Be inspired by the experienced

“What can a medical student learn from a judge who is from another profession? You may ask. In terms of Medicine, not much. In terms of life, unlimited. My Mentor, Mr Isaac Tam, is currently a Deputy Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court and I have learned a lot from him.

There are a lot of things that you can talk with your mentor: politics, life at HKU, hobbies, and maybe even your relationships (I think Isaac won’t mind talking to me about this if I have one). During the second year of MBBS curriculum, students encounter a lot of things and have important decisions to make: enrichment year planning, summative exam, work-life balance, so on. And I think by talking with mentors, students will find their experiences and advice very helpful. In my case, I’m interested in research, and I was struggling with what to do for my enrichment year — research attachment, a Master of Research or an intercalated degree. Isaac shared with me his experience, and about how his career changed because of the choices he made. I found it inspiring. His advice is one of the reasons I made up my mind to do an intercalated Master degree at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine during my enrichment year.

Generally speaking, I think the mentorship programme is a great opportunity for students to learn from an experienced, yet friendly mentor, and such knowledge is vital for students like us.” Mentee Matthew with mentor Issac (right).

Mentor: His Honour Judge Tam
Mentor (2018-2019): Matthew Khong, MBBS Year 3