Code Blue

Code Blue is an event-based project centred on the gamification of first aid.

Despite having a million people trained in CPR in Singapore, there remains a majority of the public unaware or unwilling to learn first aid. Moreover, trained first aiders lack the motivation and confidence to perform first aid in emergencies, resulting in persistently high out-of-hospital mortality. We attribute the high cost and didactic nature of traditional first-aid courses as the major reason for this. Hence, Code Blue aims to fill this gap.

We do this by gamifying first aid, and making it free for public. As part of the game, participants would have to locate a casualty and perform first aid which they have learnt at the peripheral booths, while being exposed to dangers simulating emergencies. With this added element of fun, we hope that participants would be able to learn first aid in an interactive environment, better retain the first aid skills learnt, and go on to upgrade their first aid skills.

Mental Muscle

Formed in August 2016, Mental Muscle’s 2nd generation of members comprises six driven individuals: Huang Juncheng, Ho Jun Kiat, Hargaven Singh Gill, Keith Ching Wei Jie, Thaddaeus Tan Jun Kiat, Navkaran Singh. Mental Muscle is a student-led initiative aiming to raise public awareness and destigmatize Mental illness.

Through their experience in medical school, the team learned of psychiatric illnesses that afflicted many individuals and the stigmatization around these conditions, which could be worse than the condition itself. Concerned about the lack of awareness, the concept of dedicating a gruelling trek (“Muscle”) to raise awareness for Mental Health (“Mental”) was birthed.

In December 2016, the team completed a 200-kilometer trail run in Nepal’s Kathmandu Rim with a total of over 15,000 meters of elevation and descent, over the course of 5 days. Funds raised by our team of students will be channelled towards initiatives under the Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH).

Project iBaby

Education and awareness project aimed at informing parents about the negative effects of screen media use under the age of 2 (24 months). This is because not many parents are aware of the negative effects, ranging from cognitive to behavioural to health impacts and are using technology as a new age pacifier.

The project aims to educate the about why screen time is bad and provide alternative strategies to raise their children in a technology safe environment. This is done through conducting fairs in polyclinics/ hospitals, participating in conferences (e.g. early childhood development agency annual conference), working with pre-schools, and current dissemination of information to a GP/ primary healthcare setting. Educational videos produced by Project iBaby will also soon be screened in Chua Chu Kang polyclinic and information materials are being revamped to be easily readable and have widespread availability to healthcare professionals and the public alike.

Remembering us all

This project partners Project Forget Us Not, a collaboration between Khoo Teck Puat Hospital Geriatric Centre and Lien Foundation.

We hope to conduct dementia awareness talks throughout the NUS and in schools. We eventually hope to branch out into dementia experience visits. The end goal is to create a dementia friendly community.

Project Happy Apples

Project Happy Apples was founded in 2012 with a vision to develop societal preparedness for end-of-life care and death. Our mission is to effect change through two main initiatives:

  1. PALsCare Patient Befriending Program - Aimed at equipping medical students with the experience and skills with regard to end-of-life care
  2. Public Exhibitions - To engage & educate the public

Medical students are given the opportunity to accompany palliative patients through their journey and provide psychological and social comfort, support their basic needs and plan activities requested by patients. We hope this journey will nurture doctors who understand the importance and concepts of palliative care.

Organizing public exhibitions at different places across Singapore, we encourage end-of-life care conversations by introducing thought-provoking questions to elicit the public’s interests and perceptions, and then broaden their understanding of palliative care and end-of-life care.

Project Legacy

Project Legacy is a palliative care project that aims to help terminally ill patients regain a sense of fulfillment and purpose, reconcile their feelings with their prognosis, and also recognise their milestones in life. We do so by helping them create a product of their choosing which will, upon completion, be given to their families as a keepsake. Till date, we have helped numerous patients leave behind a legacy of their own in the form of recipe books, photo collages, video messages and their likes. Through Project Legacy, we have also given our volunteers an opportunity to step out of the character of an aspiring doctor to see patients in the way most befitting of them - human beings with personalities, stories and experiences that make them special.

Project Silvercare

Project SilverCare (PSC) is an annual health-screening programme jointly organised by students from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, and the Department of Pharmacy from the National University of Singapore. This year it will be partnering the Family Medicine residents from the National University Health System, St Luke’s Hospital and Eldercare and Jurong Health Services to offer participants a more seamless follow-up process post-screening.

PSC provides free healthcare screening targeted at elderly who are financially disadvantaged. We assess key health indicators such as blood pressure and blood glucose measurements, and fall risk of our beneficiaries, as well as educate them on how to take their medication and better manage their health conditions. Patients which require further treatment would then be referred to the relevant healthcare institutions.

