(C)
TEMPORARY REGISTRATION FOR SERVICE PROVISION
Doctors employed for service provision may be granted temporary medical registration for up to 24 months in the first instance, subject to their employment contract, conditions stipulated by SMC and the doctors' and institutions' compliance with SMC's supervisory framework. Their performance must be consistently good before they can extend their registration with SMC.
These doctors will not be eligible for conditional registration unless they acquire a registrable postgraduate medical qualification, obtain any of the diplomas listed under the Staff Registrar Scheme (SRS) recognised by SMC or fulfil such prevailing conditions as may be specified by SMC from time to time.
Conditionally registered doctors with SRS Diplomas would not be eligible to apply for full registration unless they have met SMC's prevailing requirements for full registration
Eligibility Requirements:
The doctor must:
a) be in active clinical practice1;
b) have a basic medical degree from an accredited medical university or medical school;
c) have passed the relevant national licensing examination in the country of conferment of basic degree, where applicable;
d) have evidence of at least 12 months housemanship / internship with a certificate of satisfactory completion of housemanship or equivalent;
e) have at least 3 years of post housemanship working experience as a medical officer (or equivalent) in the relevant field / specialty or possess a postgraduate medical qualification in the relevant field / specialty;
f) fulfil the English Language requirements of SMC
g) have been registered as a medical practitioner in the country where he is currently practising in;
h)
have been certified to be of good standing by the Medical Council or the relevant national authority.
1The doctor should be in active practice for the 3 years preceding the application for medical registration.(i.e. 168 hours during 3 years prior to the application).
Conditions for practice:
Doctors under temporary registration for service provision are required to work under the following conditions:-
a)
They will only be allowed to work in the departments where their clinical experience is relevant; and
b)
They cannot be rotated to any other departments and institutions unless approved by SMC; and
c)
They will be subject to L1 supervision throughout the first year of their temporary registration; and
d)
The appointed supervisor must submit assessment reports at regular intervals stipulated by the SMC. In addition, multi-rater assessments from fellow colleagues and peers may be conducted whenever directed by the SMC.
Criteria for Extension (for service providers only) with effect from 1 January 2012:
To apply for extension of temporary registration, the doctor must:
a) have his performance graded as 'Exceeding' or above, in the assessment reports, by the end of 1st year of registration; and
b) be enrolled into a Diploma course conducted by the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, under the Staff Registrar Scheme (SRS) approved by SMC by their 4th year of temporary registration, or
c) be accepted into a specialist traineeship by their 4th year of temporary registation.
Further extensions of the temporary registration will be according to the duration of the respective training programmes that the doctors are undergoing.
The period of extension that may be approved is up to 12 months each time, subject to SMC's review of the doctor's performance, the long-term plan according to the milestones set and compliance with SMC's supervisory framework.
Note: The temporary registration for service provision doctors will be cancelled if they fail to meet the milestones for extension as listed above. The doctor's performance (based on assessment and / or multi-rater reports) will also be taken into consideration when SMC considers the doctor's application for extension. Only doctors whose performance is considered good by SMC would be allowed to extend their medical registration.
Cancellation of Temporary Registration:
The SMC may consider cancellation of the doctor’s temporary registration if:
- Doctor has breached the conditions of his medical registration; or
- Doctor has ceased practice at the approved place of employment; or
- Doctor has ceased practice for long periods without prior approval from SMC, e.g. taking No-Pay leave without SMC’s approval.
The doctor’s PC will be deemed cancelled in the event that his registration has been cancelled by the SMC.
Request for No-Pay Leave:
The SMC will cancel the temporary registration of a medical practitioner once he or she takes No-Pay leave without SMC’s approval. Hence, the employing institution must submit a request (via a request form) for the doctor to remain on the register should he / she wish to go on No-Pay Leave.
A request to extend the period of No-Pay leave must be submitted by the employing institution if the doctor wishes to extend his / her No-Pay leave beyond the SMC-approved period.
All requests should be submitted to Council at least 4 weeks before the doctor embarks on / continues with his / her No-Pay Leave. The outcome will be made known to the employer 2 weeks after the receipt of request.
The doctor’s medical registration will be cancelled if the request is not approved by the Medical Council and the doctor still proceeds to take the no-pay leave. A fresh application is required should the doctor wish to resume practice in Singapore.
APPLICATION FORM AND FEES
Please refer to Documentation Requirements & Processing Time for more information.
PRACTISING CERTIFICATE AND FEE
Upon registration, the doctor is required to apply for a practising certificate (PC) before he / she can practise medicine in Singapore. Please refer to Fees Schedule Table for fee payable. A practising certificate (PC) will be issued once a doctor is successfully registered.
No refunds will be given for any unused portion of the PC.
Under section 17(1) of the Medical Registration Act (MRA), any unauthorised person who:
a) practises medicine;
b) wilfully and falsely pretends to be a duly qualified medical practitioner;
c) practises medicine or any branch of medicine, under the style or title of a physician, surgeon, doctor, licentiate in medicine or surgery, bachelor of medicine, or medical practitioner, or under any name, title, addition or description implying that he holds any diploma or degree in medicine or surgery or in any branch of medicine;
d) advertises or holds himself out as a medical practitioner; or
e) contravenes section 13 or 14 of the MRA
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.