoring session.
Discussion: Participate actively in the discourse. Make sure that you come prepared for the mentoring session and avoid skipping any meetings. Prepare some questions that you are genuinely interested in finding out answers to.
Feedback: Complete all relevant forms. Please put effort into writing the feedback as it would be a great opportunity for the team to develop and the program to improve in the upcoming years.
What forms do I have to fill up at the end of the block?
Mentees:
- Post-Block review form: Provide feedback on how the block is run administratively and how the programme could be improved.
- Change group/Leave Program Form (optional): If you are unable to meet the demands of the programme or unable to meet the needs of the group.
Mentors:
- Post-Block review form: Provide feedback on how the block is run administratively and how the programme could be improved.
- Mentee Feedback Form: Provide feedback to each of your mentees individually. One completed form should be for the evaluation of one mentee.
Guiding questions for Block 1
Introductions
- Introduction of group members + communicating expectations
- Introductory presentation by mentor about their background and what peaked their entry into this profession and specialty (can consider the Pecha Kucha format)
Work Life Balance
- Sharing by mentor about their current day in the life:
- Routine when on rotations
- Everyday challenges at work
- Hobbies outside of Medicine/ maintaining work-life balance
Transition after medical school
- General pathway after graduation
Life as a doctor
- Surviving housemanship and medical officer
- How to prepare for this gruelling period
- Tips to integrate back into Singapore healthcare system smoothy
- Demands of working in Singapore hospitals (housemanship specific)
- Work hours as a houseman and medical officer
- Patient demographics in Singapore’s healthcare system
- Rotations
- Collaborating with others key members in the healthcare system – how can doctors ensure efficiency, productivity and be leaders of their field
Embracing the complexities of medicine
- Amateur errors mentors made as junior doctors + how they overcame these initial challenges
- 3 most unique/interesting cases:
- What was done? How was it handled?
- How were values learnt in clinical practice applied
- Could provide extra medical science information (radiographs etc)
Guiding questions for Block 2
Understanding Different Specialties
- Debunking mentees’ myths on different specialties of their interests
- What additional help/guidance do mentees require in terms of deciding on a specialty?
- When should mentees start preparing for their pathway into a particular specialisation?
Pathway to Specialising
- Application process + timeframe : interview demands, additional tests, portfolio
- Demand vs supply for different specialties
- How to stand out among other applicants
- Odds for overseas graduates vs local graduates
- Pros and cons of existing pre-employment grants
- Prospect in Singapore after specialising overseas
Guiding questions for Block 3
Honing Clinical Skills
- How to hone clinical skills
- Tips on performing better in actual hospital wards
- Pre-clinical concepts that are most relevant in clinical practice
- Balancing content studies and rotations
- History-taking skills
Academic Advice
- Extra-curricular resources to study better
- Exam preparation strategies
- Work-life balance
- How to avoid burnout
Guiding questions for Block 4
ILP/Honours Program
- Potential benefits vs drawbacks
- How useful it is for housemanship/career prospects
- What research topics to go for
- Structure of research
- Personal experiences in research
Miscellaneous Advice
- Doing clinical electives back in Singapore
- Gaining extra shadowing opportunities during uni breaks
- Research opportunities
Mini Project
- Share an interesting story or experience from this program
- Vlog of an in-person meeting
- Vlog of an experience (e.g., shadowing in the hospital)
- Mini-Clips from each meeting
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What if we have not heard back from our mentor?
Send us an email at education@smsanz.sg or privately message us on Telegram and we will work it out for you.
What if we have not heard back from one/ a few group members?
Send us an email at education@smsanz.sg or privately message us on Telegram and we will try to reach out to them.
Do we have to strictly follow the guiding questions?
No. The topics and guiding questions are there to help lead the conversation during meetings, but if there are other areas that your group wants to explore into, feel free to do so.
What if I no longer want to participate in this program?
Send us an email at education@smsanz.sg or privately message us on Telegram and we will send you a form to fill out. Please do inform us if you plan on taking a leave and after we have approved of it, please let your mentor and fellow mentees know as well.
How many meetings should we have per block?
It is completely up to your team. We would recommend at least two meetings per month, but the mentors and mentees can decide to add more or reduce the number of meetings. It depends on the team’s availability, discussion topics etc.
What if my group is inactive?
Do understand that the mentors have kindly agreed to participate in this program to help the medical students. So, please try to understand if there are certain periods of inactivity as they might be busy with their own work. However, the period of inactivity is prolonged, do reach out to us via email or Telegram and we will work something out.
For further enquiries or personal feedback, please do send us an email at education@smsanz.sg, or you can message us through Telegram (either in the general SGMP 23’ group chat, or privately to Janice, Nicole, Preetvin or Charlotte). We will be more than happy to answer any questions and listen to any feedback!
Singapore Medical Society of Australia & New Zealand 