Honouring Singapore’s Best in Medicine

05 Jul 2011

New Clinician Educator award introduced to recognize deserving individuals who train and educate the next generation of clinicians in Singapore

1. Nine outstanding clinicians were the recipients of the annual National Medical Excellence Awards (NMEA) at the awards dinner held on 5 July 2011. The NMEA, in its fourth year, honours Singapore’s best in medicine, recognizing exceptional contributions from individuals and teams who have distinguished themselves in medicine, clinical research, clinical quality, education, training and mentorship. The distinguished recipients come from a wide array of disciplines such as the fields of anaesthesiology, cardiology, endocrinology, neurology, psychiatry and emergency medicine.

2. A new award category has been inaugurated this year – the National Outstanding Clinician Educator Award. The award gives recognition to the tireless efforts of clinician educators who teach, guide and inspire the next generation of clinicians. It is timely as Singapore ramps up its development of structured postgraduate medical education under the residency programmes at public healthcare institutions.

NMEA 2011 Award Recipients
National Outstanding Clinician Mentor Award

3. The National Outstanding Clinician Mentor Award is presented to two outstanding individuals this year. The first winner, Professor Lee Tat Leang, is from the National University Hospital, Department of Anaesthesia. He has made immense contributions to the field of Anaesthesiology in Singapore, impacting the way Anaesthesiology is practiced in Singapore as well as educating and mentoring of undergraduates and postgraduates.

4. The second winner is Associate Professor Wong Kim Eng from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). A/Prof Wong has been a pioneer in the field of psychiatry in Singapore. She has had an illustrious career at IMH, and has mentored psychiatrists and clinician scientists, many of whom have become outstanding clinicians. She was the Chairperson of the Mental Health Committee which produced Singapore’s first ever National Mental Health Blueprint.

National Outstanding Clinician Award
5. Professor C Sivathasan from the National Heart Centre is the recipient of the National Outstanding Clinician Award. A pioneer of the first heart and lung transplants done in Singapore, Dr Sivathasan’s mastery and expert skills have given severely ill cardiac patients a new lease of life. He developed minimally invasive cardiothoracic surgery methods and started a mechanical heart device programme which has improved the quality of life for end-stage heart failure patients.

National Outstanding Clinician Educator Award
6. The inaugural National Outstanding Clinician Educator Award is presented to Professor Rajasoorya from Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Professor Raja has been a strong advocate for the need for established clinicians to impart valuable skills and experience to the next generation of specialists and family physicians. He himself teaches with great enthusiasm and passion. It is his investigations into the training environment of trainees which was instrumental in the MOH and Specialist Accreditation Board seeking a more structured and effective postgraduate programme.

National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award
7. The National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award goes to Professor Tan Eng King from the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) for his outstanding work in the field of Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders. His work has led to the discovery of various genetic risk factors unique to the Asian population. He was also responsible for setting up a fully integrated Movement Disorder programme at NNI which benefits patients with gait problems and involuntary movements.

National Clinical Excellence Team Award
8. The National Clinical Excellence Team Award is presented to a team of four doctors comprising Associate Professor Tan Huay Cheem, Associate Professor Shirley Ooi, Associate Professor Ronald Lee and Dr Edgar Tay from the National University Hospital (NUH) and the National University Heart Centre. Led by A/Prof Tan, the team worked to successfully reduce the time taken to perform primary percutaneous coronary intervention for heart attack patients upon arrival at the hospital. This has translated to the saving of more lives and has allowed NUH to be recognised internationally as one of the best hospitals for reduction of time needed for clinical intervention in heart attacks.

9. The detailed citations for the winners of the NMEA 2011 can be found in Annex A and more information about the NMEA can be found in Annex B.
 
NMEA Press Release 2011 - Annex A
NMEA Press Release 2011 - Annex B