<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Is there a shortage, or are doctors fleeing public sector?
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I HAVE concerns about plans to build a third medical school. Is an undertaking that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars a priority in the current economic climate?
One reason given is the shortage of doctors in Singapore. But is this 'shortage' absolute or merely relative?
It is no secret that there is a continuous and significant exodus of medical personnel from the public sector, resulting in a severe imbalance of manpower. How do you explain the overflowing polyclinics, where each doctor sees an average of 60 patients in four hours? Compare this to general practitioner (GP) establishments, of which there can be up to five in a single HDB block, with only a smattering of patients each day. The same situation applies to specialist outpatient clinics in restructured and private hospitals.
Also, has the Ministry of Health (MOH) collected any statistics on the career paths of local female medical school graduates? Since the enrolment quota of this group was lifted a few years ago, how many are expected to remain in full-time service, and how many will go part time or stop work altogether to start or care for their families?
I ask this because I know of many married female colleagues who have already cut down on their working hours or abandoned their medical careers completely. Obviously, this will have an impact on the doctor-patient ratio.
While I do not question the reasons for these important life decisions - many are understandable and necessary - perhaps the MOH can look into these factors and discuss what alternative options are available.
Recruiting more doctors is merely a stop-gap measure and fails to address more deep-seated issues. Why do doctors keep leaving for private practice? How can medical talent be retained where it is most needed? What can be done to encourage better use of GP clinics to help offload impossible patient numbers at polyclinics, specialist outpatient clinics and increasingly misused and abused emergency departments?
Frankly speaking, I donch know! *hee*hee*
If the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine does indeed decide to increase its yearly intake of students, perhaps modifications to the curriculum can be made so fixed-capacity venues can be used more efficiently. For example, move all core lectures online so students can tune in at their convenience, rather than build an entirely new auditorium to accommodate a larger audience.
Last but not least, I remind proponents of this third medical school that quantity does not equal quality. In my 10 years in the workforce, I have encountered more than my fair share of colleagues who show complete disregard for the Hippocratic Oath.
=> That is, no money, no talk?Dr Oh Jen Jen
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I HAVE concerns about plans to build a third medical school. Is an undertaking that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars a priority in the current economic climate?
One reason given is the shortage of doctors in Singapore. But is this 'shortage' absolute or merely relative?
It is no secret that there is a continuous and significant exodus of medical personnel from the public sector, resulting in a severe imbalance of manpower. How do you explain the overflowing polyclinics, where each doctor sees an average of 60 patients in four hours? Compare this to general practitioner (GP) establishments, of which there can be up to five in a single HDB block, with only a smattering of patients each day. The same situation applies to specialist outpatient clinics in restructured and private hospitals.
Also, has the Ministry of Health (MOH) collected any statistics on the career paths of local female medical school graduates? Since the enrolment quota of this group was lifted a few years ago, how many are expected to remain in full-time service, and how many will go part time or stop work altogether to start or care for their families?
I ask this because I know of many married female colleagues who have already cut down on their working hours or abandoned their medical careers completely. Obviously, this will have an impact on the doctor-patient ratio.
While I do not question the reasons for these important life decisions - many are understandable and necessary - perhaps the MOH can look into these factors and discuss what alternative options are available.
Recruiting more doctors is merely a stop-gap measure and fails to address more deep-seated issues. Why do doctors keep leaving for private practice? How can medical talent be retained where it is most needed? What can be done to encourage better use of GP clinics to help offload impossible patient numbers at polyclinics, specialist outpatient clinics and increasingly misused and abused emergency departments?
Frankly speaking, I donch know! *hee*hee*
If the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine does indeed decide to increase its yearly intake of students, perhaps modifications to the curriculum can be made so fixed-capacity venues can be used more efficiently. For example, move all core lectures online so students can tune in at their convenience, rather than build an entirely new auditorium to accommodate a larger audience.
Last but not least, I remind proponents of this third medical school that quantity does not equal quality. In my 10 years in the workforce, I have encountered more than my fair share of colleagues who show complete disregard for the Hippocratic Oath.
=> That is, no money, no talk?Dr Oh Jen Jen
