How is life as a doctor in Singapore?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

One of my friend asking me if he should go UQ and take a MD
His first degree was in NUS lifescience.
He is 30 years old this year.

Doctor of medicine Tuition fees is about 90k AUD per year so 360 AUD
Plus accom & living expense i think total 4 years will spend 500k SGD.

I did a quick calculation.
Say at steady state, life sci pay 120k per year. GP pay is 240k per year.
So 120k premium per year.

Capital investment
He will lose 4 years of earning so 120k*4=480k (income loss while studying)
Plus another 500k for tuition fees and living in Aussie
So during schooling years will lose 980k

Starting pay for HO in Singapore is 70k (yes it is 70k, coz now HO base is higher, my time was 3.6k, but now i think is 4K and call allowance much better)

When compared to 120k if he were to stayed in current job:
Deficit for HO year = 120k - 70k = 50k
MO pay about 100k each year:
Deficit for MO year = 120k - 100k = 20k
Income loss before full reg:
is 20k (MO year) + 20k (MO year) + 50k (HO year) = 90k

Total cost = 980k (during schooling years) + full reg investment (90k) = 1.05mil

Then full reg go GP with 240k pay package
Age 30 (now) +4years (MD) + 3 years (full reg)
At age of 37.

Since his GP pay will be 240k vs 120k , ie premium of 120k

His breakeven will be 1.05mil/120k = 9 years
So will breakeven at age 37+9=46.

I told him based on my calculation it’s worthwhile.

also gives him opportunity to stay in aussie t work, better work life balance, pays well for specialist if your friend eventually gets in something lucrative like anaesthetics/radiology

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Any overseas grads returned in the recent years? Is it easy to return as HO or is this also competitive? Graduating from german med school (smc recognised) soon.

have few friends returned from UK recently, seemed very easy to get a MO job

what kind of doctors MMED producing? harass girls without chaperone?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Can I ask from senior gps/fps who have left the system, is it generally better to be an anchor or floater/locum?

I enquired with a chain group (quite a large gp group) and was offered a floater role. Floater means you cover any clinic (throughout Singapore) that needs man power for the day (e.g if the anchor takes mc). Essentially it sounds like a full time employed locum. Pay is similar to an anchor (not too bad la 200-220k/year depending on bonus). I am not sure if I should take it (I presume floater comes with less responsibility and kpi compared to anchor?)

Go for the money
U enquire with raffles ?
They up the salary liao then

Just a bit sian u got to go diff clinic to fill in pple on MC
Other times u are 2nd doc at some busy clinic

Quite chill la.

Ur per hour rate at 220k per year will be higher than locum
With benefits and all

Go for it

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Go for the money
U enquire with raffles ?
They up the salary liao then

Just a bit sian u got to go diff clinic to fill in pple on MC
Other times u are 2nd doc at some busy clinic

Quite chill la.

Ur per hour rate at 220k per year will be higher than locum
With benefits and all

Go for it

Shenton, not raffles.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

what kind of doctors MMED producing? harass girls without chaperone?

I think we shouldnt blame mmed (fm)

Coz psy or gs also not clean
But shld blame undergrad degree

Quite a number of nus grads do naughty things

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I think we shouldnt blame mmed (fm)

Coz psy or gs also not clean
But shld blame undergrad degree

Quite a number of nus grads do naughty things

Different case
GS psy one work how long already.

This guy literally did it before exams and still pass.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Different case
GS psy one work how long already.

This guy literally did it before exams and still pass.

U mean fm(mmed) no standard
Or you mean Notti helps with passing exam?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Ops not easy lei
40 to 50 patients a day at least
Patient complex and you burn your soul if u want to manage them well
Even simple hypertension now got to do ptech, healthier sg
Then confirm will have itchy skin or knee pain
Then tell u going Taiwan want standby meds

Complex one needless to say
Do 1 already sian
Sometimes I gung-ho in fcfp mood go dig and dig
Zzz. Dig a hole jump in and die there.

Hours on paper is 8 to 5
But that 8 to 5 u working and working
Go home is brain fried liao

My wife say u dun need call , regular hours , 6pm u watching Netflix liao
Why u so lazy!
Why cannot help me.
Little does she know.

Saturday worse
Collect lots of question come and ask u
Buay paiseh one.
I hate Saturdays. Work morning but Sian till evening. Like a fully day work
Clinic then somehow always go hire those lazy locums maybe becuSe who want to work on Saturdays right?
Got 1 in my clinic one sat morning see 10 patient.
Piang ey. Other pple tank her load. Sibei jialat


Sometimes I want to act like a lousy doctor but feel damn guilty
But explain everything swee sweet end up I burnout


Gp life easier la. Urti, msk, skin, simple chronic.
If 250k annual package is true.
Take it man
4 years is 1 million liao.
Say u are 30 years old
Dun go wack 2 million condo
Stay 500k hdb
By 50 u can FIRE liao
Invest properly u likely have 5 million in stocks by 50
Even 4 percent yield gives 200k dividend
Every week chin chye locum 2 days 8k a month
Can go for long holidays
Rest of week can do what u want
Can have a fulfilling 30 years before u die.

Ops?
Burnout is real no matter what.
Full time clinican? Die as above
Leadership? Manage pple u die also. Clinic load dying u also need to help
Research? Lagi worse. Publish or perish
Education? 轮不到你。

You FCFP one ah. I MMed only.

It's true la. OPS patients really sian. It's like pay for Hotel 81 but expect Capella.

Wanna do proper medicine like MMed/FCFP means killing yourself only. After all, complexity doesn't factor into your KPI, it's how many you see per hour. In a sense, no different from private GP, so why not see just as many but only ARI/MSK/Derm?

That said 8-5 and 24 days AL is hard to beat elsewhere. But agree Sat really sucks balls. Who decided that we still need to work 5.5 days when everyone else is 5 day week liao.

End of the day, choose your poison lo.

Like everyone else, I encourage you all to stay away from primary care. Waste your time only. The local system doesn't actually reward you being a proper family physician. OPS doesn't give you enough time, and in private... Well, if you don't antibiotics your URTI then how to keep clinic going? No money and patient buay song.

Haha feel like you echo my thoughts. Residency graduate 2 years ago in private now.
Yes FM in general is just a bad career choice.
Poor compensation. Bad job satisfaction.
Patients think you are a subpar failure of a doctor that cannot make it to specialist training.
Most GPs case load is just managing stuff that patients can manage on their own with meds from guardian.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You FCFP one ah. I MMed only.

It's true la. OPS patients really sian. It's like pay for Hotel 81 but expect Capella.

Wanna do proper medicine like MMed/FCFP means killing yourself only. After all, complexity doesn't factor into your KPI, it's how many you see per hour. In a sense, no different from private GP, so why not see just as many but only ARI/MSK/Derm?

That said 8-5 and 24 days AL is hard to beat elsewhere. But agree Sat really sucks balls. Who decided that we still need to work 5.5 days when everyone else is 5 day week liao.

End of the day, choose your poison lo.

Like everyone else, I encourage you all to stay away from primary care. Waste your time only. The local system doesn't actually reward you being a proper family physician. OPS doesn't give you enough time, and in private... Well, if you don't antibiotics your URTI then how to keep clinic going? No money and patient buay song.