How is life as a doctor in Singapore?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Do you have reddit? Keen to DM you anon for more details as I am genuinely considering this as a career

It’s good you are considering at such an early stage. I will have done aesthetics right away if I can reverse back time.

But I took a much longer path. I did my med school in the UK as well and had lofty dreams of specialising. I was naive back then, thinking that delayed gratification will pay off that’s why I stayed to train in the UK. Got disillusioned with Peds training because it’s taking so long so I dropped out halfway and switched to GP. Got my MRCGP and CCT before returning to SG as a resident physician in a polyclinic. Took 2 years to get full reg as family physician before making the leap to aesthetics in private.

I am now earning about 450k a year working for my friend in his chain clinic after around 11 years of experience. I am not the best that’s why I didn’t take the risk to open my own clinic. I also want to spend more time with my young toddler kids

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Do you have reddit? Keen to DM you anon for more details as I am genuinely considering this as a career

Would save me a lot of time and difficulty if i can consult someone with experience

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It’s good you are considering at such an early stage. I will have done aesthetics right away if I can reverse back time.

But I took a much longer path. I did my med school in the UK as well and had lofty dreams of specialising. I was naive back then, thinking that delayed gratification will pay off that’s why I stayed to train in the UK. Got disillusioned with Peds training because it’s taking so long so I dropped out halfway and switched to GP. Got my MRCGP and CCT before returning to SG as a resident physician in a polyclinic. Took 2 years to get full reg as family physician before making the leap to aesthetics in private.

I am now earning about 450k a year working for my friend in his chain clinic after around 11 years of experience. I am not the best that’s why I didn’t take the risk to open my own clinic. I also want to spend more time with my young toddler kids

My plan is quite similar. Im gonna stay 2 years in the UK and do all the necessary COC and pgdip then apply opthal. If opthal dont work im coming back to sg and do aesthetics . I have good skincare and have been caring for my appearance well so id say im relatively marketable.

How many of you plan to let your kids follow your path? First gen doctor I guess it is tougher but second gen you guys probably either have an established clinic / patient base, better idea how to run a business / deal with insurance companies? And perhaps loads of contacts or friends who are now SC or HoD and probably just pull strings to get a good training position?

Does anyone have any data into competition numbers. Was told my a friend that only the top 10-15 from each batch can make it to the competitive specialties and that seems like a crazy low number

Originally Posted by Unregistered

How many of you plan to let your kids follow your path? First gen doctor I guess it is tougher but second gen you guys probably either have an established clinic / patient base, better idea how to run a business / deal with insurance companies? And perhaps loads of contacts or friends who are now SC or HoD and probably just pull strings to get a good training position?

I plan to let my kid follow if they want. Medicine honestly is a good career compared to many others and I could also provide a lot of support and help along the way. Much easier to chiong for residency if u have someone showing you the light at the end of the tunnel

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Does anyone have any data into competition numbers. Was told my a friend that only the top 10-15 from each batch can make it to the competitive specialties and that seems like a crazy low number

Expect to play the waiting game if you want to enter top residency positions. It’s not about how good you are. It’s about how far are you in the queue. You got to know you are also competing with older MOs who are vying for that spot also. And they have already applied multiple times so they have more experience

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Expect to play the waiting game if you want to enter top residency positions. It’s not about how good you are. It’s about how far are you in the queue. You got to know you are also competing with older MOs who are vying for that spot also. And they have already applied multiple times so they have more experience

That is understable but is it the kind of thing where if you wait you are highly likely to get in or is it wait then cant get in after 2-3 years then become an Rp?

Ive also heard that the PDs prefer younger grads so how does that come into play?

and generally is the wait time 2-3 years?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It’s good you are considering at such an early stage. I will have done aesthetics right away if I can reverse back time.

But I took a much longer path. I did my med school in the UK as well and had lofty dreams of specialising. I was naive back then, thinking that delayed gratification will pay off that’s why I stayed to train in the UK. Got disillusioned with Peds training because it’s taking so long so I dropped out halfway and switched to GP. Got my MRCGP and CCT before returning to SG as a resident physician in a polyclinic. Took 2 years to get full reg as family physician before making the leap to aesthetics in private.

I am now earning about 450k a year working for my friend in his chain clinic after around 11 years of experience. I am not the best that’s why I didn’t take the risk to open my own clinic. I also want to spend more time with my young toddler kids

How much is your friend making? Possible to make so much in aesthetics?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

How much is your friend making? Possible to make so much in aesthetics?

There’s many revenue streams opened up in aesthetics. I give you some examples. Top aesthetic doctors get paid to present at aesthetic conferences overseas, the going rate is easily 10k just to show up. They also get paid to run workshops and train other doctors.

The elite of the elite have their own skin and lotion products and they also become brand ambassadors for botox companies like Allergan.

Ultimately at this high level, you are more likely to a businessmen rather than an actual doctor. The only time you actually showcase your skills is during the workshop conferences. The rest of the time is spent on managing your chain of clinics and flying overseas to promote your clinic brand to potential rich clients.