Alive Inside

We are a group of medical students from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine interested in bringing individualized music therapy for patients with dementia. Our inspiration came from the documentary “Alive Inside” which focuses on how music – especially old favorite songs – can have significant memory and behavioral benefits especially in patients with dementia. Our pilot group will be at Renci Nursing Home (Moulmein). The long-term aim would be to generate an application or a website with a database of music preferences of the elderly in Singapore, to allow easy access to playlists for caregivers and patients from their homes.

Tri-Generational Homecare @ North West

Tri-Generational HomeCare @ North West comprises of students from Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and Occupational Therapy who are passionate about serving the elderly and nurturing the next generation. Our partners are Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) – Aging-in-Place (AIP) Program and North West Community Development Council (NWCDC). We aim to provide long-term holistic care to elderly in terms of medical and psychosocial support. We hope to engage secondary school students in this endeavour where they can learn valuable skills by serving the elderly. Teams comprising of university and secondary school students will care for 1 to 2 elderly via fortnightly home visits over 6 months. To ensure a high standard of care for the patients, the teams will present their assessment and management plans to healthcare professionals from KTPH at the middle and end of each cycle. Adequate training will be provided for volunteers to equip them with knowledge and skills required.

Constructing Care Collaboration

Constructing Care Collaboration is an initiative organised by medical students to involve fellow medical students in learning about and serving the transient overseas communities who live among us. Students will be given the opportunity to step out of their comfort zones and to talk to and clerk our migrant brothers who visit the clinics. CCC gives students a chance to better understand the lives of the migrant workers, as well as gain a deeper understanding of the various problems they face in Singapore. Each participant will be attending monthly clinics throughout the year, and the cycle runs from September to June. The clinics are located at Penjuru (Thursday evenings) and Little India (Sunday afternoons - Caring Clinic).

Freshman Orientation Camp Community Involvement Project

The Freshmen Orientation Camp Community Involvement Programme (FOCCIP) is an annual event organized as part of the Freshmen Orientation Programme for incoming 1st Year Medical Students. It is unique to Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and provides an avenue for freshmen to bond through community outreach and service.

A profession geared to serving the community around us, we hope for FOCCIP to emphasize the need for head, hands and heart in Medicine. This year, we aim to introduce our incoming freshmen (AY17/18) to needs of the migrant worker community and to develop an impetus to meet these needs.

Sa'bai Vision 2017

Project Sa'Bai is a student-led Medical Overseas Community Involvement Project (OCIP) started in 2006 by students from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. In many areas of Cambodia, there are under-privileged Cambodians who do not have the means or ability to access basic health care services. The primary objective of Project Sa’Bai is to provide basic health care and health education for needy Cambodians, in a sustainable manner.

Every December, Project Sa'Bai conducts health screenings and acute clinics for students and villagers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, who lack access to proper health care services. Patients who requires investigative procedures such as X-Ray or further treatment will be brought out for referrals at local hospitals by our students. In addition to clinics, Project Sa'Bai also conducts health education lessons in the schools that we serve, as well as during the operation of our clinics.

Manila Medical Mission

The Manila Medical Mission (MMM) has its roots many years ago, when our guiding doctor, now a Family Physician of more than a decade of experience, led a team to Manila for a medical mission trip when he was a medical student. During that trip, he got to know Philadelphia Christcentered Fellowship (PCF), and since then has worked alongside them on multiple mission trips and forged a strong friendship and bond with the Church members and pastors.

In 2011, he introduced the project to two medical students and an arts student. Having caught his vision, the students went on a recce trip in January 2011 and established this project. Since then, teams have been formed to go up to Manila biannually.

MMM works alongside PCF in Manila to serve the underprivileged Filipino communities in and out of Manila.

With the generous sponsorship from Food Empire –our main sponsor– and the support of other corporate and private sponsors, we hope to bring hope and sustainable help to the communities.

Rotaract - Project Sothea

Project Sothea is a humanitarian aid project organised by Year 1 and 2 medical students. We made our 7th trip to Battambang, Cambodia in December, 2016. The beneficiaries of this project include villagers in Kamping Puoy and Sra Kaew, Battambang (30km away from Battambang city) where healthcare services are inaccessible, and the children at Peaceful Children Home 2 (a home for orphans or children whose parents are unable to care for them).

We aim to provide basic healthcare access to the villagers and children from the home to deal with current and acute problems, as well as to help them cope with chronic illnesses via lifestyle changes and education programs targeted at all age groups. We also hope to address the urgent needs of the villagers. This includes having a clean water supply and proper sanitation, as these are the primary causes of many health problems faced by the them.

