Letter to the Editor
Script concordance test to assess diagnostic and management reasoning in acute medicine
Dear Editor,
Clinical reasoning, an essential skill for patient care, can be difficult to assess. We created and validated a script concordance test (SCT) to...
Letter to the Editor
Child passenger safety training for healthcare professionals in Singapore
Dear Editor,
Road traffic injuries are a preventable cause of childhood morbidity and mortality.1,2 Use of age-appropriate child car seats (CCS) lowers the risk...
Original Article
Treating acutely ill patients at home: Data from Singapore
Inpatient hospitalisation is the conventional strategy to care for acutely ill patients. However, demand for hospital beds and clinical manpower is escalating as populations...
Editorial
Academic Medicine in Singapore
Academic medicine is currently grappling with the problem of whether the triple-threat academician is a species threatened with extinction in the 21st century, given...
Others
The Sixth SGH Lecture—Singapore: A New Venice of the 21st Century
Venice is one of the legendary cities of the world. Its beauty and physical setting make Venice unique. For almost 800 years, from 1000...
Review Article
Foregoing Life Support in Medically Futile Patients
The origins of withholding medical support are found in ancient times. More than two millennia ago, Hippocrates (460 to 361 BC) stated that the...
Review Article
Nitric Oxide in Septic Shock: Directions for Future Therapy?
In 1980, Furchgott and Zawadzki demonstrated that the relaxation of isolated arteries to acetylcholine required the presence of endothelial cells. This response was mediated...
Review Article
Critical Care Medicine in the Western Pacific Region
The Western Pacific region includes a very diverse group of countries varying in their culture, economic development and per capita income, disease prevalence and...
Review Article
Critical Care—The Worldwide Perspective
Although special areas for postoperative patients existed 50 years ago, the modern specialty of Critical Care began during the polio epidemic of the 1950s....
Original Article
Malaria Requiring Intensive Care
Malaria is an important and common infectious parasitic disease globally. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, especially in endemic areas.
This article is...
Original Article
A Retrospective Study of Near-drowning Victims Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit
Drowning victims suffocate from submersion. This may lead to immediate death or, if they survive, brain damage if significant cerebral hypoxia is present.
This article...
Others
Ergotism and Vascular Insufficiency: A Case Report and Review of Literature
Toxicity from ergot and its derivative is well known. Great epidemics occurred during the middle ages due to consumption of rye contaminated with the...
Original Article
Plasma Vitamins A, C and E in the General Population of Singapore, 1993 to 1995
The current disease pattern in Singapore (an island state of 3.3 million people composed of 76% Chinese, 14% Malays, 7% Asian Indians and 3%...
Others
Medicine and Surgery—History, Change and Challenge
Mr Koh Yong Guan, guest-of-honour; Dr Tan Ser Kiat, Master, Academy of Medicine; Dr K C Tan, Chairman, Chapter of Surgeons; Dr Robert Jalleh...
Editorial
Development of Rheumatology in Singapore
Patients with rheumatic diseases frequently consult primary care physicians, internists and orthopaedic surgeons. In the past, few doctors took interest in these diseases.
This article...
Others
Current Continuing Medical Education Provision in Singapore
It was in 1994 that as an overseas fellow of the College, I received a letter from Dr Peter Toghill, Director of Continuing Medical...
Others
Early 21st Century Professional Practice: Change and Challenge
Today is a day of rejoicing for all of you, graduates, parents, relatives and loved ones. I can share in your joy and also...
Others
9th Seah Cheng Siang Memorial Lecture: Gastric Cancer—Where are we now?
The last two decades have witnessed dramatic changes in the understanding of gastric cancer: a rapid decline in global incidence, its association with Helicobacter...
Others
New Treatment and Research Strategies for the Improvement of Care of Cleft Lip and Palate Patients in the New Millennium
I have chosen as the title of my keynote address “New Treatment and Research Strategies for the Improvement of the Care of Cleft Lip...
Review Article
Intravital Microscopy for the Study of the Microcirculation in Various Disease States
It is more than 150 years ago when the first detailed description of intravital microscopy was given by Waller, demonstrating in the frog tongue...
Others
Young Investigator’s Award: Induction of Apoptosis Following Traumatic Head Injury in Humans
The outlook for sufferers of severe head trauma is extremely poor. Some 20% of patients died before significant treatment can be administered, and nearly...
Others
8th Seah Cheng Siang Memorial Lecture: New Antithrombotic Agents
The tremendous interest in finding new anti-aggregating agents stems from the preeminent role that platelets play, not only in haemostasis and thrombosis, but also...
Others
3rd Yahya Cohen Lecture: The Role of the Myofibroblast-Like Cell in Hepatocellular Carcinoma—Host Defence?
It is indeed a great honour for me to be named the third Yahya Cohen lecturer and I would like to express my deepest...
Others
9th Chapter of Surgeons’ Lecture: The Orthopaedic Surgeon: Historical Perspective, Ethical Considerations and the Future
The legacy of caring and humanitarianism has been the mission of the medical profession since the founding of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles in...
