Life in 2021

Hello! So much has changed in the world since I last posted. With the COVID-19 pandemic raging on worldwide, I have been trapped in Singapore for the last X months. Nonetheless, it has been an eventful 2 years since I had last posted.

But first – site updates! My site was looking pretty dated, so I decided to switch to a more modern looking theme. The theme I am using now is the Twenty-Twenty One theme from WordPress. Even though it is the default theme for new WordPress installations, it offers plenty of customization options to make my site unique. However, there is still some work left to be done such as updating some media files as well as the formatting of some older posts. Content-wise, I have also added a page about myself and the work I do as a doctor.

Now, on to life updates! I don’t post much about my life as doctor as this site had always been more about my hobbies and interests (e.g travel, photography, and other geeky things). But as I embark on my career in Medicine, there is no denying that it has become a large part of my life and I would want to share more about my experiences.

I graduated in 2017 and started work that year in the Singapore public healthcare system. I had always wanted to be a dermatologist (more about that in another post!) since medical school, but in Singapore, dermatology training is only available to residents who have completed 3 years of residency in Internal Medicine. So, in 2018, I joined the Internal Medicine (IM) residency under the sponsorship of the National Healthcare Group (NHG). During that 3 years, I was exposed to a wide variety of medical specialties including Cardiology, Geriatrics, Critical Care, Rheumatology, Infectious Diseases, and many more. Having completed the IM residency program this year, I applied to the highly competitive Dermatology residency. It was extremely stressful as we had to submit a portfolio detailing our research projects, undergraduate and postgraduate exam transcripts, work performance evaluations just to name a few! On top of that, we had to go for a nerve wrecking MMI interview with the faculty. After a few weeks of anxiously waiting for the match results, I finally found out that I had successfully matched to a spot! I was beyond elated as it was a dream come true!

And so, 2 weeks ago, I started my residency training in Dermatology. It is a 3.5 year training program with a steep learning curve and requires many hours of hard work and commitment. Nevertheless, I am excited and thrilled to be doing what I love and I am really looking forward to picking up new skills and knowledge so that I can excel as a dermatologist in the near future.

Lastly, combining my love for all things geeky and my career in Medicine, I also completed a certification course in Health Informatics this year. I am glad I had the opportunity to learn something outside of my medicine and I hope to be able to use the knowledge to improve healthcare systems in the future.

All in all, though life has been drastically different since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am grateful for the many opportunities and experiences I had in the last 2 years. Moving forward, I am hopeful that life has many more wonderful things to offer, especially as COVID-19 restrictions slowly start to ease. In the meantime, I hope everyone stays safe and healthy! Till next time!

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