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NUH news bites
04
NUHS Residency Programme Receives
ACGME-I Accreditation
The National University Health
System (NUHS) Residency
Programme is now one of the
few outside the US to be accredited by
the Accreditation Council of Graduate
Medical Education-International
(ACGME-I), a non-governmental
organisation responsible for the
accreditation of international Graduate
Medical Education (GME) programmes.
The six specialist training programmes
that have been accredited include
Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine,
Paediatrics, Pathology (Preventive
Medicine and Transitional Year). The
accreditation is testimony that these
programmes have been assessed to
provide high quality training which is
comparable with the standards set for
the US.
The NUHS postgraduate training
programme for doctors moved from
UK-based training to the US-styled
ACGME-I in May 2010. Under the
ACGME-I structure, trainee doctors (or
residents) undergo structured specialist
training conducted by dedicated senior
clinicians after graduating from medical
school. They are regularly assessed on
their medical knowledge, patient care
skills, professionalism, interpersonal and
communication skills. This ensures the
aspiring specialists are well-trained and
equipped with the necessary skills and
knowledge before they see their first
patients.
One of the key strengths of the ACGME programme is that of structured training -
what needs to be taught in the curriculum is not left to chance but it will be planned to be
covered.
A director and core faculty with dedicated time for teaching and curriculum development
are specially appointed for each programme. The very structured program evaluation with
the sponsoring institutions having ‘ownership’ of the residents, will hopefully improve the
standard of training and teaching among the residents.
With the programme, the residents will be able to receive timely feedback and remediation
rather than wait till the intermediate/final exams to know their gaps in knowledge.
Associate Professor Shirley Ooi, Designated Institutional Official,
NUHS Residency Programme
Residents like myself now undergo a structured education programme that is wellsupervised.
We now have designated protected time for teaching and regular sessions
with our Programme Directors on our learning and performance. This represents a major
change from the existing system where learning is largely opportunistic and mostly takes
place in our free time.
Dr Ng Chew Lip, NUHS Resident
The NUHS Residency Programme is
one of the three postgraduate medical
training programmes in Singapore.
Thirty specialists from the first batch are
expected to graduate in 2013, adding to
the 907-strong clinical staff at NUH.
Irregular meals, Helicobacter pylori infection and gastritis
According to a recent study conducted by the Dietetics Department at
the NUH, people who eat irregular meals too often are likely to raise their
risks of getting Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection, which may in turn up
their risks of gastric cancer.
Helicobacter pylori (HP) is a type of bacteria that can penetrate and infect the
protective layer of the stomach lining, causing the individual to develop gastritis
or an inflamed stomach lining.
“We found that people who frequently ate earlier or later than their usual meal
timings and over a prolonged period were associated with a significantly higher
incidence of HP infection and gastritis,” said Ms Lim Su Lin, NUH’s chief dietician
who led the study.
Results showed that compared with individuals who had regular eating patterns,
those who deviated from their meal times by exactly or more than two hours at least
twice a week were six times more at risk of developing HP – a condition estimated
to affect 30 per cent of Singaporeans. People infected with HP are at increased risk
of gastric cancer in the long run.
The study won the Singapore Allied Health Award at the inaugural Singapore
Health and Biomedical Congress jointly organised by the National University
Health System and National Healthcare Group late last year.
Four fast tips on managing your diet
while keeping up with a busy schedule
1. Fix your meal times and keep to that
schedule as much as you can.
2. Keep some snacks at hand in case you
are held up at work or long meetings.
Consider healthy snack bars, fruits or
dried fruits, nuts or biscuits.
3. Whatever little you can have is better
than nothing. Don’t fix your meetings or
appointments during lunch time if you can
help it. Otherwise, try to bring along your
lunch or check if lunch is provided.
4. Have a quick bite before meetings if they
are likely to stretch beyond your usual
lunch time.