Others
1998 Distinguished Academician Lecture: Hepatic Resection— A Western Perspective
Although debridement of portions of liver that prolapsed through war wounds was recorded from distant times, attempts at resection of a solid liver tumour...
Others
1998 Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture: Somatic Evolution of Cancer
The interpretation of cancer as a somatic evolutionary process involving genetic mutation followed by selection, goes back to the early years of this century....
Others
14th Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration: Continuity and Change
Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Datuk Dr Yeoh Poh Hong, Dr Chee Yam Cheng, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am deeply honoured...
Others
The Future of Medicine from the Standpoint of the Practising Paediatrician
From the time of recorded history of medicine, the doctor whether he be the ancient healer or the modern medical practitioner, the doctor had...
Others
Address by the Master, Academy of Medicine, Singapore at the 2000 Annual Induction Dinner—Learn the Past, Ensure the Future
I am delighted to share this celebratory occasion with you. It is a time for congratulations all round not only to our new Fellows...
Others
Response by the Representative of Inductees, Academy of Medicine, Singapore at the 2000 Annual Induction Ceremony—A Call to Patient Advocacy
I count myself fortunate to be allowed to join the ranks of the Academy. On behalf of my fellow inductees, may I extend a...
Others
Address by the Master, Academy of Medicine, Singapore at the 2000 Annual Induction Ceremony—The EQ & IQ of Specialist Doctors
First, let me warmly welcome you to this pristine auditorium with its well preserved ceiling architectural details. Probably none of the new Fellows is...
Others
8th SGH Lecture: Genomics, Talent and the Development of the Life Sciences Industry in Singapore
In a few months’ time, one of the most significant advances, possibly the most significant advance ever in the history of biology and medicine,...
Others
3rd Tan Tock Seng Hospital Oration: The Changing Fabric of Medicine—An Ethical and Social Revolution
The legacy of Tan Tock Seng Hospital began with the founding of the Pauper Hospital in Pearl’s Hill in 1844.
This article is available only...
Others
Management of Growth Arrest with Tissue-engineered Cells
Before I go on to the scientific aspects of my talk, I would like to pay tribute to Dr Yahya Cohen. Dr Cohen was...
Others
10th Chapter of Surgeons’ Lecture: The Challenges in Surgery—Past, Present and Future, and in Search of the 4Cs
Firstly may I thank the Academy of Medicine and the Chapter of Surgeons for giving me this great privilege and honour to deliver the...
Others
Opening Address by Dr Chee Yam Cheng, Master, Academy of Medicine, Singapore at the 33rd Annual Combined Surgical Meeting on 4 November 1999 at the COMB Auditorium
It is a pleasure to be present with you all at your 33rd Annual Combined Surgical Meeting for 1999 with less than 60 days...
Others
Funding and Future Diagnosis Related Group Development
Supplement on Casemix Conference Singapore 2001 held on 17-19 August 2001 in Singapore
This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download...
Others
Clinical Pathways or Case Management
Supplement on Casemix Conference Singapore 2001 held on 17-19 August 2001 in Singapore
This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download...
Others
Getting Clinicians Involved: The Australian Experience
Supplement on Casemix Conference Singapore 2001 held on 17-19 August 2001 in Singapore
This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download...
Others
The 4th Tan Tock Seng Hospital Oration: Challenge for the Medical Profession in the 21st Century
I am greatly honoured to speak at the 4th TTSH Oration following such distinguished luminaries like Dr Chew Chin Hin, Dr Chen Ai Ju...
Others
Book Review
The above is a textbook of medicine written by Singapore doctors and published in Singapore. It is difficult not to be over-enthusiastic about it...
Others
Alternate Modes of Financing Health Care Technology
Alternative financing of health care delivery is one of the most vexing problems facing medicine today. Intensive care in many ways is a perfect...
Others
2nd Chapter of Paediatricians Lecture: The Future of Paediatrics in Singapore
When I was first invited to give this 2nd Chapter of Paediatricians Lecture by the Chapter, my obvious answer was no. I could think...
Others
10th Seah Cheng Siang Memorial Lecture: Going Places—A Rheumatological Odyssey
I am greatly honoured to deliver the 10th Seah Cheng Siang memorial lecture. I came into direct contact with Professor Seah in January 1965...
Others
5th Yahya Cohen Lecture: Angiosomes and Extension of Skin Flaps—Anatomic Study and Clinical Implications
I would like to express my gratitude to the Chapter of Surgeons and the Academy of Medicine, Singapore for the honour of presenting this...
Others
11th Chapter of Surgeons Lecture—The Art of Letting Go
These observations were made by a Persian mathematician some 900 years ago. His sentiments are self-evident but no less easy to accept especially for...
Others
15th Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration: A Journey of Care—Mission Impossible?
I am deeply honoured by the invitation to deliver the 15th Sir Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration.
This article is available only as a PDF. Please...
