Section

ACGME-I Specialty Specific Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education

Addition/Change

Clarification

I.B

The education in internal medicine must be 36 months in length.

The total duration of training for exit certification as an internist in Singapore is 60 months in length.

The first 36 or 38* months of common trunk residency includes 3 - 4 months of General Surgery which is a licensing requirement.

Residents should have had at least 33* months of IM posting experience at the completion of their common trunk residency.

* YLL graduates begin their work experience in May and hence have 14 months of R1 (total 38 months common trunk residency).

Duke graduates begin R1 in July and have 12 months of R1 clinical experience (total 36 months common trunk residency).

II.A.2a

In conjunction with division chiefs, the program director must identify a qualified individual, the Subspecialty Education Coordinator (SEC), in each of the following subspecialties of internal medicine: cardiology, critical care, endocrinology, haematology, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, infectious diseases, nephrology, oncology, pulmonary disease, and rheumatology.

Add Neurology, Dermatology, Rehabilitation Medicine and Palliative Medicine to the list of internal medicine subspecialties.

It is the current list of Internal Medicine related specialties accredited for registration in Singapore.

II.E.1a

Required critical care rotations (e.g., medical or respiratory intensive care units, cardiac care units) which cannot be fewer than three months and more than six months over the 36 months of training.

Core rotations of a total duration of 24 months as follows:

General Medicine (Minimum 9 months) preferably spread out over the 36 months of residency, with a compulsory 3 - 4 months in the 1st year). Increasing graded responsibilities should be assumed year on year

Cardiology (Minimum 2 months, Maximum 3 months)

Respiratory Medicine (Minimum 2 months, Maximum 3 months)
Neurology (Minimum 2 months, Maximum 3 months)

Medical Intensive Care units (2 months)

Emergency Medicine (1 month)

Geriatric Medicine
(Minimum 1 month, Maximum 3 months)

IM residents are allowed to do maximum 1 month of Medicine in the Community as elective within the GRM rotation (i.e. IM residents must fulfil the mandatory 1 month GRM rotation and additional month can be Medicine in the Community/GRM)

If residents did not perform satisfactorily in core postings, then they would repeat it beyond the 36 months of training.

Singapore RAC specification for curriculum content.

Licensing requirement for PGY1 includes 3 - 4 months of General Surgery or Orthopaedics

II.E.1b

Exposure to each of the internal medicine subspecialties, dermatology, and neurology;

Elective postings from the list of internal medicine subspecialties (including dermatology and TB Control Unit) should not be less than 1 month and not more than 3 months each. The total duration of the elective postings should be 9 to 10 months.

A clinical research elective for a maximum period of 3 months is available within the 3 year accredited programme to residents who enter R1 at or above the PGY2 level.

Singapore RAC specification for curriculum content.

PGY2s and beyond would have completed 3 months in surgery during PGY1 and can have this time for clinical research as an elective.

II.E.5.a

On residents' emergency medicine assignments: internal medicine residents must be assigned to a minimum of four weeks direct experience in blocks of not less than two weeks.

Internal medicine residents assigned for a minimum of four weeks direct EM experience as per requirement II.E.1a.

Singapore RAC specification for curriculum content.