Insights for MBBS aspirants
Life of an International Medical Student in China
A post-graduation personal reflection.
I remember my first day in university like it was yesterday: the thrill of being in a new country, the excitement of meeting my classmates for the very first time, laughing at the prison-like cafeteria trays (that have since become a daily staple), exploring Shanghai over the weekends and even getting lost on campus (yes, my sense of direction was beyond catastrophic). Fudan University was where I’ve found life-long friends and met amazing mentors. It has become my home from home. ❤️
For someone who rarely journals, this has been a wonderful opportunity to introspect and reflect upon the past 6 years of my university life.
Echoing Socrates’ renowned dictum, “The unexamined life is not worth living,”
Hopefully by sharing some snippets of my Fudan University life, it’ll offer you a sneak peek of the MBBS program and what to expect if you decide to come here. 😄
To read about my impressions of living in Shanghai, please click on the link below. 👇
Impressions of the University 🏫
Expectations vs. Reality 👓
To be fair, when I entered medical school in 2014, I did not carry any expectations at all, except for the fact that once I’ve graduated, I’d be able to practice as a doctor. At that time, the MBBS program at Fudan University was fairly new — most of the teaching materials were translated versions of what the local students studied, with heavy emphasis on basic science in comparison to clinical medicine. Given my naïve mindset, and the professional procrastinator that I was, for the majority of my uni years, I mainly focused on nailing exams after exams. Unfortunately, this meant a whole lot of senseless memorization and cramming. It was only until the second half of med school, where I had the realization that my study techniques were flawed as I barely retained what I had learned. If I knew any better, I would’ve structured my studies differently. Thankfully, better late than never, my circle of friends shared sources they were using to study for USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination), such as: Kaplan, Sketchy, Boards and Beyond, Anki cards, etc., where I finally made sense of a lot of the theories I’ve memorized (or the lack thereof) earlier on.
One of the biggest misconceptions I’ve had for the longest time was the belief that the things I’ve learned from classes were enough to pass license exams and become a doctor. Unfortunately, this was a far cry from reality. Lectures essentially highlight important topics from textbooks — it is realistically impossible to squeeze 100 pages of text into 100 slides. This is a really silly epiphany, but reading additional references and watching external sources of lectures do not signify your unfaithfulness to the program (nor does it diminish its quality), but rather, you should embrace the uncomfortable awareness of the gaps in your knowledge, and are doing something about it, rather than letting that gap magnify over years to come.
Everything you learn in med school, be it the theories in class or even the study techniques you’ve developed, will be applicable for the rest of your life in one way or another.
I vividly recall an instance in fourth year when I blamed the school for unengaging lecturers and messy teaching materials. It was as if they did not care about our education since we were foreign students; when in reality, it was merely a handful of mediocre lecturers that fostered my disinterest. There was so much pent-up negativity that instead of spending time consulting other learning sources, I found myself constantly lamenting. Looking back, what had happened was beyond my control. Instead of playing the ‘blame game’, I should have actively sought for solutions in the face of adversity.
My Thoughts on The Learning Environment 📝
Teachers, Classmates & Friends 👬👭
From what I’ve noticed, the majority of medics around me were fairly individualistic — this was either a direct impact of the ‘bell curve’ normal distribution grading system (where only the top 30% of the class would receive an ‘A’ grade for each subject), or we’re simply hardwired to be competitive in nature — this resulted in most of us studying alone and solving things on our own, when in fact, asking for help and engaging in meaningful discussions were better options. I came to realize this during my fourth year when I studied alongside my buddies who were preparing for their license exams. Initially I couldn’t imagine that to be possible, as the three of us usually studied on our own. To my surprise, I learned a lot from them and never expected their friendship to play such a huge role in my uni life. ❤️
All teachers are required to conduct their lessons in English. However, bear in mind that English is their second language. Oftentimes, they appeared unenthusiastic and seemingly, blatantly, read from the slides as they teach; when the truth was they’re simply not confident with their command of the language. Interestingly, when we ask them questions using Mandarin, it was as if they’ve received the breath of life, and proceeded to explain flawlessly at rapid-fire speed.
The majority of our lecturers are either physicians or researchers. In China, or at least in Shanghai, publishing research articles is a prerequisite for physicians to be promoted. This means a ton of opportunities for undergrads to participate in research (and hopefully publish a scientific article while you’re at it).
Facilities, Courses & Opportunities ⛳️
Aside from the major glow-up that our medical campus had after the construction completed in 2018/2019, which birthed a beautiful library, swimming pool, running track and an indoor gym, some improvements were also made to our curriculum: the introduction of PBL (Problem-based learning) classes, Clinical Skills elective and summer hospital electives — these changes were brought about by our amazing student organization and a very supportive administrative figure. I was lucky to experience some of these improvements, especially the Clinical Skills elective, which gave me confidence when carrying out procedures on patients during my internship year.
Despite the fact that the university’s MBBS program is taught in English, knowing the Chinese language opens up numerous opportunities outside the classroom ranging from participating in research to exploring club activities and joining seminars. You may even make voluntary trips to the university’s affiliated hospitals to shadow doctors and practice interviewing and conducting physical examinations on patients during your free time.
Personally, it has been a memorable 6 years in Fudan University. I couldn’t imagine being here today without the support of the school as well as the valuable friends, seniors and mentors I’ve met along the way. And of course, my dearest family, who always has my back.❤️
In my future posts, I’ll be sharing in-depth about my internship life in Fudan University, and life after graduation — this includes topics such as UK’s medical licensing exam (PLAB, short for Professional and Linguistics Assessments Board) and the Occupational English Test (OET) for doctors.
Do hang around a little longer — your company is always appreciated. 😌
See you in the next post!
Love, Alice