Others
The Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture 2000—Treating VIPs in Washington
My lecture is about people, power, illness, and the patient-physician relationship. It is the personality of the politician or official, the ego elevation conferred...
Others
12th Chapter of Surgeons Lecture: Shifting Paradigms in the Management of Breast Cancer—A Surgical Perspective
The recorded history of breast cancer management spans four millennia. This story about breast cancer management is also one about change, about resistance to...
Others
Gemella Empyema Cured without Antibiotics: A Case Report
Gemella are gram-positive anaerobic bacteria that rarely produce serious human infections. We describe a case of thoracic empyema that occurred in an elderly Chinese...
Review Article
The Clinician Meets the Computer—Uneasy Bedfellows
Information technology has become a cornerstone of civilization as we know it. In its broadest definition, information technology encompasses all forms of technology required...
Review Article
Leveraging on Information Technology to Enhance Patient Care: A Doctor’s Perspective of Implementation in a Singapore Academic Hospital
Information technology (IT) has become truly pervasive in everyday life; however, in the field of medicine, we have yet to fully harness its full...
Editorial
Internal Medicine
It has taken a long time to plan for this November issue in Internal Medicine. The topic is so wide and often neglected as...
Others
5th Tan Tock Seng Hospital Oration: Advances for Life
I am honoured and privileged to have been invited to deliver the 5th Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) Oration at the Opening of your...
Others
6th Yahya Cohen Lecture: Visual Experience During Cataract Surgery
What a patient can see during his or her surgery can be a cause of anxiety for the patient. It may cause additional stress...
Others
History of the Orthopaedic Specialty in Singapore
When the practice of orthopaedic surgery first began in Singapore, it was not a specialty in itself. There are no records as to when...
Commentary
General Medicine—Revisited, Rejuvenated, Revitalised and Reemphasised
“The irresistible swing towards medical specialisation has brought advantages for patients but arguably this has gone too far.” It is time to review the...
Others
A Countrywide Approach to the Control of Non-communicable Diseases—The Singapore Experience
In the area of health, the last two decades has seen a decline or eradication of deadly diseases, such as smallpox and polio, the...
Others
Causes for the Evolution of Case Management and the Development of a Working Model in an Acute Care Hospital in Singapore
In 1999, significant changes to the healthcare funding structure were introduced to public sector hospitals in Singapore. This was the advent of casemix-based funding...
Others
Evidence-based Medicine: The Key to Guidelines, Disease and Care Management Programmes
Health care in America and the rest of the industrialised world continues to reinvent itself at an ever-accelerating rate. The societal pressures for high...
Others
National Disease Management Plans for Key Chronic Non-communicable Diseases in Singapore
Like most other newly industrialised economies, Singapore has undergone a rapid epidemiological transition over the last 50 years. Chronic, non-communicable diseases have replaced infectious...
Editorial
Chronic Disease Management: Challenges for Clinicians and the Way Forward
The healthcare, financial and social burden of chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, asthma, chronic obstructive airway disease, hypertension, chronic depression,...
Original Article
Measuring Health-related Quality of Life in Singapore: Normal Values for the English and Chinese SF-36 Health Survey
Advances in diagnosis and therapy in the second half of the 20th century have lead to impressive improvements in survival for patients with many...
Editorial
Should Ethical Issues in Biotechnology Research be Decided by Physicians-Scientists or by Lawyers?
As with clinical practice, the practice of biomedical research is a moral activity. We have to think about what we should do, not just...
Others
Is Healthcare Competition Healthy?
There are many problems which all Health Ministers worry about. But we can generally boil them down to one common problem: “money no enough”.
This...
Others
Neonatology In Singapore: The Way We Were, The Way Forward
Over a span of 35 years of my working life, I have witnessed the growth of, and also grown together with, neonatology in Singapore....
Others
Significance of the Lateral Epiphysis of the Acetabulum to Hip Joint Stability
Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) remains one of the most difficult disorders to understand and treat in Paediatric Orthopaedics. The aetiology have not...
Others
Craniofacial Anomalies: Clinical and Molecular Perspectives
Cleidocranial dysplasia is an autosomal dominant skeletal disorder characterized by short stature, brachycephaly, delayed closure of the fontanelles and sutures, Wormian bones, midface hypoplasia,...
Others
Autoimmune Liver Disease in Children
Autoimmune liver disorders are inflammatory liver diseases characterised histologically by a dense mononuclear cell infiltrate, including plasma cells, in the portal tract (Fig. 1)...
Others
HIV/AIDS in Children
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in Asia has grown from a handful of cases to a major...
Others
Speech By Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister For Health and Second Minister for Finance, at the Opening Ceremony of the 36th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine on Thursday, 1 August 2002 at 1810 Hours at Raffles City Convention Centre
It gives me great pleasure to join you this evening at the 36th Singapore Malaysia Congress of Medicine and the 36th Annual Combined Surgical...
Letter to the Editor
Patterns and predictors of sound levels in hospital rooms
Dear Editor,
Excessive sound levels in the hospital can impair the work performance of healthcare professionals and affect patient well-being.1 Previous studies have also...
