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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Increase intake of local medical students at NUS
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Sunday's article, "1,000 foreign-trained docs still not enough".
As reflected in the article, the shortage of doctors has prompted the Health Ministry, SingHealth and National Healthcare Group to recruit overseas-trained doctors from Britain, Australia and India. Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan has also noted the need for Singapore to have a third medical school.
Of the two medical schools here, the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School grooms mainly 50 researchers yearly. In effect, there is only one medical school - at the National University of Singapore (NUS), producing 260 students a year.
The stringent selection criteria for medical students at NUS have meant that many students who are interested in a career in medicine have no choice but to opt for an expensive education overseas. With no scholarship or subsidy, it is indeed a costly affair. Local medical students schooled overseas are less likely to return to Singapore to practise.
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) requires medics for their operations. Foreign doctors would not be familiar with the SAF's standard operating procedures, not having gone through Basic Military Training.
Wooing expatriate doctors would entail the Health Ministry having to subsidise these doctors with taxpayers' money. Foreign doctors could also charge exorbitant medical fees as they would require an income to match the cost of living back in their home countries.
Instead of recruiting foreign doctors, I urge the Health Ministry to increase the intake of local medical students at NUS in the short term before a third medical school is set up.
Locally groomed doctors are better able to relate to the health-care scene here and would have established a network of contacts. This would enhance the efficiency of medical treatments as cross-referrals can be made quickly. Tan Toon Wei
Mai lah! Like this no excuse to bring in more FTs to replace Sporns! *hee*hee*
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Sunday's article, "1,000 foreign-trained docs still not enough".
As reflected in the article, the shortage of doctors has prompted the Health Ministry, SingHealth and National Healthcare Group to recruit overseas-trained doctors from Britain, Australia and India. Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan has also noted the need for Singapore to have a third medical school.
Of the two medical schools here, the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School grooms mainly 50 researchers yearly. In effect, there is only one medical school - at the National University of Singapore (NUS), producing 260 students a year.
The stringent selection criteria for medical students at NUS have meant that many students who are interested in a career in medicine have no choice but to opt for an expensive education overseas. With no scholarship or subsidy, it is indeed a costly affair. Local medical students schooled overseas are less likely to return to Singapore to practise.
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) requires medics for their operations. Foreign doctors would not be familiar with the SAF's standard operating procedures, not having gone through Basic Military Training.
Wooing expatriate doctors would entail the Health Ministry having to subsidise these doctors with taxpayers' money. Foreign doctors could also charge exorbitant medical fees as they would require an income to match the cost of living back in their home countries.
Instead of recruiting foreign doctors, I urge the Health Ministry to increase the intake of local medical students at NUS in the short term before a third medical school is set up.
Locally groomed doctors are better able to relate to the health-care scene here and would have established a network of contacts. This would enhance the efficiency of medical treatments as cross-referrals can be made quickly. Tan Toon Wei
Mai lah! Like this no excuse to bring in more FTs to replace Sporns! *hee*hee*
:o
