The Third Medical School

So we need a third medical school to produce enough doctors for our health care system.

Well, we certainly will need more doctors if we are ever going to be able to adequately service our commercialized medicine hub and still have enough doctors to look after our own people. And we will definitely need a third medical school to produce the number of doctors that are required.

The problem in our midst is that the existing medical school's missions (and I am not refering to those motherhood statements that pass off as institutional missions) are geared primarily towards research and academic excellence. Global ranking exercises are heavily biased towards academic parameters and reputations of their scientists. The problem we have in Singapore is that the medical schools seem to have forgotten that their main mission should be to produce good caring practitioners who will look after their patients and their families.

So here's hoping any ideas of a third medical school will take this mission into consideration during their planning. Otherwise, it will be just more of the same...... self gratifying pursuits of fame and glory.