Letter to the Editor
Labour epidural practice in a tertiary training centre
Dear Editor,
Labour analgesia provided through the central neuraxial approach is offered for parturients who are in their active stage of labour, usually after 2–4cm...
Others
Inaugural College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists Lecture: Recent Developments in Obstetric Care and Maternal Fetal Medicine in Singapore
Has it done any good to pregnancy outcome as promised?
This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top...
Others
Citation on Dr Andrew Chew Guan Kuan for Admission to Honorary Fellowship on 19 August 2004
It is indeed a great pleasure and honour to present to you Dr Andrew Chew Guan Khuan, who is already a Fellow of the...
Others
Citation on Sir Donald Irvine – 17th Gordon Arthur Ransome Orator
It is my pleasure and privilege to introduce Sir Donald Irvine as the 17th Gordon Arthur Ransome Orator.
This article is available only as a...
Others
Address by Master, Academy of Medicine, Singapore at the Opening Ceremony of the 38th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine and Induction Ceremony
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Opening Ceremony of the 38th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine with participation of the Hong Kong...
Others
1st College of Physicians Lecture: The Role of Internal Medicine as a Specialty in the Era of Subspecialisation
It humbles me to accept the invitation to give this lecture, the First College of Physicians Lecture, titled “The Role of Internal Medicine as...
Others
15th Chapter of Surgeons Lecture: Surgeon of the New Millennium – Surgeon, Scientist and Scholar
Next year, we celebrate a hundred years of medical education in Singapore. We have come a long way since 1821 – from a small,...
Others
Standards and Revalidation or Recertification
In my Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration and other papers, I have described the nature and development of patient-centred professionalism, the key features of which...
Others
Continuing Professional Development – a Surrogate for Recertification?
The Hong Kong Academy of Medicine is a statutory body set up in 1993 with the objectives of fostering the development of postgraduate medical...
Others
The Challenge of Teaching Professionalism
For the past 25 years, professionalisation, industrialisation, large-scale infusions of technology into the healthcare system and consumerism, to name a few factors, have definitely...
Others
2004 Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture: Professionalism – A Concept in Need of Nurturing
It is a great honour to be invited to deliver the Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture. I am grateful to the Runme Shaw Foundation for...
Others
17th Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration: Patient-centred Professionalism
When sickness strikes we all need doctors. People everywhere know that the quality of medical care can affect the outcome and possible consequences of...
Others
The Role of Public Health and Occupational Physicians in the New Millennium
I want to thank the Chapter and organisers for honouring me with this kind invitation to speak to you. This millennium is only 4...
Others
Flap Prefabrication – The Bridge Between Conventional Flaps and Tissue-engineered Flaps
Flap prefabrication is one of the most exciting areas in Plastic Surgery because of its bridging role between conventional reconstructive surgery and tissue engineering....
Others
Refining Clinical Practice: Transforming Science Research into the Art of Medicine
I am humbled by the invitation given to me by Changi General Hospital to deliver this lecture at your 5th Annual Scientific Meeting with...
Others
14th Chapter of Surgeons Lecture: Back to Basics
I am happy to be among old friends. As surgeons, we share a kindred spirit. I wish to thank the Academy for the honour...
Original Article
Extended-spectrum Beta-lactamases in Clinical Isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. in a Singapore Hospital: Clinical Spectrum
Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) in gram-negative bacillary pathogens are a growing and important problem in hospital practice and it is tied to extensive use of...
Original Article
Routine Microbiological Screening in Septic Patients in a Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Unit
Compared to in-hospital patients, patients treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) have the highest risk of contracting an infection. The risk correlates well...
Commentary
Medical Education in Asia: Is it a Time for Optimism?
Asia, the largest continent, is also an immensely diverse region with countries that vary in their socio-economic status, degree of urbanisation and health and...
Review Article
Issues and Priorities of Medical Education Research in Asia
Medical schools traditionally rest on the “three-legged stool” of research, education and service. Hence, medical teachers are sometimes referred to as “triple-threat academicians”.
This article...
Original Article
Genital Herpes in a Sexually-transmitted Infection Clinic in Singapore: A 1-year Retrospective Study
Genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is a commonly notified sexually transmitted infection (STI). Genital herpes can be caused by both herpes simplex virus...
Editorial
Professionalism: Looking For Your Blind Spots
In 1996 a major breakthrough was reported in the medical literature. A 5-week ectopic pregnancy was re-implanted into the uterus via the cervix, and...
Review Article
Methodological Aspects of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a long history but its efficacy is not as well-documented as one would hope. Proof of efficacy has to...
Review Article
A Practical Way of Research in Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine individualises its treatment plan and practice and refutes any general law. Therefore, Chinese medicine practitioners do not have the tradition of research.
This...
Editorial
Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and Traditional Chinese Medicine: Time for Critical Engagement
Practice outside of mainstream or conventional medicine has always been an important part of public healthcare in some countries, particularly in the developing world....
