Parliamentary Replies
Medical Education
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Seah Kian Peng, Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education in light of a recent Government proposal to offer subsidies to returning medical school graduates (a) what percentage of applicants for medical schools in Singapore have perfect scores (four As) over the last 3 years; (b) how do interviewers differentiate between students applying for local medicine schools; and (c) what is the percentage of students who drop out of medical schools over the last 3 years.
Response
From AY2007-2009, over 70% of the applicants to the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLL SoM) obtained 4As or better in the GCE ‘A’-level examinations. Medicine is a highly competitive course. To ensure that the school selects applicants with the correct aptitude and passion, all short-listed applicants have to submit a portfolio and personal statement, as well as undergo two rigorous interviews conducted by a panel of clinician educators. The interview panel assesses attributes such as integrity, teamwork, willingness to contribute to society and communication skills—all of which are key traits of a good doctor.
The attrition rate for YLL SoM has remained stable at below 2% (i.e. not more than 5 students in each cohort) over the past three years.