duke-nus questions

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LocutusofBorg

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Hi guys, having done a little research into the school it seems like a great foreign option - 1st world country, available loans, partnership with Duke University. However, I have questions:
1) In terms of service commitment, how are those 5 years spent? Are you a resident or a doctor? if a resident, is your residency counted in the US, or do you have to complete ANOTHER residency when you come back to US soil?
2) Are you allowed to continue practicing in Singapore as a physician after finishing the 5 year obligation, if you so choose? Is it hard for a physician to obtain permanent residency, or even citizenship?
3) Is everything in English, or is learning Chinese/Malay/Tamil expected?

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Hi,

I am from the Duke-NUS Admissions and Recruitment Office, and here are the answers to your queries:
1) In terms of service commitment, how are those 5 years spent? Are you a resident or a doctor? if a resident, is your residency counted in the US, or do you have to complete ANOTHER residency when you come back to US soil?

The service commitment must be fulfilled in public sector institutions in Singapore following medical registration (licensure). After graduation, students will spend their first year of residency, known as the internship year, in a public hospital to meet the requirements for full registration (licensure) to practice medicine in Singapore. Following licensure, Duke-NUS graduates will go on to complete their residencies and specialty training. The service commitment is fulfilled while graduates are completing their residency or other specialty training after licensure.

Alternatively, following licensure, students interested in pursuing medical research exclusively may request a research position in an approved research setting in lieu of further residency training. The service commitment can be fulfilled while graduates are working in the research setting as well.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) is in the process of establishing US style residencies in Singapore and will try to match students’ preferences when attaching our graduates to public hospitals or research institutes to fulfill their service commitment.


.Duke-NUS Medical School is considered an international medical school by the LCME, the accreditation body for medical schools in the US and Canada. The LCME currently does not accredit schools physically located outside the US and Canada. As with other international medical school graduates, Duke-NUS graduates are eligible to enter residency training in the United States subject to fulfilling requirements for international medical graduates.

. Because the Duke-NUS curriculum is well known by US residency program directors - unlike for many other international medical schools - we anticipate that our graduates will be competitive for the best training programs available. In the United States, the license to practice is determined on a state-by-state basis. Students successfully admitted to a US residency program are given a temporary license to practice in that state. After graduation from US residency training, they are generally eligible to apply for licensure in the other US states, but the exact requirements are determined by each state. Duke-NUS students who have graduated from residency training outside of the US may have additional training requirements to establish specialty board certification and license to practice. The specific requirements for physicians in this situation depend on the state and the type of practice that the physician intends to establish.


2) Are you allowed to continue practicing in Singapore as a physician after finishing the 5 year obligation, if you so choose? Is it hard for a physician to obtain permanent residency, or even citizenship?

You are definitely allowed to practice as a physician in Singapore after the completion of the service commitment. You can apply for permanent residency, more information can be found here: http://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=151
With regards to citizenship, more information can be found here: http://ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=132&secid=130


3) Is everything in English, or is learning Chinese/Malay/Tamil expected?

Classes are taught in English, though in clinical rotations, you may come into contact with patients whose first language is not English. Our students currently organize mandarin classes as part of their student activities for the non-Chinese students, and that is a great way for one to pick up basic Mandarin.
 
Duke-NUS seems like a decent option for Singaporeans who are planning to stay in Singapore.

I don't think the program has much to offer others, especially those who are definitely looking at practicing in the US or Europe.

Duke-NUS is just another international medical school no matter how much they claim their curriculum is "well known" by US residency program directors. Frankly, this strikes me as a hopeful exaggeration, and along with some of the factual errors on their website should serve as a warning against recruiters who promise too much.

There's the possibility of financial aid. So, I guess if a person was offered an awesome financial aid package, then it would be worth pursuing.

But for a regular person (without a particular commitment to Singapore)counting their pennies (without a big scholarship offer), and looking for a career in the US or Europe (without spending 5 service years in Singapore), there are definitely better options.

But if a doting Mom is going to pay the full tuition and provide pocket money, then I think it's a great program.

How about it Mom?
 
