At National University Heart Centre, Singapore (NUHCS), we provide undergraduate and postgraduate programmes on cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery for both aspiring and trained doctors who wish to enhance their skills. Since the programmes' induction, we have helped numerous doctors acquire more sophisticated skills for the benefit of patients.
Asst. Prof. Low Ting Ting, Asst. Prof. Jimmy Hon Kim Fatt and Asst. Prof. Yeo Wee Tiong share more about the Cardiology Programme for Undergraduates, Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Programme and Cardiology Postgraduate Programme respectively.
At NUHCS, our cardiologists are actively involved in medical education and training the next generation of doctors. Our clinician educators design the curriculum for cardiovascular systems learning and provide a structured learning programme for the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
Exposure to clinical cardiology starts in the second year of medical school where foundational skills are taught in ambulatory clinics. In year three, medical students are posted to wards, and they learn through a series of small group teachings and bedside tutorials. Students may also opt for an elective two-week Cardiology Programme in the following year where they gain more exposure about subspecialty management and complex cardiac procedures. In the final year, the undergraduates function as interns in cardiac wards with guidance and supervision. NUHCS also runs the Chia Boon Lock Cardiology Review Course annually, a comprehensive revision course for final year students comprising of talks on topic reviews and clinical short cases.
Cardiology is a major component of several residency programmes, including Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine. NUHCS' faculty members are regularly invited to provide subspecialty teaching on common cardiology topics. During their clinical rotations at NUHCS, trainees benefit from an enriching structured programme encompassing clinical exposure, teaching rounds and journal clubs. To value-add to the learning experience, we also launched the inaugural PACES Cardiology course earlier this year to improve trainees' proficiency in the cardiology station for PACES examination.
Accredited by the American College of Graduate Medical Education International (AGGME-I) since 2013, the Cardiology Postgraduate Programmme trains the next generation of cardiologists and equips them with essential skill sets to function as future-ready cardiologists. The training covers all major aspects of cardiology practice in various settings with a key emphasis on research. The research output of our trainees has been well recognised with some entering the highly competitive Junior Academic Faculty Scheme organised by the National University of Singapore.
Our Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Programme offers trainees a full complement of cardiac surgical interventions, from time-honoured surgeries such as coronary artery bypass, valve repairs and replacements to enhanced techniques like minimally invasive cardiac surgery and transcatheter aortic valve implantation. The programme is also an integral part of NUHCS Aortic Centre which provides surgical and endovascular management of aortic diseases.
At the Division of Thoracic Surgery, our residents are exposed to a high volume of pulmonary, pleural, mediastinal and tracheal procedures, receiving full-breadth training in thoracic surgery, including open and minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery and airway surgery, Our academic medical centre carries a strong research heritage, and also provides them with the opportunity to participate in Basic Science, Clinical and Translational Research. In addition, our residents attend regular teaching sessions, wetlab workshops and simulation courses such as the recent Coronary Anastomosis Workshop.
We aim to have all our graduates independently practicing cardiothoracic surgery in either an academic institution or in private practice.
By Asst. Prof Low Ting Ting, Asst. Prof. Yeo Wee Tiong and Asst. Prof. Jimmy Hon Kim Fatt
