Humans of the Foundation Programme – The Story
When I was trying to brainstorm what my introductory piece for this project would be, lots of ideas presented themselves to me. However, none of them felt personal enough for an introduction. For weeks, I suffered from writers’ block and drew a blank. This was annoying as my project with the UKFPO entirely revolved around being able to express myself eloquently through writing.
Today, as I was having breakfast before work, I read through my own personal blog to get some inspiration. I have been blogging since the age of 15 and over the years, the content has centered largely around education. As I read through the blogposts in chronological order, I found myself smiling at the memories cascading through the fabric of time. It is so easy to lose oneself in the hustle and bustle of the daily grind and forget to pause and look back on how far we have come in life. I was reminded once again why I started writing and blogging since age 15 and how it has helped lots of my peers through medical school.
Now, I am beginning to witness how my writing experience is helping me reach out to a much wider audience on a scale I had never thought would be possible, with the help of the UKFPO. I am eternally grateful to Mike, Kata, Sophia, and the others for helping me realise this dream. With that, I present to you the story behind my UKFPO project- “Humans of the Foundation Programme”.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, I was in my 3rd year of medical school. We had our medical humanities student selected component (SSC) module which spanned 6 weeks. This was an opportunity for us to spend 6 weeks exploring a subject beyond the standard medical curriculum. The short courses available included global health, anatomy, foreign language, art, as well as creative writing. Up until this point, I had never undertaken any creative writing classes- this was not a thing growing up in Malaysia. Writing was always a formal exercise in school to convey important subjects in a structured manner. I was intrigued and excited.
Over the 6 weeks, we had weekly lessons with our creative writing tutor, Dr Helen Lynch, a Reader in Early Modern Literature & Creative Writing, where she taught us how to express ourselves and bond with each other through writing. Considering that this experience took place during a time of physical isolation, we found ourselves eagerly grasping onto these tendrils of human interaction. We wrote short pieces of fiction, haikus, poems using prompts given and read them aloud to each other during the classes. We gave each other encouraging feedback and enthusiastically shared our ideas for the next writing exercise. We explored stories from our childhood and reflected on how these formative memories shape who we are today. It was a breath of fresh air- to view each other as human beings rather than just medics.
A selection of our creative writing pieces was compiled and published by Dr Lynch, entitled “Verbal Remedies: Creative Writing by Medical Students”. It was a joy to receive a copy of this booklet. To date, this is my proudest achievement in medical school. Even after the course ended, I found myself eager for more opportunities to develop my writing prowess further.
Over the latter years of medical school, I continued writing for the university societies I was a part of. I developed my blog further and wrote about my remote and rural placements in the Scottish Highlands, my study advice etc. I shared some personal life anecdotes including the bereavement of my beloved teacher back in secondary school and the challenges I endured throughout medical school such as the feeling of inadequacy. I treated writing as an outlet to pour my heart out to an invisible friend, hoping that someone on the other side would resonate with me and my stories. Gradually, my blog began to gain some visibility amongst the student community in Aberdeen. It was always heart-warming (and slightly flustering) to have people reach out to me, telling me they liked reading my blog and that they could relate to whatever I was putting out there. Looking back, I am gratified that my blog is a small footprint that I have left behind in Aberdeen, and I sincerely hope that I managed to spread sincereity, positivity and fun during my time there.
Now that I am in foundation training, I realized how quickly life has swept me off my feet, sent me into a tailspin and hurtling me towards the endpoint at breakneck speed. I am already on my penultimate rotation of foundation training and will soon be sitting for the MSRA, praying fervently that I get into specialty training or at least have some kind of job lined up post FY2. Life has been a box of chocolates of late, and I have no idea what is in store for me. I am learning to embrace the uncertainties of life and cherish the remaining time in foundation training with some wonderful friends I have made along the way. I am also thankful to have kept in touch with my friends in Aberdeen and catch up with them whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Through the UKFPO fellowship, I want to keep the flame of writing and creativity going. If you have read this far, I hope you would consider contributing to this archive of stories of foundation doctors. I am excited to read your story, learn about your experience, and listen to your message! Let us remind ourselves of who we were before embarking upon this journey and celebrate our achievements as doctors, but more importantly as human beings.
Jie Fei Lau
F2, UKFPO Fellow