When most would’ve left their childhood dream jobs in their childhood, this Singaporean doctor based in Australia turned his dream into reality when he grew into it, instead of out of it.
Written & Illustrated by Ashley Tan | Photos courtesy of Terence Heng
Work begins at 8.50am sharp — the phone rings, papers containing results of medical tests present themselves to him, he runs through the halls of the hospital and the old folk’s home, visiting patients.
“It’s doctoring work nonstop,” was what Terence Heng, 46 described as a typical workday in Victoria, Australia as a general practitioner (GP), but he is content.
He was, after all, living his dream.
Growing Up
As a young boy, Terence started following his father, a practising GP in Singapore, to the neighbourhood clinic. Medicine and doctoring excited Terence.
However, Terence was not exactly a model student. When he did not score well during his GCSE ‘O’ Levels, his parents sent him to the United Kingdom to study for his ‘A’ Levels. Once again, he did not do well and was unable to take up an offer to do medicine.
“I didn’t have the means of going by the Singapore way of doing things and thought about giving up medicine so many times. I even considered other health professions.”
The Rocky Road to Medicine
Terence went on to take a chiropractic degree. He truly enjoyed it, but medicine stayed lingering in the back of his mind.
When most people told him that he could never be a doctor, someone’s support remained unwavering.
“The one person who definitely supported me emotionally and believed in me was my mother.” She had offered to pay for his studies in medicine, but he turned her down because he felt that his parents had provided him with more than enough.
With his pay as a chiropractor, Terence put himself through a degree in medicine and GP training.
“When I look at my friends and they are already successful, and I’m still wearing my track shoes, I didn’t mind because I knew I would get there someday,” recounts Terence. “By the time I graduated, I was about 37. It was a long time.”
Fulfilment & Reflection
Since becoming a GP, Terence has been looking after an entire town in Victoria, Australia.
Terence was finally able to make a difference in others’ lives, dive into the investigative part of medicine and help people navigate through their problems.
“I do a lot of different things, skin cancer surgeries, emergency work— I am part of the hospital. It is a very busy and unique funnel of doing medicine.”
Given opportunity after opportunity, constant growth accompanied the doctor.
“Struggling is helpful.”
For Terence, struggling helped him develop better social skills and become independent.
Giving credit to his upbringing, Terence mentioned that being raised in encouraging and conducive environments gave him a chance to chase his dreams, no matter how long it took.
“It’s not about ‘I can’t do it’, but when I want to do it. I applied that energy towards my career and it took off.”
Advice
To those looking to make any dream a reality, Terence has some words of advice.
“It’s never too late.”