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Alan Ng Wei Keong
Master (2022-2024)
Academy of Medicine, Singapore
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6 September 2023
Dear Fellow Academicians
The Academy had announced to members on 22 July 2023 that the Academy's servers were subject to a ransomware attack which was uncovered on 13 July 2023. This was reported to the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, Singapore Police Force and Personal Data Protection Commission Singapore (PDPC). Even as investigations were ongoing, we have taken a proactive approach toward notifying the stakeholders, and potential individuals who may be affected by the incident, and responding to media queries.
We regret the unfortunate incident and we apologise for the anxiety and inconvenience caused. As a valued member of the Academy, your trust is important to us. I would like to share with you some of the actions taken so far.
We have invested a significant amount of time and effort tightening our cybersecurity in consultation with our cybersecurity consultant. In our recent notification, we have updated members on the installation of new and enhanced firewall with 24/7 remote managed service and implementation of multi-factor authentication. We are also in the process of reviewing and increasing the robustness of our IT infrastructure. Moving forward, we intend to onboard third party cybersecurity expert with a view to engaging their expertise and services to strengthen AMS' cybersecurity processes. We will put in place appropriate data management and protection practices.
The Academy is now working closely with the PDPC in its investigation.
We thank you for your continued support and patience as we continue to work through this incident.
As announced on 8 August 2023, Dr Wong Chiang Yin has been duly elected as the Master-Elect (2023-2024) of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore. He will assume the leadership as Master at next year’s Annual General Meeting, for a two-year term.
Dr Wong joined as Fellow of the Academy in 2007 and has been an active Elected Council Member of the Academy since 2009, with a break in 2021-2023. He has held various positions in the Council as Assistant Master – Administrative Affairs (2020-2021), Scribe (2019-2020) and Censor (2009-2019).
Dr Wong is currently a Senior Consultant (part-time) in Primary and Continuing Care, Ministry of Health. He was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of the Thomson Medical Group.
Dr Wong is a Council member with the Singapore Medical Council. He also sits in the Board of Directors for the National Healthcare Group and Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital. Dr Wong is the Advisor for Healthier SG (NUHS) as well as MOH Holdings Pte Ltd.
His paper, ‘A descriptive study of the effect of a disciplinary proceeding decision on medical practitioners' practice behaviour in the context of providing a hydrocortisone and lignocaine injection’, to raise awareness on the risks of defensive medicine taking root in Singapore, was cited in a speech made in Parliament.
Dr Wong holds a Master of Medicine in Public Health and a MBBS from the National University of Singapore and an MBA (Finance) from the University of Leicester.
Please join me in congratulating Dr Wong Chiang Yin on his appointment and we look forward to his leadership and direction.
In the recently released Clarivate Journals Citations Reports 2023, the Annals recorded an impact factor of 5.2 for 2022. We remained in the first quartile in the competitive category of Medicine (General and Internal) and the Annals is ranked second among medical journals in Asia.
I applaud the Annals for the value and quality of its work. Articles published on the Annals website continue to attract readership from across the globe.
The Annals serves as the main medical publishing platform of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, focused on delivering timely peer-reviewed research data that steer healthcare policies in Singapore. The journal aims to identify and highlight pressing areas of research in our healthcare landscape.
The Annals has made significant progress in rallying our community of researchers and healthcare institutions to leverage our publishing platform to communicate research findings. I urge all of you to strongly consider submitting your work to the Annals.
The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) announced recently in a circular on 11 May 2023, that all doctors from 2026 onwards must acquire 5 Mandatory Medical Ethics (MME) CME core points before they can renew their Practising Certificate (PCs). Registered doctors are advised to start accumulating core points for MME CME from 1 January 2024 (for PCs ending this year on 31 December 2023).
I am pleased to inform our Fellows that:
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The Academy will be offering various CME Courses and modules on Medical Ethics that qualify for such MME core points come January 2024.
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The first batch of modules will be announced to facilitate you in attaining your Medical Ethics core points. Some of the courses will be online Self-Learning Modules (SLM) and will be opened to all medical practitioners. For every successful completion of a module, one MME core CME point will be awarded.
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As part of your members’ privilege, Fellows and members in good standing will be able to attempt these modules at no additional cost.
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We are currently working to improve and upgrade our AMS Learning Management System (LMS) to ensure that you can meet this requirement conveniently and have a better learning experience. More updates on this initiative will be provided in due course.
The Academy will continue to develop and produce more CME/CPD content in the coming months to give members a wider selection of modules to meet your PC requirements for renewal come 2026.
At the Academy's 45th Annual General Meeting on 10 June 2023, I have announced that the Academy has initiated an important undetaking to review and update the Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&AA) of the Academy. We will be engaging Fellows on this major exercise. Please keep a look out for the upcoming announcements and we look forward to your contribution and participation.
The Academy will be holding this year’s Induction Comitia on Saturday, 7 October 2023, 2pm, at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. Minister Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry will grace the event as the Guest-of-Honour.
The Induction Comitia is held annually to formally admit new Fellows into the Academy. We look forward to your presence to witness the conferment of their Fellowship.
Please join us for this special occasion.
56th Malaysia-Singapore Congress of Medicine 2023
The 56th Malaysia-Singapore Congress of Medicine (MSCM) was held on 7-9 July 2023 at the Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur, in conjunction with MyWoman International Congress 2023. The theme of the Congress was ‘Optimising Women’s Health’.
Our heartiest congratulations to the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia and the Organising Committee on the success of this long-running event that has facilitated the international exchange of knowledge and ideas central to the roles of healthcare professionals.
The Congresses of both Academy of Medicine of Malaysia and Academy of Medicine, Singapore are important annual events when Councils of both Academies meet to share our experiences and to brainstorm solutions on commonly encountered issues in our pursuit to bring our profession to greater heights.
At the AMM-AMS-HKAM Joint Council meeting on 8 July 2023, the three Academies renewed the Memorandum of Understanding to continue the collaboration in organising the Tripartite Congress.
Dr Tan Lay Kok, President, College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Singapore also shared the preliminary programme of the 57th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine which will be held in Singapore in 2024. He also gave a presentation on the role of simulation in specialist training at the President’s Round Table Meeting.
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The 57th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine will be held from 19th to 21st July 2024 with the theme ‘Relooking Women’s Health’.
We will be making the call for nominations for our named lectureships: (a) Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration, (b) Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture and (c) Galloway Memorial Lecture.
Please save the date in your calendar. More details will be shared in due course.
We look forward to your continuous support in our future activities.
Best Wishes
A/Prof Alan Ng Wei Keong
Master
Academy of Medicine, Singapore
Email: master@ams.edu.sg
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