At just 26 years old, Dr Stephanie Yeap – perhaps better known by her stage name Stephycube – has already racked up accomplishments many dream of. From being touted as one of “Singapore’s Top Acts” on Spotify to graduating medical school, Stephanie’s life thus far has seen two typically different paths merge into one unique journey.

We sat down with Stephanie, who shared how she enjoys the best of both worlds juggling two of her biggest passions – medicine and music – and the struggles and joys that come with it.

Growing up, my parents always told me that they hoped I could be a doctor. So the idea of being a doctor has always been in the background for me.

At the same time, music has always been an integral part of my life since I was a kid. Coming from a Christian family, there was a lot of worship music playing at home. 

Then I joined a band for my CCA in junior college (JC), which became a huge springboard to me developing my music.

I was always more involved in leadership CCAs in secondary school so I thought I should do something music related in JC. Plus, my friends wanted to try out for the rock band. 

So even though I wasn’t very keen on the music genre, I went for the audition and eventually got in.

When I told my parents I was going to join a rock CCA, they thought it was rock climbing. Imagine their surprise when they found out I was joining a rock band!

MUSIC AND MEDICINE… A BAD MIX?

My parents weren’t very pleased about it at first.

As I started to play music, it seemed ludicrous that I would aspire to be a doctor. My mum thought I was drifting away from the goal of doing well for my A-Levels.

Her concerns weren’t unfounded. I was a pretty good student throughout my life but my grades in JC were awful. All I saw on my report cards were “S” and “U” grades.

I don’t have a lot of big struggles in life, but at that moment, it was so dark. It was so unclear what God had in store for me.

I kept questioning Him because it seemed like I had to give up the notion of being a doctor. 

It was a difficult period for me. There was a lot of stress and pressure.

And there was nothing that my parents could do. Everything was on my shoulders and I had to try to move forward in life. 

But it was also through this period that God revealed to me how powerful and personal He is in my life.

In the second year of my JC, my dad told me that at that point, it was really all up to God. I could only do what was within my means. 

So if it was God’s will for me to be a doctor, that would be the case. If not, I would serve wherever God wanted me to serve.

When I was finally able to come to terms that everything was in God’s hands, I became a lot more regimented in terms of my schedule and routine.

I would have very fixed times to study, but in between studying, I would have breaks to play music.

I used to study in the rock band CCA storeroom. I would be there alone. In between, I would grab the guitar and play a few tunes, and after a while, I would go back to studying.

Playing music was a good outlet for me in that way.

The greatest miracle that came out of my JC experience was not my grades but my renewed faith in God. 

Speaking of music, one song that helped me through difficult times was the hymn Be Thou My Vision.

Whenever I think about that song, I ruminate on the lyrics. It’s a reminder for me to keep God in the centre of my vision. He is the Lord of my heart and my life. Nothing else in this world matters except for Himself.

And by God’s grace, I eventually managed to enter medical school – A-Levels were the first time I ever saw an “A” in my JC grades. 

But I would say the greatest miracle that came out of my JC experience was not my grades but my renewed faith in God. 

In a lot of ways, I don’t deserve to be in the place I am today. God has very graciously put me in this position.

So how do I reconcile this? Well, if God has called me to serve in this area and has given me these passions and talents to serve Him, I think I should respond by pursuing them to my best ability.

Everything I do is for His glory, no matter where He puts me or where He wants me to go. 

MUSIC, A MEDICINE FOR THE SOUL

So I continued playing music even in my first year of housemanship as a house officer. 

My schedule usually looks like this: getting into the hospital at 7am, staying overnight as I’m on call until 1pm the next day, and going to play gigs at 7pm the same evening.

Some people might ask if it’s worth it to pursue what I’m passionate about despite my busy schedule. 

But for me, music is not just an outlet. Over time, it grew to be a medium in which I could connect with patients. 

Once, I had a patient in IMH who came in as an emergency case because he was experiencing suicidal ideation.

He was troubled about what his father thought about him doing music. It sounded like his father didn’t approve of him pursuing music as a career.

At that time, I was a medical student. But it didn’t seem right at the time to talk to him as a professional. 

So instead of saying stuff like, “You have this condition” or “It’s not good to have these kinds of mood disturbances” – I met him where he was.

I let him know that I had a very similar experience and how I believed music could change his life too.

Because of the rigorous and technical nature of our work, we tend to look at the patient as their diagnosis, and think about the right medical therapy to give to the patient. 

But when it comes down to the heart of medicine, it’s about helping another human being in need, helping to relieve them of their pain and suffering in certain ways. 

So I don’t feel like I’m juggling both medicine and music. I’m just pursuing what I’m passionate about and using that to complement my work. 

It’s about reaching out to people and connecting with them.

Personally, I remember how writing “Emergency Room” helped me in my healing journey. 

Barely a few months into medical school, I was in the lecture theatre when I suddenly received a WhatsApp message from my family, saying that my grandfather had been rushed to the hospital.

It just so happened that the hospital he went to was the emergency department that was less than 20m away from me.

I ran down to the emergency department immediately, which is where the song name “Emergency Room” comes from.

I was the first one to get there, besides my grandmother who accompanied him. Then, I found out my grandfather passed away.

It was very sudden. We didn’t expect it at all. 

The sudden nature of his passing made me feel like the emergency department was such an impactful place because so many emotions culminated in that one place.

I reflected about his presence in my life, and the magnitude he had in terms of shaping who I was as a young girl growing up. 

I thought about one very significant thing he told me when I was five – he didn’t want me to attend his funeral when he passed on. 

I didn’t really understand what that meant. And at that point in time, there was no threat of him being unhealthy or anything. So I didn’t think about it too much.

But after he had passed, it suddenly became so significant. Eventually, on the day of his cremation, I didn’t go into the cremation hall.

But I was still crying very badly outside of it, remembering everything that he had told me and how important he was to me.

All in all, that was the story that I wanted to tell through “Emergency Room”, about the loss of a loved one and how that feels, as one reflects on memories in the midst of grief.

That was the first song I wrote that I emotionally connected to significantly.

Like medicine, music can heal people – it just goes beyond the physiological or physical and straight into the heart. 

MARRYING PASSION AND TALENT

Our day jobs don’t define us. What defines us is our passions and talents God has given us. 

In fact, my greatest joy in being able to play music is to serve in church. And I’m not even the vocalist! I’m very happy to fill in wherever needed in the band. 

So if you’re really passionate about something – whether it’s a talent, the arts, content creation or sports – you should pursue it and chase it to your fullest ability.

Know that it’s something God has given you and called you to do. 

It’s about marrying our passions and knowing how we can serve God with them, so that at the end of the day, our greatest joy is in serving Him.