Singapore Government Press Release
Media Relations Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 6837-9666

 

REVISED SCHEDULE OF THE MEDICAL REGISTRATION ACT

 

In December 2002, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that it had decided to revise the list of recognised foreign universities and medical schools in the Schedule of the Medical Registration Act (MRA). A limited expansion of the Schedule would allow our medical institutions to recruit sufficient numbers of good foreign-trained doctors to meet their needs, while avoiding an oversupply of doctors in the future.

The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) was tasked to recommend to MOH which medical schools should be included in the revised Schedule. The SMC has now completed its review and MOH has accepted the SMC's recommendations for the revised Schedule.

The revised Schedule will come into effect from 14 March 2003 and will increase the number of medical schools recognised for registration by nearly 3-fold, from 24 to 71. The 47 new additions include medical schools from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The full list of medical schools in the revised Schedule is found at Annex A.

MOH has also accepted the SMC's recommendation that the current quota on the number of Singaporeans that can be admitted to the Faculties of Medicine in the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne should be lifted.

A set of answers to questions on the revised MRA Schedule is attached at Annex B. The information in both Annexes A and B will be made available on the Internet through the MOH web-site at www.moh.gov.sg

 

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
7 MARCH 2003

ANNEX A

 

LIST OF MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN THE REVISED SCHEDULE
[Medical schools on the existing Schedule are in bold]

 

AUSTRALIA

  1. Faculty of Medicine, University of Adelaide

  2. School of Medicine, the Flinders University of South Australia

  3. Faculty of Medicine, University of Melbourne

  4. Faculty of Medicine, Monash University

  5. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Newcastle

  6. Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales

  7. The University of Queensland Medical School

  8. Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney

  9. Faculty of Medicine, University of Tasmania

  10. Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Australia

    11. CANADA

  11. Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

  12. Faculty of Medicine, McGill University

  13. Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University

  14. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa

  15. Faculty of Medicine, Queen’s University

  16. Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

  17. Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Ontario

    18. HONG KONG

  18. Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong

  19. Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong

    20. IRELAND

  20. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Dublin (Trinity College)

  21. Faculty of Medicine, National University of Ireland, University College Cork

  22. Faculty of Medicine, National University of Ireland, University College of Dublin

  23. Faculty of Medicine, National University of Ireland, University College Galway

  24. Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (National University of Ireland)

    25. NEW ZEALAND

  25. Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University of Auckland

  26. Otago Medical School, University of Otago

    27. UNITED KINGDOM

  27. Faculty of Medicine and Medical Science, University of Aberdeen

  28. College of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Queens University of Belfast
  29. The Medical School, University of Birmingham

  30. The Medical School, University of Bristol

  31. School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge

  32. Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Dundee

  33. Medical School, University of Edinburgh

  34. Faculty of Medicine, University of Glasgow

  35. School of Medicine, University of Leeds

  36. School of Medicine, University of Leicester

  37. Faculty of Medicine, University of Liverpool

    38. The University of London Medical Schools, including:

  38. The Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medicine

  39. Imperial College School of Science, Technology and Medicine

  40. St. Bartholomew's and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London

  41. Royal Free and University College Medical School

  42. St George’s Hospital Medical School

  43. Faculty of Medicine, University of Manchester

  44. Faculty of Medicine, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

  45. The University of Nottingham Medical School

  46. Oxford University Medical School

  47. Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Sheffield Medical School

  48. Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton

  49. Medical School, University of St Andrews

  50. College of Medicine, University of Wales

    51. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  51. Baylor College of Medicine

  52. Los Angeles School of Medicine, University of California

  53. School of Medicine, University of California at San Diego

  54. San Francisco School of Medicine, University of California

  55. Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago

  56. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (New York)

  57. Cornell University Medical College (New York)

  58. Duke University School of Medicine

  59. Emory University School of Medicine

  60. Harvard Medical School
  61. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

  62. Mayo Medical School

  63. University of Michigan Medical School (Ann Arbor)

  64. University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

  65. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

  66. Stanford University School of Medicine

  67. University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas

  68. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

  69. University of Washington School of Medicine (Seattle)

  70. Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis)

  71. Yale University Medical School

ANNEX B

Q&A on the Revised Schedule of the Medical Registration Act

 

Q1:

Which schools have been added to the revised Schedule?

A:

Please refer to the "List of Medical Schools in the Revised Schedule".

Q2:

Why wasn't the entire list of 176 schools from the pre-1993 Schedule restored?

A:

It is difficult to predict the nett longer-term effect of expanding the Schedule on the balance of talent attraction vs. talent loss from Singapore. In view of this uncertainty, it would be prudent to limit the size of the expansion of the Schedule and not restore the entire list of 176.

Q3:

When will the new Schedule come into effect?

A:

The new Schedule takes effect from 14 March 2003.

Q4:

I graduated from a medical school that has now been included in the revised Schedule. Will my degree be recognised even though I graduated before the new Schedule took effect on 14 Mar 2003?

A:

All medical graduates from the universities/medical schools that have been added to the revised Schedule will be eligible for conditional registration by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC), including those who had graduated before the implementation date of the new Schedule.

Graduates from these newly added medical schools who are currently practising in Singapore under temporary registration may apply to the SMC for conversion to conditional registration.

Q5:

I graduated from a medical school that is not on the revised Schedule. Will I be able to practise in Singapore?

A:

Graduates from medical schools that are not on the revised Schedule may still apply to the SMC to practise under temporary registration.

Q6:

How were the schools on the revised Schedule selected?

A:

The SMC considered all medical schools listed in the World Health Organisation's World Directory of Medical Schools, and took into account many factors in making their recommendations as to which schools should be included in the revised Schedule. Some of these factors included the medium of instruction in the schools as well as the compatibility of the schools' curriculum and training with our local system and practice.

Feedback and recommendations were also sought from the professional associations - Academy of Medicine Singapore, College of Family Physicians Singapore, Singapore Medical Association - and from the public healthcare clusters - National Healthcare Group and Singapore Health Services.

Due to the need to limit the number of medical schools being added to the list, it should not be inferred that any medical school that does not appear on the Schedule is necessarily inferior to those that have been included.

Q7:

When will the quota on Singaporean medical students at the Universities of Melbourne and Sydney be removed?

A:

The quota will be lifted with effect from the 2003 admissions exercises, which will affect the enrolment into medicine at Melbourne and Sydney from 2004 onwards.

Q8:

Will this revision of the Schedule lead to an oversupply of doctors in Singapore in 10 years time? If that happens, will the Ministry revise the Schedule again?

A:

MOH's assessment is that this revision of the Schedule will not lead to an oversupply of doctors for two reasons. Firstly, we have limited the number of medical schools that have been added to the expanded list. Secondly, all foreign-trained doctors must have a job offer from a local employer (usually within the public sector) before they can be considered by the SMC for registration. There is little danger of oversupply within the public sector as the manpower establishments in the clusters are closely monitored by MOH. MOH will review its registration policies as and when the need arises.