THE article on Singaporean physicians' reporting of peer ethics ('S'pore-trained docs more lenient on peers' ethics', Thursday) and the subsequent discussion in The Straits Times are thoughtful and 'healthy' for our profession.
Like our partner institution, the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, we feel that professionalism is a critical subject to cover in our curriculum. In fact, as all applicants to our school know, we cover an ethical case (the ethics of drug company gifts to physicians, the ethical considerations of kidney transplantation) as part of our school's interview day.
It is an honour code violation for our students in their first year basic science courses not to report any ethical lapses witnessed by a fellow student.
During the first year of our student's busy clinical instructions in the hospital, we set aside time for our students to meet each week with faculty members to discuss the ethical and professional concerns that naturally arise in the everyday care of patients. As noted by Professor John Wong, dean of Yong Loo Lin Medical School, it is not enough to cover professionalism in a single class, but it must be woven into all parts of the curriculum.
We plan to use the article and subsequent commentary in The Straits Times as a starting point for further discussions with our students. Issues such as these are helpful to shape and continually improve our medical education curriculum.
Dr Robert K. Kamei
Vice-Dean, Education
Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore
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