Project Yangon

Project Yangon is an OCIP organized by students from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, to serve the people of Yangon, Myanmar.

‘Yangon’ translated into English means ‘the end of strife’. However, for many of the villagers in Shwe Pyi Thar, a small township in Yangon city, life is a constant struggle. Many of the villagers in Shwe Pyi Thar had been relocated from Hlaing Township due to a fire that had wrecked their homes in 2005. They arrived at Shwe Pyi Thar with virtually nothing but their indomitable fighting spirit and community bonds held them together to rebuild their homes from scratch. Living under the poverty line, many cannot afford a healthy lifestyle. They have to make do with poor hygiene, poor nutrition and the lack of access to health. This has led to the various acute and chronic health issues in the community.

Our primary focus is on improving the health of our beneficiaries through health education initiatives and health clinics.

Project Battambang

Project Battambang has been serving the rural community in Poipet, the second poorest district in Cambodia, since 2010 when we identified a pressing need for proper healthcare and education services there. Our team comprises 24 first and second year medical students, and is mentored by Dr. Ong Yew Jin. The team is also accompanied by a wide roster of volunteer doctors and nurses as well as Cambodian medical, dental and allied health students. We supplement the local healthcare system by conducting health screenings, while concurrently developing sustainable healthcare programmes for the community alongside our Cambodian medical students. Under our Light-a-Dream Scholarship, we provide financial support to local high school and university students who display exemplary character and potential to contribute to the community. Biannual camps are also held to build values and project management skills to support them in conducting community service projects.

Project Lokun

Project Lokun is a medical biannual humanitarian project that serves the region of Pursat, Cambodia, as part of the National University of Singapore Medical Society. Founded in 2006, Project Lokun aims to create positive and sustainable changes in the health of the Cambodian villagers in Pursat. We reach out to villages far from the city centre and serve villagers who would otherwise not have the time or money to obtain proper healthcare.

We hope to cultivate within the Cambodian villagers an interest in their own health, to reconnect them back to their own local healthcare system and to care for them. To achieve this, Project Lokun has formed strong partnerships with many local organisations, schools and healthcare facilities. We also provide acute medical aid and treatment. At the same time, we educate the villagers through house-to-house and school education.

Smile Asia 1st Medical Students Chapter

The Smile Asia 1st Medical Student Chapter was founded by 2 students who are passionate about helping the children in less developed countries suffering from cleft deformities, which can be very detrimental to their growth, physically and emotionally as a person. Cleft deformities, one of the many birth deformities, which can be easily rectified with surgery and will vastly improve their quality of life and reduce morbidity and mortality associated with it.

Working with our main organisation, Smile Asia, we hopes to raise awareness and funds for the cause. We aim to be the leading student chapter in Singapore supporting and value adding to Smile Asias' operations overseas. Our mission is to be a student organisation that nurtures an alumni culture to give back to making more smiles.

Public Health Service

Since 2004, the Public Health Service (PHS) has been a preventive arm of the NUS Medical Society. Every year, PHS organises its flagship health screening event. Due to evolving health needs, PHS has expanded to include health education and follow-up initiatives.

PHS’ vision is to be a first class student-led health service. In alignment with this aspiration, PHS has three organisational aims: 1.To raise public health awareness and inculcate a sense of personal responsibility for one’s own health. 2.To form an effective bridge to integrate of individuals into the local healthcare system. 3.To provide an avenue for YLLSoM students and alumni to collaborate and serve the needs of the community.

PHS strives to achieve these aims in accordance with our motto "Promoting Health, Spreading Awareness" by firstly, reinforcing positive health behaviour using a population-based approach, and secondly, spreading awareness of the need and means to look after one's own health via health education.

Neighbourhood Health Service (NHS)

Neighbourhood Health Service (NHS) is a local community service project organised by Medicine, Nursing and Social Work students of NUS. Inaugurated in 2008, NHS aims to identify residents-in-need, especially the elderly and lower-income households, and act as a bridge to reconnect them back to the healthcare system. NHS seeks to reduce the number of residents who:

(i) Suffer from illness but have not been diagnosed yet

(ii) Have previously been diagnosed with illness, but are not receiving medical treatment due to various barriers to healthcare

NHS conducts free health screenings over one weekend to flag out latent conditions. We target the rental block population and conduct both centralised and door-to-door screenings. Subsequently, we conduct follow-up with selected residents every 3-4 months via phone calls and house visits to ensure that they actively seek treatment.

To date, we have screened residents in Taman Jurong, Marine Terrace, Bukit Merah, Eunos Crescent and MacPherson.

