Scenes of jubilation filled the Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium on 31 May as families and friends joined the School and members from the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre to cheer 121 new Duke-NUS graduates stepping off stage and entering the next chapter of their journey.

Making history as the School’s largest graduating cohort to date, the Class of 2025 celebrated their achievements as Duke-NUS students at their Graduation and Hooding Ceremony. Joining 67 Doctor of Medicine (MD), 27 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), five MD-PhD and eight Master of International Translational Medicine graduates were the first 14 students to graduate with Master’s in Patient Safety & Healthcare Quality degrees.

Among those present to witness this milestone event were Guest-of-Honour Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health; Professor Mary Klotman, Executive Vice-President for Health Affairs at Duke University and Dean of Duke University School of Medicine; Duke-NUS Governing Board Chairman Mr Goh Yew Lin; SingHealth Group CEO Professor Ng Wai Hoe; and the Class’ loved ones.

Having come from different walks of life, educational backgrounds and professions, including law, public relations, accounting and peer support, members of the Class of 2025 are now united by a shared commitment to improve lives.

Prof Thomas Coffman congratulates the graduating cohort in his welcome address

 
In his last graduation address before stepping down as the dean of Duke-NUS, Professor Thomas Coffman emphasised that at its core, medicine remains both an art and a science, the practice of which requires a “combination of humanity and science; empathy and skill; curiosity and understanding”.

“I hope the graduates might reflect on this and take it with you as you move on now to become real doctors,” he added before congratulating the entire cohort for completing their Duke-NUS journey.

“Let me congratulate you, Class of 2025, and I wish you all fulfilling and rewarding careers. I hope you have enjoyed being at Duke-NUS as much we have enjoyed having you here.  Thanks, and good luck you!” he said.

Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung addresses the Class of 2025

 
These qualities are the only constant in a rapidly changing healthcare environment, as noted by Mr Ong:

“You are standing at the threshold of great change. Amidst great change, we as humans instinctively look for constants to hang on to.”

Expanding on the “human connection” alluded to by Prof Coffman in his remarks, Mr Ong said: “At its heart, this is what medicine is about—service to the society, the community and to your patients. Despite their rapid advancement, AI and technology cannot replace this.”

Keynote speaker Dr Amy Abernethy shares her vision for the graduands

Looking back on her medical journey—from being a student to going into academia and eventually becoming an entrepreneur—Dr Amy Abernethy, co-founder of Highlander Health and member of Duke University’s board of trustees, teased a future brimming with possibility for the graduands in her keynote address:

“Each of you can change the world. In your clinics, on the wards, in the OR, in the delivery suite, in your lab, in your company, in the government, as a parent, as a partner, as a friend. Medicine and scientific training have taught you.”

Likening their commitment to medicine to an engagement, she added: “Thank you for saying ‘yes’—to medicine, to leadership, and to possibility. Because the world will be a better place because of you.”

With Dr Abernethy’s inspiring words still fresh in their minds, the Class took the stage one by one to receive their well-earned degree scrolls and be hooded by faculty and mentors.

Led by Prof Klotman, they then solemnly pledged to pursue medical excellence and uphold the highest standards of patient care as they recited the Hippocratic Oath.

Addressing his fellow graduates, MD-PhD speaker Dr O Yinn Wharton Chan captured how far they have come:

"Hopefully, towards the end of the PhD we generate independent thought. That’s like drawing our own map. Using the insights that we have gained from those countless hours of experiments and to ask questions never [asked] before. Asking questions, answering them systematically, and bringing perspective. That is what we do.”

MD-PhD speaker Dr O Yinn Wharton Chan delivers an inspiring speech to his fellow graduates

 
Dr M Hema Prashaad, the nominated speaker for the MD cohort, reflected on how he and his peers can mould the future of healthcare through the relationships they build with those around them. Calling on the Class to recall their first steps in medicine, he encouraged them to become mentors whom their juniors can look up to:

“The first time that you tried to decide on the type of murmur you heard. The first time you tried interpreting an ECG. The first time you tried to memorise the path of the facial nerve. We all had to start somewhere and although eventually some of these became effortless to us, others may just be starting on that journey of mastery. Be generous in your assumptions and elevate others.”

MD speaker Dr M Hema Prashaad encourages his peers to shape the future of healthcare

 
While there was plenty of excitement about the road ahead of them, it was all about cherishing the moment after the ceremony as graduates snapped photos with friends and enjoyed the company of their peers and proud families—people without whom the freshly concluded chapter would not have been possible.  

All photos in this story are copyrighted to Duke-NUS Medical School.