Others
3rd College of Physicians’ Lecture – Translational Research: From Bench to Bedside and From Bedside to Bench; Incorporating a Clinical Research Journey in IgA Nephritis (1976 to 2006)
In our quest to pursue knowledge regarding a patient’s illness or seek a cure for the disease, as doctors we have to derive the...
Others
16th Seah Cheng Siang Memorial Lecture – The Changing Face of Cardiology Practice, Training and Research in Singapore
Professor Seah Cheng Siang was one of the most illustrious physicians of his era. During his professional career, he held the following positions: Head,...
Original Article
Laparoscopic Appendicectomy in Children: A Trainee’s Perspective
The advent of laparoendoscopic surgery in children has opened new avenues of treatment with added benefits but at the same time demands adequate training...
Commentary
Student Academic Committees: An Approach to Obtain Students’ Feedback
The shift of medical curricula from a traditional subject based to an integrated module-based system can be seen in many medical schools worldwide. The...
Review Article
Curricular Trends in Malaysian Medical Schools: Innovations Within
Medical educators continue to evaluate and introduce innovations into their curriculum with the objective of achieving appropriate outcomes for their graduates so that they...
Original Article
A Problem-Based Learning Pathway for Medical Students: Improving the Process Through Action Research
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centred, self-directed, integrated and contextual mode of learning. It has been widely perceived by many to confer advantages in...
Original Article
A Simple Instrument for the Assessment of Student Performance in Problem-based Learning Tutorials
Assessment can be done in a variety of ways, for many purposes, and for different populations. It can occur at the classroom level, programme...
Original Article
An Online Evaluation of Problem-based Learning (PBL) in Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan – A Pilot Study
The goal of problem-based learning (PBL) is to motivate students to develop self-learning skills in a small group. PBL embraces principles of good learning...
Original Article
Evidence-based Medicine in Clinical Curriculum
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of the best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.” Considering...
Original Article
Leadership and Professionalism Curriculum in the Gross Anatomy Course
Healthcare delivery systems worldwide are currently undergoing significant changes to create resilient learning organisations that are able to adapt with ever-increasing speed to shifting...
Original Article
Constructing Multiple Choice Questions as a Method for Learning
Students in general and medical students in particular are often described as “strategic learners”, but in reality many become superficial learners out of necessity...
Original Article
Computer-based Versus Pen-and-paper Testing: Students’ Perception
Computer-based testing (CBT) has gained popularity as a testing modality, with large-scale professional examinations such as the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) adopting...
Editorial
Curriculum TIPS For All of Us
Medical education is a lifelong learning process. Just as we remind our students and ourselves that the practice of medicine is a lifelong process...
Others
3rd FY Khoo Memorial Lecture – Education, Professionalism, Outsourcing and the Future of Radiology
Radiology is undergoing unprecedented changes. Not only is the technology evolving rapidly, providing images of breathtaking anatomical clarity, but functional information has also become...
Review Article
Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Overview and Local Situation
The emergence and spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from the community that are distinct from their archetypal healthcare-associated counterparts (HA-MRSA) marked a...
Letter to the Editor
Translational Research – A Multidisciplinary Approach
Translational research aims to convert laboratory discoveries into therapeutic gains for patients – in oncology, drug development is a prime example. This multifaceted process...
Others
A Complex, Contagious, Evolutionary Habit
Yawning is often noted in medical seminars and conferences – be they surgical, orthopaedic, gastroenterological, endocrinological or neurological. Yet, this condition receives little coverage...
Commentary
Amendment of the Human Organ Transplant Act
Kidney transplants have been carried out in Singapore for more than 35 years, with the first cadaveric kidney transplant operation performed on 8 July...
Others
Interesting In- and Outpatient Attendances at Hogwarts Infirmary and St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies
With the return of “You Know Who” (YKW) and the rise of Death Eaters, injuries amongst both muggle and wizarding folk (MF and WF)...
Others
The Doctor’s Multi-instrument Tool of the Future?
It is just another day in 2020, except that the eyes of the medical world are eagerly awaiting the latest invention to be revealed:...
Original Article
Relationship Between Item Difficulty and Discrimination Indices in True/False-Type Multiple Choice Questions of a Para-clinical Multidisciplinary Paper
Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are used more and more in departmental examinations or as comprehensive examinations at the end of an academic session. They may...
Others
10th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lecture: Clinical Predictors in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Patients with Computer-assisted Quantitative Videoendoscopic Upper Airway Analysis
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common disease, which is estimated to affect up to 2% of middle-aged women and 4% of middle-aged men.1...
Others
New Treatments for Atopic Dermatitis – Facts, Comparisons and Uncertainties
Atopic dermatitis is associated with asthma and allergic rhinitis, and presents with a typical morphology and distribution. Eighty-four per cent of cases of atopic...
Original Article
An Intelligent Tutoring System for Trauma Management (Trauma-Teach): A Preliminary Report
In Singapore, trauma1-7 is the leading cause of hospitalisation and the fifth leading cause of morbidity and mortality.8,9 Common causes of trauma include road...
