Third Spacing

In the first part of this two part series, we talk to Dr Devanand Anantham, Director of the SingHealth Medical Humanities Programme and Head of SingHealth Duke-NUS Lung Centre, about the role of the Medical Humanities in the hospital.

He shares the possibilities of infusing the humanities into the teaching of medicine and clinical practice and an upcoming programme aims to instil in healthcare professionals a deeper understanding of sickness and suffering through various disciplines such as philosophy, religion, and literature.

Third Spacing is the yet to be defined space between cells and vessels, where fluid moves from one space to another. In sociology, the Third Space is where people talk about things that matter to them towards connection.

This podcast makes space to explore topics surrounding clinical medicine. We talk to doctors with unusual lifepaths and passions, professors who shaped our traditions or our futures, pioneers who took risks in arts, civil society, education, research to expand the possibilities of what medicine can look like in Singapore.

In the next 8 episodes, we explore the Medical Humanities, an interdisciplinary field that involves literature, philosophy, but also art to explore illness, which is the experience of disease.

But what does it really mean? Let's explore, together.

In this episode, Dr Chong Yeh Woei, Chairman of the Singapore Medical Association Charity Fund (SMACF), discusses the importance of diversity in medicine and healthcare at large. The SMACF provides financial assistance to medical students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Recognising the various barriers needy medical students or potential medical school applicants deterred by the cost of a medical education might encounter, the SMACF aims to provide access for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue medicine and fully focus on studies by easing both financial and psychological difficulties. He also shares his thoughts on how the medical community can further address inequality, through active civic participation.

Associate Professor Tan Kong Bing from the Department of Pathology talks about his start in teaching pathology and gives us insider details on certain “war charting exercises” that our professors and lecturers at NUS Medicine have been involved in. Having recently stepped down as Phase II Director, he also reflects upon his proudest achievements, especially his efforts in student engagement and supporting medical students who face mental health struggles. A/Prof Tan discusses the importance of student feedback, and a behind the scenes insights as to how our feedback is used to enact curriculum change.

Vice Dean of Education at NUS Medicine and Senior Consultant at NUH’s Division of Rheumatology, Prof Lau Tang Ching, shares 3 sagely advice on how students can achieve their ikigai in medicine – one of which is forging strong and long-lasting relationships with our peers. He also gives us an exciting glimpse into the upcoming changes to the medical school’s curriculum at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels (inter-professional opportunities, healthcare analytics, and much more…). Find out how theology and tai chi have also shaped his worldview and influenced how he practices medicine.

In this episode, Assistant Dean of NUS Medicine, Prof Malcolm Mahadevan, shares about his ground involvement in the COVID-19 response in community isolation facilities and how his past volunteering stint with migrant workers better informs his handling of the situation. Reflecting upon his time in NUHS' emergency department, he talks about the similarly urgent and practical concerns that he needs to address at the moment while still recognising the importance of building rapport and engaging with the migrant workers sincerely. Just like the rest of us, Prof Mahadevan has also faced some uncertainty in these unprecedented times, but he shares with us how he has come to terms with these anxieties and continues to fulfil his current duties with conviction.

Podcast host, Ann Hui, is the first NUS Medicine student to have taken a gap year with the Yale-Visiting International Students Program before returning for her clinical years. Two juniors, Caitlin and Ying Ying embark on the same journey a year later. Amongst the three of them, they took a diverse set of classes which include medical anthropology, documentary film-making, engineering, and architecture. Now that they are back in Singapore, they share about their lessons at Yale and how they are applying or adapting what they have learned to Singapore’s context to be better informed medical students and future doctors. They also reflect on their initial motivations for taking a year off medical school and offer some advice to fellow students who aspire to go beyond their calling in medicine.

Third Spacing, the podcast makes space to explore important topics on the fringes of clinical medicine in Singapore. We talk to doctors with unusual lifepaths and passions, professors who shaped our traditions or our futures, pioneers who took risks in arts, civil society, education, research to expand the possibilities of what medicine can look like in Singapore.