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How is life as a doctor in Singapore?

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  #221 (permalink)  
Old 01-10-2016, 05:49 PM
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I happened to come across this article:

://doctorxdentist.com/10-myths-doctors-singapore/

"As a doctor in a public hospital, a Medical Officer’s take home pay is approximately $4000 – $5000, and this will last for as long as you decide not to specialise. I know of friends who’ve been doctors for 8+ years earning this same amount.

Even if you take the fastest route to becoming a specialist, it takes a minimum of 10 years to earn $10,000:
1 year as a House Officer: $3000
3 years as a Medical Officer: $4000 – $5000 (variable depending on number of calls)
4 years as a Registrar – $6000: $7000
2 year as an Associate Consultant: $9000
Consultant: $10,000 +

Training spots can be very competitive, so you may get stuck at each step of the way for a couple more years. Furthermore, the majority of doctors never specialise, hence continue to earn a Medical Officer pay for as long as they stay in the public sector. Oft repeated, but being a doctor in Singapore is not one career to get rich quick."

Is this true? based on what the author says, as of Aug 2016, Singapore has 13,000 doctors.. of which:
1) 34% work in Private & 66% work in Public
2) 35% are Specialists (earns >$6000 after 5 years, assuming on the fastest track)
3) 65% are Non-specialists (earns $4000-$5000, for as long as they do not specialize)
Yes this true. Ask any doctor in hospitals. This pay range has remained relatively constant since 10yrs ago. They salary of doctors have not kept up with inflation. Junior Teachers and military officers have similar pay to junior doctors.

You only start earning big bucks once u attain consultant or senior consultant status and start treating medical tourism patients.. ie rich tai tais from Indonesia/russia.

As for private clinics, most are opened by big chains or established doctors..who should be more correctly known as businessmen rather than doctors. They hire doctors for peanuts to work for them and earn passive income.

There is a shortage of doctors in Singapore due to more and more leaving the profession ( i have heard of some being property agents, MLMs, and Uber) or going private to treat foreigners. MOH is trying to close the gap in primary and public healthcare by importing lots of foreign trained, foreigner doctors.

The saying as time goes by... Singaporeans doctors will treat foreigners (medical tourism) and foreign doctors will treat Singaporeans (polyclinic and public healthcare).

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  #222 (permalink)  
Old 02-10-2016, 10:18 AM
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Yes this true. Ask any doctor in hospitals. This pay range has remained relatively constant since 10yrs ago. They salary of doctors have not kept up with inflation. Junior Teachers and military officers have similar pay to junior doctors.

You only start earning big bucks once u attain consultant or senior consultant status and start treating medical tourism patients.. ie rich tai tais from Indonesia/russia.

As for private clinics, most are opened by big chains or established doctors..who should be more correctly known as businessmen rather than doctors. They hire doctors for peanuts to work for them and earn passive income.

There is a shortage of doctors in Singapore due to more and more leaving the profession ( i have heard of some being property agents, MLMs, and Uber) or going private to treat foreigners. MOH is trying to close the gap in primary and public healthcare by importing lots of foreign trained, foreigner doctors.

The saying as time goes by... Singaporeans doctors will treat foreigners (medical tourism) and foreign doctors will treat Singaporeans (polyclinic and public healthcare).
Interesting.. is it competitive to become a consultant? For example in a batch of NUS MBBS grads, assuming that all of them wish to become a consultant, is it common for all of them to become one? Or do they have to 'compete against each other' to be a consultant?

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  #223 (permalink)  
Old 08-10-2016, 05:00 PM
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Interesting.. is it competitive to become a consultant? For example in a batch of NUS MBBS grads, assuming that all of them wish to become a consultant, is it common for all of them to become one? Or do they have to 'compete against each other' to be a consultant?
I go google the public hospitals consultants, a lot of them their degrees from foreign/developing countries like india/malaysia/pakistan one leh, so I guess for local NUS MBBS grads must be easy.