Letter to the Editor
Towards a Global Educational Matrix for Tomorrow’s Health Systems
Society supports medical schools expecting them to produce physicians who can improve both the health of the population as well as the health system...
Commentary
Harnessing the IT Factor in Medical Education
In this digital age, we are constantly inundated with breathtaking images worthy of an Ansel Adams photograph or a Zhang Yimou film. Is it...
Commentary
A Systems Approach to Teach Core Topics across Graduate Medical Education Programmes
Core curricula including Ethics, Medico-legal issues, Socioeconomics, and Quality Improvement (QI) are relevant and significant for graduate medical education programmes, regardless of specialty. A...
Commentary
World Federation for Medical Education Policy on International Recognition of Medical Schools’ Programme
There is an increasing need for international quality assurance of medical education. However, there are no present mechanisms for international recognition of medical educational...
Original Article
Quality Management of Medical Education at the Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, University of Technology Dresden, Germany
In Germany, medical education is an undergraduate programme for which the students applying at the “Zentralstelle für die Vergabe von Studienplätzen” (ZVS); the final...
Original Article
Supporting Learners who are Studying or Training Using a Second Language: Preventing Problems and Maximising Potential
Travel and immigration are vibrant aspects of the international medical and educational field. Patients are increasingly mobile and finding healthcare professionals in a foreign...
Original Article
Development of a Tool to Evaluate Health Science Students’ Experiences of an Interprofessional Education (IPE) Programme
A shortage of healthcare professionals and resources in rural areas is well documented. These workforce shortages necessitate new models of healthcare in rural areas...
Original Article
Step-2 Thai Medical Licensing Examination Result: A Follow-up Study
The Center for Evaluating and Accrediting Medical Competency of the Thai Medical Council has established the regulation that Thai medical graduates matriculated as of...
Original Article
Does Team Learning Motivate Students’ Engagement in an Evidence-based Medicine Course?
Team-based learning (TBL) is a well-defined instructional strategy that has generated considerable interest within the medical education community because of its potential to promote...
Original Article
A Survey of Medical Students’ Perceptions of the Quality of their Medical Education upon Graduation
Founded in 1934, Tehran University of Medical Sciences School of Medicine (TUMS-SoM) is the oldest modern medical school in Iran. It has the most...
Original Article
The Learning of 7th Year Medical Students at Internal Medical – Evaluation by Logbooks
In 1945, Taihoku (Taipei) Imperial University was renamed the National Taiwan University and the Japanese teaching system was replaced with a system implemented by...
Original Article
Use of Knowledge-sharing Web-based Portal in Gross and Microscopic Anatomy
The extensive use of and the rate at which medical technology is becoming an integral force in medicine has impacted on the way in...
Original Article
Assessment of Psychometric Properties of a Modified PHEEM Questionnaire
In Sri Lanka, after a 5-year medical undergraduate curriculum, graduates from the medical faculties undergo a one year mandatory internship or housemanship, 6 months...
Editorial
Medical Education in a Flat World
In 2005 Thomas Friedman published the international best-seller The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. He asserted that as the...
Letter to the Editor
Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation Should Not Only Be a Test of Clinical Skill
The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) was originally a test (or summative assessment) specifically of clinical skills, using standardised patients (SP), anatomical models and...
Others
5th College of Physicians Lecture – A Physician’s Odyssey: Recollections and Reflections
Allow me to thank you Mr President and your Council for asking me to deliver the 5th College of Physicians Lecture. Your President has...
Review Article
Standard Setting in Student Assessment: Is a Defensible Method Yet to Come?
To validate any “adjective”, be it for living or non-living, a criteria or standard is needed. Globalisation, mobility of doctors and the rising number...
Original Article
Innovative “Case-Based Integrated Teaching” in an Undergraduate Medical Curriculum: Development and Teachers’ and Students’ Responses
In Asia, the challenges facing medical education are similar across different countries. The learning process is still problematic with large classes, and most of...
Others
The History of Surgical Teaching and the Department of Surgery
On 3 July 2005, the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS) and NUS will be celebrating their centenaries – a hundred years...
Letter to the Editor
Assessment of Medical Graduates Competencies
Medical professional proficiency comprises a set of skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to efficiently accomplish the practice of medicine. The major aim of undergraduate...
Original Article
Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) for Undergraduate Medical Students
The practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM), which integrates individual clinical expertise with the best available evidence from systematic research, demands a set of skills....
Original Article
Transudates in Malignancy: Still a Role for Pleural Fluid
According to Light’s criteria, an exudate is defined by at least one of the following: a total protein pleural fluid to serum ratio greater...
Others
Brachytherapy – One Man’s Meat, A Personal Journey in Radiation Oncology
Dr Tan Kim Ping, Chairman for the Dr FY Khoo Memorial Lecture, Ladies and Gentlemen – It is a signal honour for me to...
Others
Retinal and Cardiovascular Diseases: The “Common Soil” Theory
There is increasing evidence that retinal and cardiovascular diseases share a “common soil”. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and...
