It wasn’t just the virtual-reality (VR) headsets or digitised cadavers that made this anatomy lesson unforgettable—it was the people behind them. In a new Teaching Assistant initiative, a group of third-year MD students guided their first-year juniors through a hands-on exploration of the heart and thorax, transforming the Immersive Learning Space and Collaborative Learning Space into a lively classroom of discovery, dialogue and mentorship.

What began as a cardiothoracic anatomy practical session for the Foundations of Patient Care 1 (FPC 1) course quickly became something—more a human exchange where seniors passed down practical know-how, empathy and encouragement—proving that sometimes, the best way to learn is to teach.

A first-year MD student examines a 3D-scanned plastinated human heart using a VR headset // Credit: Grace Yap

More than just learning-tool troubleshooters, these friendly and nurturing guides journeyed alongside their juniors as they studied the arteries, veins and heart chambers, stimulating their curiosity with questions and prompts as well as encouraging them along the way.

“While technology provides access to knowledge and resources, a human mentor brings a unique dimension that technology itself cannot replicate. A mentor does not simply provide answers but also adds a vital human touch to the learning process,” said Assistant Professor Jason Lee from the Technology Enhanced Learning & Innovation (TELI) Department.  

A team of students using the Anatomage table to take a closer look at the human thoracic cavity // Credit: Grace Yap  

For Angie Foo, who was among the 12 groups of first-year participants, it was comforting to have her seniors around during the session as they helped to familiarise her team with the VR headsets and Anatomage table as well as complete their assigned tasks systematically.

She said that the perspective they brought as fellow medical students helped her learn better: “They will have some tips and tricks that would be more applicable and more understandable for us as fellow students. Sometimes, when it's faculty [guiding us], it's more logic based and they might not have those little acronyms and everything that we need.”

First-year MD student Angie Foo (first from the right) having a discussion with her classmates // Credit: Grace Yap

Having taken the same path—and likely experienced similar learning hurdles—not too long ago, student teaching assistants would naturally understand their juniors’ needs well, explained Assistant Professor Wong Peiyan, co-director of FPC 1, adding that such sessions are safe spaces for freshmen to learn from and bond with their seniors.

Students, guided by a senior, make new discoveries about cardiothoracic anatomy using VR technology // Credit: Brandon Raeburn

Despite their familiarity with cardiothoracic anatomy, there was still plenty for the teaching assistants to learn as they facilitated the session. Third-year MD student L Krishaa volunteered to mentor her juniors as she saw it as an opportunity to not only help them but also brush up on basic anatomy ahead of her USMLE Step 1 examination.

“[Being a teaching assistant] reinforces a lot of the concepts that I forgot, so it's a good refresher for me. In teaching the juniors, I'm also trained in finding a way to communicate these concepts to them. It helps in both ways—[they’re] learning but I’m also learning a lot from teaching them,” she said of her experience.

Third-year MD student L Krishaa (centre) guides her juniors as they attempt to complete an exercise during the session // Credit: Grace Yap

Under the guidance of Duke-NUS faculty, Krishaa and other teaching assistants learnt how to effectively facilitate their peers’ learning prior to the pilot session and will continue shaping their mentorship process and style using feedback from first-year students.

For more senior students with an interest in medical education, this new peer-coaching initiative offers invaluable opportunities to develop their professional identity and try their hand at co-designing curricular activities with educators, said Clinical Assistant Professor Ignasius Jappar, who co-directs FPC 1.

More sessions are already on the way, with Clin Asst Prof Ignasius, Asst Prof Wong and the TELI team working closely to expand the initiative’s scope to include more organ systems.