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  #224 (permalink)  
Old 10-10-2016, 09:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
I happened to come across this article:

://doctorxdentist.com/10-myths-doctors-singapore/

"As a doctor in a public hospital, a Medical Officer’s take home pay is approximately $4000 – $5000, and this will last for as long as you decide not to specialise. I know of friends who’ve been doctors for 8+ years earning this same amount.

Even if you take the fastest route to becoming a specialist, it takes a minimum of 10 years to earn $10,000:
1 year as a House Officer: $3000
3 years as a Medical Officer: $4000 – $5000 (variable depending on number of calls)
4 years as a Registrar – $6000: $7000
2 year as an Associate Consultant: $9000
Consultant: $10,000 +

Training spots can be very competitive, so you may get stuck at each step of the way for a couple more years. Furthermore, the majority of doctors never specialise, hence continue to earn a Medical Officer pay for as long as they stay in the public sector. Oft repeated, but being a doctor in Singapore is not one career to get rich quick."

Is this true? based on what the author says, as of Aug 2016, Singapore has 13,000 doctors.. of which:
1) 34% work in Private & 66% work in Public
2) 35% are Specialists (earns >$6000 after 5 years, assuming on the fastest track)
3) 65% are Non-specialists (earns $4000-$5000, for as long as they do not specialize)
The salary for doctors, MO in particular, has been revised recently. Currently the 2nd year MOs can get basic of around $4500, with allowances for additional on-call duties that can potentially add up to around $5500. They need 6 years thereabout to finish their specialty (if they already opt to specialise the moment they graduated). This varies across specialties.

In between the 6 years, there are tests they need to pass as well. They should become registar about 4 years later after graduation. To be a consultant is a question mark, though most will be if they wait it out. Right place, right time, right specialty, know right people etc; these can "accelerate" the time you need to become an Assoc Con/Con. Senior consultant is a different story altogether. Training spots are very hard to come by, especially in those hot-contested specialties. I've heard of stories whereby the HOD will reserve spot for his/her own children. I have no inclination why these areas are "hot" as they are very very hard to master, besides the fact that the specialists gets paid very well and there's this prestige that comes with it. If you talk about work output versus amount earned, dentists definitely come up top man.

Most people nowadays join the medical profession because of the prestige and the envisaged $$ they can earn. Wrong reasons. And that is why not many can tahan the work in public hospitals, and choose to venture into the private and become GP (open own clinic). So it is not that we really really lack doctors, but we lack doctors who are willing to stay in our public healthcare institutions. The lure of earning big bucks plus smaller workload in the private is simply too much for many doctors, especially those more junior ones. Plus many young doctors nowadays have their heads up high in the sky, and expect to be promoted fast and have people worship them.


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  #225 (permalink)  
Old 12-10-2016, 06:24 PM
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Default Life as a specialist in sg

Hi there,
Very interesting posts and thanks for all the informations.
So for foreign doctors specialist (Ophtalmologist) who want to expat to Sg, how long does it take before we really can work for our account. And how is the life after we finish our service in public sector and start to work in private (hours, salary...)
Thanks
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  #226 (permalink)  
Old 19-10-2016, 01:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Interesting.. is it competitive to become a consultant? For example in a batch of NUS MBBS grads, assuming that all of them wish to become a consultant, is it common for all of them to become one? Or do they have to 'compete against each other' to be a consultant?
Competition is very stiff. Depends on the hospital/department/speciality too.

Really depends on who you know and whether you have the right connections.

Average takes 15 yrs to be consultant.

Senior cons is diff story altogether.
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  #227 (permalink)  
Old 19-10-2016, 04:39 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
I happened to come across this article:

://doctorxdentist.com/10-myths-doctors-singapore/

"As a doctor in a public hospital, a Medical Officer’s take home pay is approximately $4000 – $5000, and this will last for as long as you decide not to specialise. I know of friends who’ve been doctors for 8+ years earning this same amount.

Even if you take the fastest route to becoming a specialist, it takes a minimum of 10 years to earn $10,000:
1 year as a House Officer: $3000
3 years as a Medical Officer: $4000 – $5000 (variable depending on number of calls)
4 years as a Registrar – $6000: $7000
2 year as an Associate Consultant: $9000
Consultant: $10,000 +

Training spots can be very competitive, so you may get stuck at each step of the way for a couple more years. Furthermore, the majority of doctors never specialise, hence continue to earn a Medical Officer pay for as long as they stay in the public sector. Oft repeated, but being a doctor in Singapore is not one career to get rich quick."