Others
4th FY Khoo Memorial Lecture 2008: Nasopharyngeal Cancer Workgroup – The Past, The Present and The Future
Thank you Madam Chairman. First, I would like to thank the Singapore Radiological Society and the College of Radiologists, Academy of Medicine Singapore for...
Review Article
Self-directed Learning in Health Professions Education
More than 600,000 new citations were published in MEDLINE in 2005; this raised the total number of indexed citations to more than 14 million...
Others
3rd College of Paediatrics and Child Health Lecture – The Past, the Present and the Shape of Things to Come…
In the post-war days of the 1950s, Singapore children were faced with problems of malnutrition and infectious diseases. There was poverty, overcrowded housing and...
Commentary
Sir Gordon Arthur Ransome (1910-1978) – His Teaching Style and His Legacy
Sir Gordon Arthur Ransome was born in Salop, England, in 1910.1 He came to Singapore in 1938, where he taught and practised medicine for...
Commentary
Translating the Family Medicine Vision into Educational Programmes in Singapore
The core of the Family Medicine (FM) vision is patient-centred care, requiring specific education and vocational training. Modern day FM began its existence as...
Letter to the Editor
Erysipelothrix rhuseopathiae Septicaemia with Prolonged Hypotension: A Case Report
Erysipelothrix sp. is a gram-positive, non-spore forming bacterium that was first isolated by Robert Koch. It has the unusual ability to infect a large...
Commentary
The Hospitalist Movement – A Complex Adaptive Response to The Hospitalist Movement – A Complex Adaptive Response to Fragmentation of Care in Hospitals
Healthcare systems are complex adaptive systems. They are capable of self organisation through interacting agents that adapt to changes to the internal and external...
Commentary
Medication Use in the Transition from Hospital to Home
Hospital discharge can be a complex and challenging time for physicians and patients alike. Patients are being discharged sooner, often in the process of...
Commentary
Family Medicine Education in Singapore: A Long-standing Collaboration between Specialists and Family Physicians
In the US, Canada and Australia, the postgraduate training of family physicians (FPs) involves the attachment of family medicine (FM) trainees to specialist departments,...
Editorial
Bridging the Gap between Primary and Specialist Care: Formidable Challenges Ahead
The strong guiding hand and deep pockets of the state have brought about the growth of hospitals and national specialist centres while leaving the...
Original Article
Clinical Skills in Final-year Medical Students: The Relationship between Self-reported Confidence and Direct Observation by Faculty or Residents
In clinical medical education, instructors train students in their medical knowledge and clinical skills. Medical educators also aspire to develop students’ self-confidence in medical...
Original Article
Development of a Core Curriculum on Tuberculosis Control for Philippine Medical Schools
Medical schools play an important role not only in the building of medical expertise but also in the socialisation of future physicians. Societies expect...
Others
The Role of Electrophysiology in the Diagnosis and Management of Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy
Cervical spondylosis is an extremely common condition managed by both physicians and surgeons in daily clinical practice. Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), resulting from longstanding...
Commentary
Outcome-based Approach in Development of a Disaster Management Course for Healthcare Workers
Sri Lanka is an island nation in the Indian Ocean with a population of 20 million. It is a multi-ethnic country with 82.7% Sinhalese,...
Others
Demands and Challenges of Modern Medicine
I am deeply honoured by the invitation to deliver the 16th Tun Dr Ismail Oration and I wish to thank the Master and Council...
Others
Happenings in Histopathology – A Post-World War II Perspective
During the past few decades, there have been many significant developments in the practice of histopathology, the specialty that is also referred to as...
Others
A Brief History of the Chapter of Psychiatrists
The Inaugural Meeting of the Chapter of Psychiatrists and Chapter of Pathologists, Academy of Medicine, was held on 5 December 1986 at King’s Hotel.1,2...
Others
Tumour Interstitial Fluid Pressure May Regulate Angiogenic Factors in Osteosarcoma
Solid tumours have states of raised interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) that cause significant changes to their physiology.1-3 We have previously shown that human osteosarcomas...
Others
Surgical Training – The Challenge of Change
President of the College of Surgeons, distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honour and a unique privilege for me to...
Others
Preparedness for Terrorism: Managing Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats
Preparedness for terrorism in the 21st century includes addressing the management of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) terrorism events. Understanding the terrorist threat and...
Others
5th College of Surgeons Lectureship: Surgery beyond Scalpels
The training of surgeons composed of two aspects: (1) Clinical skill and competence; (2) The ‘soft’ skill and ‘art’ of surgery. With the gradual...
Others
The Evolution of Radiology from Paraclinical to Clinical
I would like to thank the Academy of Medicine and the Singapore Radiological Society for giving me the honour of delivering this year’s F...
Original Article
Evaluation of Intensive Care Unit-acquired Urinary Tract Infections in Singapore
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common types of nosocomial infections encountered in the inpatient settings including intensive care unit (ICU)....
