The Singapore Medical Council Physician's Pledge Affirmation Ceremony

07 May 2005

By Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister Of State, Ministry of Information, Communications and The Arts and Health

Venue: The Auditorium of The College of Medicine Building

Prof. Nambiar, President Singapore Medical Council

Mr. Moses Lee, Permanent Secretary, MOH

Prof Satku, Director of Medical Services

My medical colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen

I am honored to be here at today's Singapore Medical Council Physician's pledge affirmation ceremony. In the next hour, about 240 young men and women will affirm the pledge that binds them to the ethics of our profession.

For the seasoned doctors here, this ceremony marks the yearly infusion of bright young minds into our ranks - new blood who join us, and through their energy and idealism will continue to sustain the noble calling of our profession.

For the new doctors, you would have realized over the last year that your life has forever changed. You have strived so hard for so many years, and now finally, you are what you wanted to be - a fully registered doctor. And as a doctor, the world will expect you to live by the pledge you take today - the pledge that makes you one of us. 

While I am certain you journeyed hard to reach this point where you join our ranks as a doctor, you did not make this journey alone.  Many have helped you to make this day possible - your parents, your friends, your teachers, your professors and many others. You owe them a debt of gratitude. I congratulate you on your success and in so doing I am also congratulating all those who helped you in your journey.

You are entering medicine at an exciting time. The frontiers of medical science have expanded rapidly.  Medicine has eradicated small-pox. It has doubled the life expectancy of the human species.  The human genome has been decoded and we are learning the fundamental secrets of life, disease and death.  New drugs and treatments are today saving lives that would have been lost just a few years ago. Your challenge is to continuously keep up with the advances in medicine so that your knowledge and technical skills meet the standards expected by the community. You must always be a skilled practitioner of your craft.

The benefits of modern medicine come with a high price tag. When I was a medical student, a patient who suffered a heart attack was treated with bed rest, morphine injections and oxygen. Today a similar patient could undergo a cardiac angioplasty, cardiac stenting or cardiac bypass surgery. The cost have increased manifold.

Healthcare systems therefore strive for efficiency and aim to provide the highest quality care at the lowest possible cost. So when you work in our hospitals, you will encounter a new vocabulary that includes words like productivity, unit cost and the bottom line. You are learning the underlying economics of the healthcare business. It will impact your lives.

Reimbursement may sometimes seem unfair in a market system which values the skill needed to create a pretty double eyelid higher than the skill needed to save a life in the emergency room.  But please remember that the rewards you will enjoy in the practice of medicine cannot be measured by the financial yardstick of the healthcare administrator or hospital manager alone.  No reimbursement for your dedication will come close to matching the value of the gratitude from a patient and his family for having truly saved someone's life.

You must believe that the practice of medicine is much more than just a craft or a business.

The practice of Medicine is a privilege.  It is a privilege that allows us to touch the lives of others.  As a doctor, people will naturally trust you. They will tell you things they will tell no one else.  They will confide in you because you care, because you can help, because you can heal.  The profession must preserve this trust. The pledge you take today binds you to standards that will preserve this trust.

The practice of medicine is a calling.  It is a calling in which your heart will be exercised as much as your mind.  Your call is to be with those who suffer.  You call is help heal the ill and the disease ridden, mend broken bones and touch wounded spirits.

Sir William Osler wrote that, "the profession of medicine is distinguished from all others by its singular beneficence."

"Nothing will sustain you more potently than the power to recognize in your humdrum routine, the true poetry of life - the poetry of the commonplace, of the ordinary man, of the plain, toil-worn woman, with their loves and their joys, their sorrows and their griefs."

I wish you all success as you begin your lifelong practice of medicine and start your careers as doctors.  I have no doubt that you will be a credit to yourselves, to your families and to the medical profession.

Thank you.