National athlete, home-grown doctor
She is a Team Singapore athlete who won a gold medal for the nation at last year’s SEA Games. However, on 10 July, national floorball player Vanessa Lim celebrated an achievement of a different kind. Fulfilling her childhood ambition of becoming a doctor, she graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at NUS Commencement 2016.
Vanessa picked up floorball after a friend introduced her to it during her first month in Raffles Institution. She soon got hooked on the contact sport and when an opportunity to be on the national team arose during her second year at NUS, she took it. “I knew that it was going to be hard…but I was not willing to let go of the opportunity so easily,” she said. Vanessa made the team and played for Singapore for the next three years.
Her success did not come easy. Facing sleep deprivation, constant worries and almost no personal time, Vanessa endured the arduous task of juggling a demanding floorball training schedule with an equally tough medical curriculum. It became especially challenging during Year 3 when she had to make ward visits and examine patients. Once, she competed in the ASEAN Pacific World Cup Qualifiers in Australia and only returned to Singapore a day before her examinations.
However, for the go-getter with an immense love for the game, it was a challenge she relished.
“I was happy juggling the things that I really enjoyed doing. There were definitely times when my training schedule left me weary to the bone, but I am immensely grateful for the support that I had from my family and friends through the tough times,” said Vanessa.
That support included car rides between training venues and lovingly prepared tonic soup by her parents; and also note-taking by helpful classmates on lessons missed when away at competitions.
To convince her parents that she can manage both her studies and sporting career, Vanessa was forced to be efficient and disciplined. Breaks were spent getting a head start on the week’s curriculum in order to maximise her learning during tutorials while allowing her to focus during evening training sessions without worrying about catching up at school.
Amid all this, Vanessa also found time to represent NUS at various inter-varsity floorball competitions. Ironically, it was often her sporting endeavours that helped relieve the stress of trying times during her five years as a medical undergraduate.
Currently doing her housemanship training at Singapore General Hospital, Vanessa has since retired from the national floorball team and plans to focus on a career in paediatrics. For other young people who may find themselves on a similar path, she shared some pearls of wisdom. “Dream big, fight hard and do not be afraid to ask for help and advice along the way…it may not be the easiest or most conventional journey, but you will just have to find unconventional ways to get around it, so go for it!”
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