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Dear Saipan,

Your comments have been noted by us, and we would like to clarify on a couple of points you have raised.

"I don't think the program has much to offer others, especially those who are definitely looking at practicing in the US or Europe."

There are excellent medical schools across the world, and students will find a school that best fit their needs. At Duke-NUS, we look for students who want to pursue a career in medicine and medical research; future medical leaders who not only practice medicine but also influence the practice of medicine.

"Duke-NUS is just another international medical school no matter how much they claim their curriculum is “well-known” by US residency program directors…"

Duke-NUS is a partnership between Duke University School of Medicine and the National University of Singapore (NUS). Our curriculum is based on that of Duke’s and our student evaluation systems are closely aligned to Duke University's. Our Vice Dean of Education was the former residency head at UCSF for over 15 years, and he had the opportunity to work with other residency directors in the US, and they have an intimate understanding of the Duke curriculum having had experiences recruiting Duke graduates. If a Duke-NUS graduate does apply for a US residency placement, we are certain that US residency directors will be familiar and assured of the quality of our graduate's education.


"…and along with some of the factual errors on their website should serve as a warning against recruiters who promise too much."

We would appreciate if you can identify what the factual errors on our website are so that we can amend or remove any misleading or incorrect information.

We invite you to please contact us at [email protected]mailto:[email protected]> if you have any further questions or comments.




Best Regards,
Admissions & Recruitment Office
 
I think the biggest drawback to SNU-Duke is that the service commitment must be fulfilled immediately after graduation. Even if, "The Ministry of Health (MOH) is in the process of establishing US style residencies in Singapore", offshore residency programs are not admissible for licensure in any US state. Which leaves American students with the necessity of completing residency in Singapore during the service commitment, but then repeating that residency in the US upon their return in order to obtain licensure to practice in any state in the US.

Therefore, SNU-Duke is only a reasonable option for US students who wish to settle in Singapore permanently after graduation. On the other hand a Singapore policy that 1) would allow US students to complete their residency training in the US, and 2) would allow those students to return to Singapore and fulfill their service obligation as licensed physicians on the basis of their US-based residendy training - that would make SNU-Duke a very enticing option.
 
I stand by my remarks.

Duke-NUS seems like a decent option for Singaporeans who are planning to stay in Singapore.

But it doesn't have anything special to offer international students.

Would it be cynical of me to suggest that DukeNUSMedSch is not objective. He works for the school and so it's his job to place a good spin on anything we might say here.

I don't care how many years the Vice Dean of Education was at UCSF. is that supposed to give students a leg up their ERAS application? There are hundreds of residency programs across America. The vast majority of them probably don't have any direct experience with either the highly-vaunted Vice Dean of Education or with the Duke-ish curriculum.

As to the factual mistakes on the NUS-Duke website, it appears that the undated pages on the website have been cleared up. The more extravagant claims have been edited.

My final analysis is that this school doesn't offer anything really special to international students seeking a career in the US or Europe. They should only consider this school if they are rich and want to spend a lot of time in Singapore.

This is not a diss. I wish I was rich, and I like spending time in Singapore.
 
Hi Guyz, I am Farooque from Pakistan but currently in trouble, as I am pursuing MBBS in China...
Any body can guide me after my graduation, how can I apply for temporary practice in Singapore? I have no body to guide me after my graduation... as I am planning to move abroad instead of going back home.... please Kindly help me in this regard.
you can tell me send me email also... [email protected]
I will be greatful to you.
I am doing internship which is not going well, so after my graduation i want to practice in other country, which doesn`t cost me alot of Money... so inform me where should I go or which country will be suitable for practice...
for going to Singapore or other cuntries, do i have to give Medical Exam as my university is not recognized in Singapore listed Universities or other countries medical council...

Kindly contact me if you can help me guide me,
regards Farooque
15-10-2015
 
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I'm planning to go to the US for an Undergrad, then maybe pursue med school back home in Duke-NUS. I am Singaporean and I want to work in the US as a doctor after getting my medical degree from Duke-NUS. Is that possible?
 
Duke NUS could be a better option .Is there any other universities fully funding the MD/phd program for foreign nationalities?
 
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