MASTER'S MESSAGE (JUL 2012)

3 July 2012

Dear Fellow Academicians

It is my great honour to be the Master of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, for the term 2012-2014.  Your support reinforces my commitment to serve you to the best of my efforts and capabilities.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Tan Kok Chai, Master of the Academy 2010-2012, for leading us through a very challenging time the past 2 years.

Moving forward, much more will be done for our Fellows.  You will receive periodic updates from me and the Academy, as staying engaged with our Fellows is one of the top priorities of the Academy.

The organisational structure of the Council and various committees are shown on the Academy’s website.

I wish to highlight that the Academy now has two Assistant Masters; one overseeing Academic Affairs and the other Administrative Affairs.  The creation of these two positions was approved at the 34th Annual General Meeting held on 16 June 2012.   It is not uncommon for professional organisations to have two or more deputies.  Having progressed over 55 years, from a 34-member professional body in 1957 to a large specialist organization of more than 2,400 Fellows today, it is timely for the Academy to inaugurate the appointment of two Assistant Masters.  The Assistant Masters will have additional role in ensuring that we meet our key goals and priorities in our Strategic Plans (vide infra).

With a dynamic mix of senior and junior fellows blending experiences with fresh ideas, we hope our Council will serve you better.

I am glad that the previous Council have met and prepared a Strategic Plan for the Academy.

In the next 12 months, our Council’s top priorities shall be to (1) improve communications with Fellows; (2) increase membership benefits; and (3) develop good specialty-specific Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes to maintain & further enhance our Fellows’ clinical competencies.

In addition, the Academy will be more proactive in giving professional opinions to the Ministry of Health and the public.  The most recent view expressed by the Academy is on Benefits of screening mammography.

We look forward to working together with you to achieve our common goals in our Strategic Plan.  With your contribution much can be achieved, especially in developing a sound and robust CPD programme.

This year’s Congress, organised by the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, will be held in Kuala Lumpur from 12th to 14th July 2012.  The theme of the congress is “Cardiometabolic Diseases:  Are we up for the Challenge?”  The congress also features the participation from the Royal College of Physicians, London.  The programme will give you a good update of various cardiometabolic diseases which are common co-morbidities in many of our patients.

The Annals is the official medical journal of the Academy.  Under the leadership of Editor Dr Tan Eng King, Emeritus Editor Dr Vernon Oh and the Editorial Board, the impact factor has increased progressively since 2004.  I am pleased to share with you the good news that the Impact Factor has risen to 1.25 in 2011.  Please continue to support our journal by sending articles for publication under various categories.

This year, the Academy’s Induction Comitia will be witnessed by Guest-of-Honour, Dr Amy Khor, Minister of State, Ministry of Health, Singapore. The investiture will be held on 23rd August 2012 at the Health Promotion Board’s Auditorium starting from 5:30 pm.  More than 50 new Fellows will be inducted and another 20 Staff Registrar Scheme (SRS) graduates will receive their SRS Diploma.  The Academy will also launch its fundraising campaign “A Tribute to Gordon Arthur Ransome” to perpetuate the Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration. I would like to invite you to join us for this very special occasion.

The Academy is committed to serving our Fellow Academicians.  Therefore, I encourage you to visit our website regularly to stay updated of our progress and also to share with us your valuable suggestions how we can do more for our Fellows.

Best Wishes

Dr LIM Shih Hui

Master

Academy of Medicine, Singapore

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