Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital have the largest number of Internal Medicine Specialists in Singapore who provide General Medicine clinical services, teaching, and research. Together, these institutions have arguably been at the forefront of General Medicine in Singapore, pioneering its growth into a specialty encompassing a unique set of skills. The General Medicine departments at TTSH, KTPH and eventually WH will provide the senior resident with an unparalleled training experience.
Clinical Exposure
The senior resident will conduct morning and evening general medical ward rounds and weekly outpatient clinics under the supervision of a consultant. This practice will expose the senior resident to a broad spectrum of patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings with varying acuity, level of complexity, comorbidties, and organ system involvement. Often, these patients enter with undifferentiated category with ambiguous symptoms and signs, which help the resident understand the importance of multidisciplinary, coordinated, safe, cost effective, and patient-centred care that a General Internist must provide.
The resident's training includes subspecialty rotations that are complementary to the core general medicine rotation. This allows the resident to develop the broad expertise necessary for the provision of holistic and comprehensive patient care.
The senior resident will also be given the opportunity to run subspecialty clinics in vascular medicine, obstetric medicine, peri-operative medicine, and palliative care along with Subspecialty Consultants.
Teaching Opportunities
The senior resident will be actively involved in supervising junior residents during ward rounds, procedures, and departmental CME activities.
He/She will also be involved in undergraduate teaching. The senior resident will be exposed to interactive case-based teaching sessions, slide quiz sessions and journal critique by experienced clinicians.
Criteria for Passing the Residency Year
During the course of residency, the Senior resident should complete the Acute Medicine Certification examination, held by the MRCP, UK and pass the exit examination viva. In addition, he/ she should complete all formative evaluations and have a pass/ progression from the Clinical Competency Committee (CCC) every 6 months.
Research Opportunities
The senior resident will gain exposure to projects relating to research and quality under the guidance of senior clinicians. Those inclined will have an opportunity to pursue the path of a Clinician Researcher in the future. We encourage all residents to present their work at local or international conferences. Should the resident need to present at an international conference, the organisation will offer full conference sponsorship and leave.
The faculty members are actively involved in International Clinical Trials, and offer the senior resident the opportunity to conduct studies and publish papers in the field of Vascular Medicine, Hypertension, Maternal Medicine, and Internal Medicine.
Professional Growth
The resident is encouraged to attend courses, conferences, and personal development programmes to improve his/her knowledge and leadership skills.
As the senior resident exits from the programme, he/she will have the opportunity to join another subspecialty such as Vascular Medicine, Medical Informatics, Clinician Researcher, Obstetric Medicine, Peri-operative Medicine, and Clinical Educator pathways. Alternatively, he/she can continue to pursue Internal Medicine.
The resident is also strongly encouraged to be a member of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore and contribute to the continuous development and progress in the field of Medicine.
Exit and Future Opportunities
The senior resident will undergo assessment periodically and receive guidance from his/her supervisor and clinical faculty during the residency programme. He/she is expected to function as a semi-independent consultant during the last six months of the programme after which he/she will qualify for exit. The senior resident is certified for exit only after the successful completion of the 2-year residency programme with a pass recommendation from the Clinical Competency Committee. He/she must also attend the Medical Ethics, Professionalism, and Health Law course. The exit examination consists of the MRCP Acute Medicine MCQ examination and an Exit viva.
After a successful exit, the senior resident can opt to apply for another specialty senior residency programme or specialise in fields of general medicine such as vascular, obstetric or peri-operative medicine through healthcare manpower development programmes (HMDP).