Is this true? based on what the author says, as of Aug 2016, Singapore has 13,000 doctors.. of which:
1) 34% work in Private & 66% work in Public
2) 35% are Specialists (earns >$6000 after 5 years, assuming on the fastest track)
3) 65% are Non-specialists (earns $4000-$5000, for as long as they do not specialize)
bro. there are stuff they are not telling you. consultant basic pay is 10k, but there is still other components as well. i have an inside source that is reliable, saying that most consultants earn about 20k at least.

by the way, the equivalent of consultants pay in public sector is principal and LTC in SAF. how many prinicipals are there in a school? 1. how many LTCs are there in SAF? not many. (dont forget SAF personnel retire at 50) VPs in banks earn a similar amount. only drs have the stability that comes with the high pay.

most of the specialists(if you can get specialist training) become consultants by default. there are a lot of 3rd world consultants for reference. if it were really that hard/competitive, there wouldnt be so many 3rd world consultants, which is generally an indicator for jobs that no one wants to do.
and going to the private sector is just a natural consequence. no one is an angel. everyone works for the money.

in conclusion, being a dr is a stable path that people respect, and is compensated well compared to engineers, teachers and most other jobs.

saying anything else is just misleading others. singaporeans are money faced. if drs were really being paid as 'well' as teachers, do you really think they would be fighting to get into NUS medicine?
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  #228 (permalink)  
Old 19-10-2016, 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
bro. there are stuff they are not telling you. consultant basic pay is 10k, but there is still other components as well. i have an inside source that is reliable, saying that most consultants earn about 20k at least.

by the way, the equivalent of consultants pay in public sector is principal and LTC in SAF. how many prinicipals are there in a school? 1. how many LTCs are there in SAF? not many. (dont forget SAF personnel retire at 50) VPs in banks earn a similar amount. only drs have the stability that comes with the high pay.

most of the specialists(if you can get specialist training) become consultants by default. there are a lot of 3rd world consultants for reference. if it were really that hard/competitive, there wouldnt be so many 3rd world consultants, which is generally an indicator for jobs that no one wants to do.
and going to the private sector is just a natural consequence. no one is an angel. everyone works for the money.

in conclusion, being a dr is a stable path that people respect, and is compensated well compared to engineers, teachers and most other jobs.

saying anything else is just misleading others. singaporeans are money faced. if drs were really being paid as 'well' as teachers, do you really think they would be fighting to get into NUS medicine?
i've just applied to wuhan in china for their MBBS which is recoginise by singapore medical council to be a doctor her after graduation. my fees are SGD$9000 a year. is there anyone who can tell me about china unis?
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  #229 (permalink)  
Old 19-10-2016, 08:58 PM
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Nowadays the news so many FT docs kenna caught for mismanagement/fake degrees but all donkey years already before being reported by the Straits Times no blame culture (and don't know how many hundreds more not reported in news and left for their home countries already), I think better see a local doc for piece of mind, later got problem at least the local doc won't suddently no sight no sound. And a smart student should only become a doc if he care for patients and not about making money! Please NUS medicine don't teach our brightest kids the wrong idea!!
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  #230 (permalink)  
Old 21-10-2016, 09:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
Nowadays the news so many FT docs kenna caught for mismanagement/fake degrees but all donkey years already before being reported by the Straits Times no blame culture (and don't know how many hundreds more not reported in news and left for their home countries already), I think better see a local doc for piece of mind, later got problem at least the local doc won't suddently no sight no sound. And a smart student should only become a doc if he care for patients and not about making money! Please NUS medicine don't teach our brightest kids the wrong idea!!
i've just applied to wuhan in china for their MBBS which is recoginise by singapore medical council to be a doctor her after graduation. my fees are SGD$9000 a year. is there anyone who can tell me about china unis?
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