A Family Physician for every Singaporean

In Singapore, voluntary postgraduate training in Family Medicine (FM) has been available since 1972. However, the take-up rates of these programmes have been quite low. While many doctors have acquired various skills through years of practice, experience and are delivering good quality primary care to Singaporeans, a system needs to be in place to ensure that newer generations of family physicians will acquire the necessary skills much earlier in their professional career.

Hence, with the introduction of structured training programmes, i.e. Master of Medicine (MMED) in FM in 1991 as well as Graduate Diploma in Family Medicine (GDFM) in 2000 we have seen a sizeable increase in the number of doctors taking up post-graduate FM training. Despite that, only an estimated 30% of the doctors in primary care sector today have formal training in family medicine. We certainly hope to achieve more with the FM Residency training programme, which was introduced in 2011.

The year 2011 marks a major milestone in the history of FM development in Singapore with the establishment of a Register of Family Physicians. It aimed to set the standards of FM training and practice and to support the development of FM as a holistic, patient-centred discipline. We envision that in the long term, there will be more appropriate siting of care at primary care clinics in the community, improved management of chronic diseases and also increased public confidence in the skills and knowledge of family physicians.

As we strive to improve patient care at primary care level, contain overall healthcare cost and enhance professional fulfilment for family physicians, we also hope to achieve an effective and sustained doctor-patient partnership, to realise the vision of "A Family Physician for every Singaporean". As such, we would like to invite eligible registered medical practitioners to come forward and apply to be listed in the Register of Family Physicians. May the Family Physicians of today and tomorrow continue to uphold the discipline, values and principles of Family Medicine practice in Singapore.