NUS Public Health CLUB
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Students of Public Health
Features
Fung Rui Min
Bachelor in Life Sciences with a 2nd Major in Public Health
Reflecting on the past academic year, it has truly been a fulfilling chapter in my academic pursuit. I was enrolled into the pioneer batch of undergraduates in the Second Major in Public Health, led the NUS Public Health Society as President, and started an internship with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
Applying for the Second Major was a natural choice for me, having been intrigued by the blend of art and science of Public Health. The curriculum gave me the freedom and capacity to explore various facets of Public Health such as programme and policy design. This helped me to identify areas of interests, and therefore make informed choices in my future endeavours.
"The curriculum gave me the freedom and capacity to explore various facets of Public Health such as programme and policy design."
While the school’s curriculum provided me with head knowledge, the NUS Public Health Society was where I put theory into action. Through avenues such as Public Health initiatives, research and communications, students get opportunities to create real world health impacts. As President, I oversaw such projects, liaised with external stakeholders, and was involved strategic planning - creating a vision that values health.
Together, classroom and experiential learning equipped me well as I began my internship at GSK. As a Medical Affairs intern in the Consumer Health category, I was involved in crafting accurate and innovative claims for GSK’s products. This involved understanding consumer needs and epidemiology, regulations of different country’s health systems, and other facets of the overall Public Health landscape.
I am thoroughly grateful for these enriching opportunities and am excited to continue on my journey of lifelong learning.
Quek Hui Yi
Bachelor in Life Sciences with a 2nd Major in Public Health
Taking GEH1049 in Year 1 was what first sparked my interest in global health and humanitarian work. Thus, when I was matched to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) / Doctors Without Borders for a three-month internship for SPH3001, I knew that this was not an opportunity to be missed. As an intern under the Operations Support Unit, I was given the autonomy to plan and execute the first phase of a research and stakeholder mapping project on emergency preparedness and response. It was a great learning experience as I needed to be highly independent in conducting the research and producing its outputs.
"Spending my summer break with MSF was no doubt a fulfilling and inspiring learning journey, with takeaways that I will keep with me for a long time as I continue to pursue this path."
I also had valuable opportunities to engage in a variety of work from the Communications and other departments, including the digital mapping of rural areas around the world and maintaining the Instagram page. These, together with attending weekly meetings and presentations, opened my eyes to how such a complex organisation like MSF functions through the coordination of different departments within and across countries to fulfil its larger mission of delivering medical aid to where it is most needed. I was able to better appreciate the importance of backend support (such as operational support, fundraising, communications, logistics coordination etc.), and also gained insights into the challenges that MSF field workers face on the ground when working in resource-scarce and inaccessible settings. Seeing the immense dedication that my fellow colleagues had to their work was truly admirable and inspiring!
While this was fully remote, the learning experience was definitely not compromised thanks to the high-quality support provided by my supervisor and colleagues who were so understanding, approachable and encouraging. All in all, spending my summer break with MSF was no doubt a fulfilling and inspiring learning journey, with takeaways that I will keep with me for a long time as I continue to pursue this path.
Meliane Ong Yu Qing
Life Sciences Major
Innovation and Digitalisation Division, Agency for Integrated Care (AIC)
To gain a first-hand experience working in the public health industry, I enrolled for the SSHSPH summer internship module, SPH3201 Public Health in Practice. I initially struggled to secure an internship due to the pandemic. Thankfully, the module coordinators helped me throughout the entire period, and I was accepted to do an internship with AIC.
AIC works with community care partners to support seniors to live well and age gracefully at home and in the community. My 10-week internship with them was an extremely fruitful experience. I was involved in the Nursing Home IT Enablement Programme (NHELP) Administration Portal project team, where we conducted onboarding trainings for nursing homes new to the programme. With NHELP, nursing homes can go paperless, and transit from hard-copy documentation of their clinical and medication core functionalities. Staff benefit as they are able to access information more easily and provide more accurate documentation, thereby improving the overall work process. I was assisting the team in the digitalisation of training and feedback forms.
"This internship has broadened my perspective and got me to step out of my comfort zone to learn new things that I was unfamiliar with."
As I started my internship during the ‘circuit breaker’ period, I had to learn to adapt to working from home. Even though we could not go to the nursing homes to conduct trainings physically, I got to experience trainings that were conducted virtually instead. My supervisor would also plan weekly catch-up sessions with me to ensure that I was well-integrated with the rest of the team and that I could manage my tasks.
This internship has broadened my perspective and got me to step out of my comfort zone to learn new things that I was unfamiliar with. I realised that public health work is multidisciplinary and certainly not limited to only the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. I also managed to pick up technical knowledge and soft skills, which would certainly benefit me in the future.
Chua Ming Kai
Life Sciences Major
Operations Support Unit, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) / Doctors Without Borders
I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with Médecins Sans Frontières. Throughout my nine weeks there, after learning about the health systems of other countries, I have become more appreciative of the healthcare system in Singapore. I am also deeply appreciative of the MSF field workers and doctors, some of whom are risking their lives, working under the most stressful situations across the world. It was rewarding to be able to provide support for the frontline workers through researching and summarising data and information, as well as through the mapping of rural sites. My understanding of global health care and delivery, along with global health issues, has certainly grown too.
"I had a fantastic time working with MSF. Each member’s enthusiasm and passion towards improving the lives of others definitely made me more driven to pursue a career in public health work."
Because of COVID-19 and Singapore’s ‘circuit breaker’ measures, I had to work from home the entire internship. Some projects were also postponed because of the pandemic, so it was unfortunate that I did not get to contribute to them. Nonetheless, I am extremely thankful for the guidance of my supervisor, Ms Fiona Chuah. Always patient, helpful and supportive, she constantly empowered me to complete the various tasks on hand. Overall, I had a fantastic time working with MSF. Each member’s enthusiasm and passion towards improving the lives of others definitely made me more driven to pursue a career in public health work.
Swarali Rahul Parasnis
Life Sciences Major
WASH in Southeast Asia (WISE)
As a Minor in Public Health student, I enrolled in the SPH3201 Public Health Practice module to get practical experience in the public health sector. I interned at WASH in Southeast Asia (WISE) along with one other intern. WISE is a non-profit social enterprise that focuses on community development, capacity building and behaviour change.
"This internship was a tremendous learning experience for both personal development and gaining depth of knowledge in the public health sector."
I had the opportunity to conduct data analysis on COVID-19–related behaviours in Singapore. The insights gathered would be provided to policymakers to help inform policies and regulations. I was also able to help in the behaviour change programmes led by WISE. Before my internship, I was not exposed to the theories behind behaviour change. My supervisors were very supportive and taught us about the RANAS model of behaviour change, where Risk, Attitude, Norms, Ability and Self-regulation are assessed and targeted to bring about change in behaviour. I was able to apply this concept in my work and helped to refine some of the materials for the behaviour change programmes designed by WISE.
My supervisor arranged weekly online meetings with me to check in on my progress and what could be done to either alleviate my workload, if it was too much, or increase my workload if I wanted to take on more to challenge myself. Even with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this internship was a tremendous learning experience for both personal development and gaining depth of knowledge in the public health sector.