Take 5 with Assoc prof lee Kim en dr natalie Koh & - SingHealth ...

Take 5 with
Assoc Prof Lee Kim En
& Dr Natalie Koh
By Debbie Chia
In his office at the National
Neuroscience Institute (NNI),
Senior Consultant Assoc Prof Lee Kim
En is surrounded by evidence of his
passion in teaching. Lovingly compiled
scrapbooks, poems, collage boards and
memorabilia from his students dot the
walls, cupboards and desk. He displays
them like a proud parent would.
Today, Assoc Prof Lee is joined by
Dr Natalie Koh, a 1 st year SingHealth
Resident in her rotation in Neurology for
this interview. Both mentor and mentee
convey a comfortable relationship
filled with mutual respect and constant
encouragement. They allow each other
to answer each other’s questions and
laughter often fills the room.
“My students often ask me why I bother
to teach,” he jokes, and adds, “Having
to teach might be shocking to some
doctors. Teaching is not something a
medical student thinks of when they enter
the profession or they would have taken
a teaching degree. They are here to help
people first,” Assoc Prof Lee says.
Yet, he has found a way to combine both
his passion as clinician and educator. He
has long forgotten the number of batches
of students he has seen through, but
Assoc Prof Lee never forgets a face or
a name.
“Being a teacher is not what
a doctor originally sets out
to do. Yet, it comes naturally
when you feel gratitude for
having had a teacher come
forward, enlighten you, and
show you the way.
It’s as simple as that.”
– Assoc Prof Lee Kim En
“We’ve all been students ourselves
and we’ve all felt an extra push when a
teacher recalled our name,” he chuckles.
Of his role as a Clinician Educator, he
shares, “It is important for me to still be
practising clinical work, otherwise I would
just be another textbook teacher based
in the classroom. This is the fundamental
and unique part of clinical teaching.”
“As teachers, we have an impact on
the future of medicine. It is a serious
responsibility,” he intones and explains,
“Teaching is a way to maintain standards.
We are getting students better educated,
better than what we’ve always been.
Collectively, we have an impact.”
For Assoc Prof Lee, his lesson plans also
include 7.00am sessions at Kopitiam,
and occasional afternoon sessions at
Starbucks, a defining highlight for his
students. Every morning for an hour,
he and his students sit down over
a cup of coffee or tea, and discuss
every possible aspect of Neurology.
On Saturdays, the session goes on for
four hours over breakfast. The informal
setting encourages his students to share
candidly and discuss every concern from
patient care to time management.
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A few of the many thank you cards
Assoc Prof Lee has received from his mentees
Scrapbook made by
Assoc Prof Lee’s mentees
Natalie recalls, “As students, HOs and
now MOs, we meet there, have a cuppa
and basically, chat. Medical concepts will
be conveyed in an informal and nondidactic
way. There are life lessons too
and the discussion is free flowing. I feel
strongly that Assoc Prof Lee is someone
who above and beyond an inspirational
teacher, is a role model whose values and
passion for life are what one hopes
to emulate.”
“I feel strongly that Assoc
Prof Lee is someone who
above and beyond an
inspirational teacher, is a
role model whose values
and passion for life are what
one hopes to emulate.”
– Dr Natalie Koh
“Assoc Prof Lee is the sort of doctor
that growing up, I’d imagined what a
doctor would be. He is a genuinely warm
person, who cares for people and wants
to help them. Someone once asked him
what he did when he goes on leave, and
his student replied, ‘Assoc Prof Lee is
thinking about his patients, his work and
his students’. I have often felt that being
mentored by him was one of the best
things that happened to me in medical
school.” Natalie says.
Of his own teachers, Assoc Prof Lee is
quick to name the mentors who have
made an impact on his life.
Prof Rajasoorya from Khoo Teck Puat
Hospital first inspired him by being
an astute clinician and an astounding
teacher. Assoc Prof Lee was taught
that being at the frontline, one has the
responsibility to think of what’s best for
the patient at all times.
Assoc Prof Lee also cited
Prof Low Cheng Hock, a General
Surgeon at TTSH. “He is an all-time
favourite of medical students. He is
very approachable, a great teacher and
friendly. Having been guided by him
reminds me of the possibility of making
even complex subjects understandable.”
Assoc Prof Helen Tjia was one more
name he shared. She was an inspiring
force that influenced his eventual decision
to pursue Neurology.
Asked if she too would be following
in the footsteps of her mentor, Natalie
had this to say: “As a junior doctor, one
remains passionate about many subjects.
Neurology is certainly a favourite. It would
be a privilege to work in as ideal an
environment as NNI, where going to work
is such a joy.”
So what makes Assoc Prof Lee’s
teaching so memorable and impactful?
Most probably, it is the way he teaches
his students.
“I compare medicine with flying an
airplane, and myself as a flight instructor,”
he describes. “As an instructor I have this
responsibility that my students attain the
confidence and competence to fly the
plane on their own. To do that, we have
to go back to the basics and be brutally
honest with their shortcomings.”
Of the last point, Assoc Prof Lee
elaborates, “It might go against the grain
of the best or most fashionable education
about giving constant and positive
encouragement, but I feel that you have
to be really honest with your students. It
is almost a moral responsibility.”
Another teaching analogy Assoc Prof Lee
brings up is skydiving.
“At the correct environment and altitude,
the paratrooper must exit the door and it
is a challenge that I must prepare them
for. Are they ready for the final take off?
And when they land, is it where they want
to be? Like a paratrooper, my students
should be able to survive, thrive and
blossom wherever they are.” •
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We get to know
Assoc Prof Lee and Dr Koh
better and see their Take
on 5 questions.
Assoc Prof
Lee Kim En
1. How do you keep a work-life balance?
My wife, my children and I have long accepted teaching, Medicine and my personal life to be rolled
into one incredible mix.
2. What is your passion outside medicine?
I listen to music, read the Bible, and enjoy essays as well as short stories.
3. What did you want to be when you were 10 years old?
I always wanted to be a doctor. It is my biggest dream fulfilled and achieved. I never understand why people get burnout; if this
is what you’ve been wanting to do since young, you are living the dream that you always had.
4. If someone would write a book about you, what would the title be? (Answered by Dr Natalie Koh)
Green Eggs and Ham! Dr Lee is like the protagonist Sam in the book by Dr. Seuss, who helps others discover Wonder.
5. What is the favourite family activity?
We go to church every Saturday evening and have dinner at our favourite places such as ramen at Novena Square. On Sunday
the whole family goes for a swim together.
Dr
Natalie Koh
1. What is the best part of your job?
Getting to work with my favourite people at NNI. It feels like school but with all the fun bits. The
environment here is an ideal working environment, which balances work with academic pursuits. The
seniors and my colleagues are wonderful.
2. What’s your favourite thing to do when you need a break from work?
I love to read. I read all sorts of books and magazines, often several at the same time. My favourites are young adult fiction and
biographies. Reading provides me with an escape into an alternate reality, and sometimes a window into someone else’s life.
3. What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
Try not to go back to sleep!
4. If you could design a house for yourself, how would it look like?
What a great question! I saw a picture of my dream house when I was 13 or 14. It was a glass house at the end of the world on
the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean, with lots of space, in the middle of nowhere.
5. If you could have dinner with a famous historical figure, who would it be?
When I grew up I was a huge fan of Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci, who was the first to score a “Perfect 10” at the
Olympics. I was drilled by Type A parents and strove for similar perfection. I would love to meet her and ask her how it felt to be
deemed “perfect” in such a punishing sport.
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