Working Without Walls

Working Without Walls (WWW) is a student-run project by students from NUS Medicine aiming to reach out to migrant workers in Singapore. Through WWW, we hope to create sustainable and impactful change in the migrant worker community in the areas of - prevention, curing and management of diseases, and increasing access to health and healthcare. This is achieved through interactive events, follow-up with migrant workers who require further treatment and health assistance, and empowerment of migrant workers to help one another in the long run.

Caritas Cares

Caritas Cares is a healthcare initiative for the adult autism community. We provide free annual health services for adults with autism at Eden Centre and health awareness education for their caregivers. Guided by the needs of this exceptional community, Caritas Cares aims to provide exceptional healthcare for the early detection and prevention of chronic diseases, to improve the health and wellbeing of the community we serve.

Project iRemember

Project iRemember aims to provide free physical and cognitive health screening for the elderly population in Singapore. Through the cognitive screenings, we hope to identify patients at risk or suspected of cognitive impairment, and refer them to appropriate follow-up services for intervention as well as to invite them to the activities we organise to keep them actively involved in their communities. Additionally, we aim to raise awareness and rectify common public misconceptions on dementia. Hence, we hope to encourage the public to participate in early screening and highlight the healthcare resources available. This project was first started in September 2014, when we held our first pilot screening at Taman Jurong, and subsequently we held screenings in Woodlands and Chong Pang. Currently, we have 2 screenings each year at different locations and we also hold pre-event forums with speakers from our partner organisations to give talks on dementia to the public.

Operation BIBO

Operation “Big Sister, Big Brother” seeks to provide children who have suffered past abuse or neglect with strong, enduring friendships with trained student volunteers who can serve as role models for these children and help them reintegrate back into society.

It is an initiative by a group of students from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, and functions as a tripartite collaboration between YLLSoM/ALCNS, KK Women and Children’s Hospital and Ministry of Social and Family Development.

Game of Survivors

Game of Survivors, organised by NUCOT, supported by NUS MedSoc & Sports Club, is an event that aims raise awareness among undergraduates about organ donation, as well as HOTA & MTERA. The event features organ recipients and volunteers running on treadmills in a pay-per-kilometre format, a games carnival as well as a live band!

We hope to engage youth and spur interest in organ donation through forums with transplant doctors, patients and the public. Ultimately, we hope to clear any misconceptions about organ donation and raise more honest conversation about this topic.

This event is one part of a larger campaign towards raising awareness for organ donation; you might have seen posters of organ donors and recipients of lift doors around NUH.

ODE (One Day Exposure) to Autism

One Day Exposure (ODE) to Autism was initiated in the year 2012 by a group of passionate medical students from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Together with its partnership with St. Andrew’s Autism Centre (SAAC), the programme aims to provide medical students from NUS with a platform to gain exposure to and better understand Autism. This program has since benefited many batches of medical students, allowing them to gain invaluable experience through their interactions with people with Autism. We firmly believe that this early exposure to and understanding of autism will benefit medical students when they start their clinical years. By instilling in our medical students the importance of good communication skills and compassion early in their careers, we hope that this would stand them in good stead to become better doctors in the future.

Camp Rafiki

Camp Rafiki is an annual 3-day2-night camp held during the June holidays with 2 follow-up events. Modeled after CampSimba, it is a camp targeted at youths aged 13-17 years old experiencing the impact of cancer, either directly as a patient or indirectly as a family member.

The camp’s aim revolves around youths establishing meaningful relationships with their peers and with medical student volunteers through experiencial learning and fun-filled activities. Our goal is to create a mentor-mentee relationship between the volunteers and youths where the youths are able to lean and seek advice from them throughout the year and even longer.

The activities of Camp Rafiki are also tailored towards teaching life values such as resilience, empowerment and teamwork. More importantly, it is a platform for the youths to learn how to cope with the emotional stress they are going through.

Camp Simba

Camp Simba seeks to be an opportunity for children of cancer patients to laugh, play and have fun in a safe environment. With three fun-filled days, we hope to promote qualities such as courage, wisdom, strength, and provide these children with “older siblings” to whom they may be able to turn to for assistance. This would give the children an opportunity to just be kids, and to learn that it's alright to be happy even if a parent is sick. We also wish to create a safe and positive environment for them to express themselves and build their self-esteem to take on the challenges in life.

To give continuity and maintain the friendships built during the camp, three reunions are held after the camp. We also encourage facilitators, all of whom are medical students, to keep in contact with the children beyond the reunions and the camps. We hope that this will let participants and their families know that they are never alone should they need someone there for them.