SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health and Singapore Medical Council (SMC) said in a joint statement on Nov 11 (Monday) that starting from Jan 1, 2025, nine more overseas medical schools will be receiving recognition.
This is part of SMC’s regular review of recognized medical schools in the city-state to ensure that medical doctors trained in another country and applied to practice locally have received training comparable to Singapore’s.
“The additions will allow Singapore to better meet the growing demand for doctors as our population ages, even as we increased the annual local medical school intake from around 400 students in 2013 to over 500 in 2023,” the statement reads.
Nine medical schools from Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom have been recommended by SMC to be added to the Second Schedule of the Medical Registration Act. MOH has accepted SMC’s recommendation.
This takes the total of recognized medical schools from 103 to 112.
A number of different factors, including the schools’ international rankings, doctors’ performance in the schools, and whether the schools’ language of instruction is compatible with local practice, were taken into consideration by SMC.
Here are the nine medical schools now recognized in Singapore:
Australia
- University of Newcastle, School of Medicine and Public Health
Ireland
- University College Cork – National University of Ireland, School of Medicine
- University College Dublin – National University of Ireland School of Medicine
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland National University of Ireland, School of Medicine
The United Kingdom
- The Queen’s University of Belfast, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
- University of Aberdeen, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
- University of Leeds, School of Medicine
- University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Faculty of Medical Sciences
- University of Warwick, Warwick Medical School
This also means that from next year onward, would-be medical students who wish to study overseas may apply to any of the 112 recognized medical schools.
When they graduate and return to Singapore, they can practice medicine.
Other graduates from these schools may also practice medicine in the city-state, regardless of nationality.
Those who graduated before 2025 may also apply to SMC to practice medicine in Singapore, as long as they comply with the current requirements of the SMC.
“SMC will continue to assess foreign-trained medical doctors in their initial years through a supervisory framework to ensure high standards of medical practice.
The updated and complete list of overseas medical schools can be found in the Second Schedule of the Medical Registration Act 1997 from 1 January 2025,” the media release reads. /TISG
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