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History

Milestones in the History of Medical Education in Singapore
  • ​The first medical school was founded in 1905 through the philanthropy of a local entrepreneur, Mr Tan Jiak Kim and a petition from the local citizens to the Governor, Sir John Anderson, to establish a local medical school.
  • The institution was named "The Straits and Federal Malay States Government Medical School" as was initially housed in the Tan Teck Guan building (located behind the College of Medicine Building) which was erected in 1911.
  • The first posting comprised 23 students.
  • The school was renamed King Edward VII College of Medicine in 1920, in recognition of a gift of $120,000 from the King Edward VII memorial fund. The College of Medicine Building was officially opened in 1926, the same year that a new SGH was rebuilt and officially opened.
  • In 1949, the College of medicine Building became the Medical Faculty of the University of Malaya.
  • With the Faculty of Medicine being sited next to the main general hospital, it was inevitable that SGH took on a much heavier load as a teaching hospital. University departments were set up in the major disciplines such as Medicine, Surgery and Paediatrics. Students were exposed to every available discipline and in disciplines without University Departments such as Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology and Radiology, teaching was carried out by the government departments of the hospital.
  • Until 1986, the medical school of the National University of Singapore was situated in SGH and the university and governments departments at SGH covered undergraduate teaching. The pre-clinical departments were at the College of Medicine Building until the new NUS campus at Kent Ridge was completed.
  • After the university departments' move to Kent Ridge and completion of the National University Hospital, the government departments in SGH continued to carry out clinical training for medical students of NUS. Today the SGH is still a major teaching hospital and carries about one-quarter of the undergraduate teaching load. About 48% of its clinical staff have teaching appointments with NUS.

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