What difficulties may overseas Singaporean medical students face when returning back to Singapore for work?

Doctor's Answer

Photo of Dr Han Wei Lim
Dr Han Wei Lim

General Practitioner

1. General introduction

  • I’m a Malaysian who was fully educated in Malaysia prior to my medical degree at the University of Liverpool
  • Currently Singaporean PR

2. MOPEX and Residency training in Singapore

  • MOPEX: 6 month long postings tied to a particular institution (Eg. TTSH Internal Medicine, SGH Orthopaedics, NUH General Surgery etc.)
  • Residency: Structured training programme for specialty training. Need to undergo post-grad exams during training to progress, very competitive
  • As IMGs, MOPEX is probably the best opportunity to touch base with respective people involved in the Residency Selection Committee, or display interest in a particular field and obtain a good recommendation letter from bosses
  • Some IMGs managed to do Electives in Singapore to gain early exposure
  • Early entry into Residency is possible, but bear in mind that you are still very early in medical training. Consider working in the department first before deciding to spend the next few years of work committed to the field. (Eg Ask if this is what you want to do for the rest of your life? Is this the direction I want to go for my medical career? Can you get along with the department?)

3. Some challenges I faced upon coming to Singapore to work

  • Housemanship will be tough. Long hours, heavy workload, demanding bosses etc. Going on-call will be scary
  • Volunteer to tag on senior colleagues for half the call before going alone eventually
  • Learning the IT system to ensure good workflow. I stayed back after work to learn the computers/software
  • Knowing Mandarin and dialects (eg. Hokkien) will help
  • Learning the local medical documentation pattern, as well as abbreviations in medical notes
  • Social support if foreigner: Make friends, help each other when in trouble, learn to relax from time to time

4. Comparing and contrasting life as a doctor in the UK and Singapore

  • UK had better working hours but lacked the elements I consider important. Friends with similar background, closer distance to family members, tropical weather with no winter, patients with relatable personal experiences etc.
  • Hospital structures are more hierarchical here. (Eg. HO in charge of buying drinks for surgical team after rounds)
  • Working hours can start very early here (Eg. Coming in before 6AM to do a rounding list on the computer followed by pre-rounding)
  • Pre-rounding before seniors start round. (Ie Scanning the computer system to look at vital signs, overnight events, updates to plans etc.)
  • Work-life balance. Posting dependent, but in general expect to have less of that compared to UK

5. As compared to Singaporeans that studied in YLL or LKC medical school, what difficulties may returning Singaporeans face when coming back?

  • Refer to above.
  • Adapting to the local system. YLL/LKC students had the opportunity to do shadowing in their final years to understand the workflow and expectations of a HO
  • Respective residency programme committee members may not know you as local students have the opportunity to engage with them during their student years
  • IT system familiarity will help immensely in work efficiency

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