Editorial
Medical Professionalism in the Internet Age
Medical professionalism encompasses the conduct and practices of physicians, both as individuals and as a collective organisation. Professionalism enhances the trust and confidence of...
Others
3rd College of Surgeons Lecture — Bringing up Surgeons
I am greatly honoured to be given the privilege of delivering the 3rd College of Surgeons Lecture, especially when I have retired from surgery...
Letter to the Editor
Developing the “NUS Tummy Dummy”, A Low-Cost Simulator to Teach Medical Students to Perform the Abdominal Examination
Simulators may be used to provide adequate exposure to learning experiences that allow clinical skills to develop, that is, allow medical students and trainees...
Others
12th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lecture – The Cellular and Molecular Basis of Radiation-induced Sensori-neural Hearing Loss
Radiation-induced sensori-neural hearing loss (SNHL) has long been recognised as a complication of radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck tumours, if the auditory pathways...
Others
11th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lecture – An In vivo Comparative Study of the Ability of Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Partial Growth Arrest
It has been my greatest pleasure and honour to accept this, the 11th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lectureship on the anniversary of a half century...
Others
Challenges and Pitfalls in the Introduction of Pharmacogenetics for Cancer
Pharmacogenetics, by definition, refers to the study of genetic differences in metabolic pathways which can affect an individual’s responses to drugs in terms of...
Others
7th College of Physicians Lecture — The Changing Face of Medicine, Medicine – Past, Present and Future
When we think about medicine, just like we do about other things in life in the past and the present, we usually reflect on...
Review Article
What Skills are Tested in the New PACES Examination?
Despite the continuing emergence of sophisticated technology to aid diagnosis, many experienced clinicians continue to believe that bedside clinical skills relating to communication and...
Others
15th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lecture – The Relationship between the Air-bone Gap and the Size of Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence
Superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD) can result in a characteristic constellation of vestibular and auditory features, including autophony, oscillopsia, and vertigo, and characteristic eye...
Others
5th Chao Tze Cheng Memorial Lecture—Recent Developments in Informed Consent
The question of informed consent is a concern of recent origin and has engaged the mind of the medical profession here for only some...
Others
7th Tan Tock Seng Oration: Surgical Excellence at TTSH—100 Years on and onward
Mr SR Nathan, our guest of honour, Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Health, Madam Kay Kuok, Chairman of NHG Board, Board members, colleagues,...
Others
8th FY Khoo Memorial Lecture 2012 —Why Radiologists Need Philosophy
Firstly, I wish to thank the Singapore Radiological Society and the College of Radiologists, Singapore for deeply honouring me with the invitation to give...
Others
6th College of Surgeons Lecture The Philosophy of Balance: The Art of Healing
With the rise of high tech medicine, and emphasis on the scientific aspects of medicine, there is danger that we may lose the balanced...
Commentary
Is Cost-Effective Healthcare Compatible with Publicly Financed Academic Medical Centres?
Nearly all legislation involves a weighing of public needs as against private desires; and likewise a weighing of relative social values.
—Louis D Brandeis
As a...
Review Article
Cognitive Aspect of Diagnostic Errors
It was an unusually busy ward round. The newly promoted registrar was keen to review the patients handed over to him. But there were...
Others
2013 Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture: Clinical Applications of Stem Cells in Modern Medicine—21st Century and Beyond
The rapid advancement of biomedical research in the recent years was propelled by a series of groundbreaking technological inventions and breakthrough discoveries. In this...
Others
22nd Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration: Is Medicine Still an Art?
Distinguished guests and colleagues in medicine, I am deeply honoured to have been invited to deliver this 22nd oration in honour of Sir Gordon...
Original Article
Academic Medicine Education Institute (AM∙EI): Transforming the Educational Culture of Health Professionals
In 2010, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS) and Singapore Healthcare Services (SingHealth) launched an initiative to improve the lives of patients by combining their...
Letter to the Editor
Diagnosing Bacteraemia Early in Older Adults
Sepsis is a prevalent and important cause of morbidity and mortality in the general population. Approximately 750,000 patients in the United States alone develop...
Others
24th Seah Cheng Siang Lecture: Seeing Better, Doing Better—Evolution and Application of Gastrointestinal (GI) Endoscopy
Man’s innate curiosity to study the internal organs of the human body dates back to the time of Hippocrates where basic speculums were invented...
Original Article
Factors and experiences associated with unscheduled 30-day hospital readmission: A mixed method study
Readmission leads to a greater demand for healthcare services, especially hospital beds, and contributes to the rising healthcare costs.1,2 With estimated one-third of the...
Editorial
Potentially avoidable readmissions: Understanding drivers and technology-enabled solutions
Hospital admissions places high resource demands on the health system, and is a major cost-driver in Singapore and globally.1-3 Admissions have and will continue...
Letter to the Editor
A resuscitation course designed for a psychiatric hospital
It is challenging to maintain the resuscitation skills of doctors in a psychiatric hospital. Our study describes a resuscitation course designed specifically for the...