Op-Ed: The recognition of 9 more overseas medical schools

The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) have recently announced that 9 more overseas medical schools will now be recognised, with 1 from Australia, 3 from Ireland and 5 from the United Kingdom. This brings the current number of recognised institutions from 103 to 112, which allows all their degree holders, both past and present and regardless of nationality, the ability to practice medicine in Singapore subject to their fulfilment of the SMC’s requirements. This change complements the recent increase of local medicine spots in NUS and NTU as well.

This decision is primarily made to address the range of concerns related to Singapore’s ageing population, aiming to meet the growing demand for doctors. These 9 schools have been carefully selected after carefully considering factors such as their international rankings,  the performance and quality of training received by doctors who graduate from these universities, and the compatibility of the main language of instruction.

The newly added schools and their respective degree programmes are as follows:

This expansion of overseas medical school recognition is certainly regarded as a welcome piece of news, as it provides local students with a much wider breadth of choices, and reduces stress levels given the increased number of spots to study medicine. This further serves as an invaluable opportunity for students to experience diverse healthcare systems and treatment approaches, helping them to gain a more globalised perspective and enrich their learning journeys. Additionally, these newfound learnings will also aid in improving the quality of healthcare upon their return home. 

While more spots have now been made available, the competition levels are likely to remain high with a strong applicant pool. It is therefore pertinent that you find ways to best position your application when applying for medical schools overseas.

Some tips include, but are not limited to:

1. Ensuring that you have sufficient time to prepare for your various applications. Every school has different requirements and deadlines, especially if they are not from the same country. For example, Australian universities do not require the applicant to submit a personal statement, but this is a mandatory component in the UCAS portal for UK universities. Do take note of the specific admissions tests (e.g. ISAT, UCAT, HPAT-Ireland) required from each school, and be aware of the testing cycles as well.
2. Building your experience and finding opportunities to expose yourself to the realities of the clinical world, as this will help you understand your alignment with the field. This can be achieved through activities such as job shadowings, participating in internships and research attachments, or through online medicine courses, and are ideally planned for even before application cycles begin.
3. Playing to your strengths – which requires you to understand your own learning style and what motivates you to pursue a potential career in the field of medicine. This will allow you to conduct more targeted research into understanding how specific curriculum structures, teaching styles and learning opportunities are the best fit for you, which in turn will guide you in the process of planning for and ranking your school choices.

Meeting all the requirements of your medical school application may seem like a daunting task, but it can certainly be manageable if you are able to pinpoint your strengths and know what you are looking for. Feel free to reach out to our team here at Icon Education should you find yourself requiring targeted support during your application journey! All the best!