SINGAPORE – From 2027, junior doctors shadowing senior physicians on their rounds at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) will be joined by undergraduates studying traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
They will be final-year students of
the four-year Bachelor of Chinese Medicine programme at Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
.
The hospital is joining forces with the university to combine Western treatments with Eastern therapies in exploring the role of TCM as a complementary modality.
Through the collaboration, called the Prevention and Recovery through Integrative Medicine, the institutions will look into the role of TCM to manage pain, relieve symptoms and support rehabilitation.
The partnership was inked on Oct 9 at the 23rd Singapore Health and Biomedical Congress, held at the Singapore Expo.
In his keynote address, Senior Minister of State for Health Koh Poh Koon said the partnership will not only align clinical and academic efforts to enhance patient care, but also “provide cross-training for TCM and Western medical students, and advance research and evidence-based practices in integrative medicine”.
“This collaboration will equip more clinicians with skills to meet the growing demand for integrative care approaches,” added Dr Koh, who is also Senior Minister of State for Manpower.
Under the partnership, final-year TCM students will undergo clinical rotations at TTSH from 2027. They will observe how TCM and Western medicine coexist in patient care while learning practical knowledge tailored to Singapore’s healthcare.
This partnership will strengthen the training of TCM practitioners, said Professor Benjamin Seet, group chairman of the medical board (research) and co-chair for the Academic Partnership Office at NHG Health.
Citing the 2022 National Population Health Survey, Dr Quah Teik Joo, who heads complementary integrative medicine at TTSH, said about one in five adult Singaporeans uses TCM services annually and about 40 per cent of them use TCM and Western medicine concurrently.
“When it comes to acupuncture specifically, it has been scientifically proven to help in pain management via effect on nerve pathways and hormonal changes,” he added.
Dr Quah, who is also a senior consultant of general medicine, said inpatient treatment using TCM is currently limited to acupuncture, which is offered in TTSH, Ren Ci Community Hospital and TTSH Integrated Care Hub.
Associate Professor Linda Zhong, director of biomedical sciences and Chinese medicine at the School of Biological Sciences in NTU, said the aim is to combine biomedical science research and TCM training to treat patients.
Associate Professor Linda Zhong (centre), director of biomedical sciences and Chinese medicine at the School of Biological Sciences in NTU, with second-year TCM students Chandraratne Aiko Tiranya Kumari (left) and Aw Xi Han.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Second-year TCM students Aw Xi Han and Chandraratne Aiko Tiranya Kumari, both 20, joined Dr Quah on his rounds at TTSH on Oct 7, getting a glimpse of what awaits them during their final-year attachment.
Ms Aw said she took up TCM “because it is the least invasive and has a long history of maintaining holistic balance to ensure the health of a patient”.
For Ms Aiko, her love for Chinese culture inspired her to study TCM.
“I hope I will be able to help the elderly extend their health expectancies, instead of having them spend their last 10 years being sick,” said Ms Aiko, who speaks fluent Mandarin.
Besides NHG Health, TCM services are also integrated with Western medicine in the other two public healthcare clusters – SingHealth and National University Health System.
A National University Hospital spokeswoman said acupuncture is provided through its Anaesthesia, Pain Management and Acupuncture Clinic under the Department of Anaesthesia.
“A dedicated team of Western-trained physicians and accredited acupuncturists provide consultations and acupuncture therapies for both referred and walk-in patients. The services offered include acupuncture, cupping therapy, electro-acupuncture and TCM consultation and assessment,” she said.
Dr Quah Teik Joo (second from right) with Associate Professor Linda Zhong (second from left) and second-year TCM students Chandraratne Aiko Tiranya Kumari (left) and Aw Xi Han.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
The treatments are offered to support pain management and musculoskeletal conditions. Acupuncture therapy is also used to help in the recovery from stroke paralysis and peripheral neuropathy.
SingHealth has been offering acupuncture at several of its institutions for more than 25 years, including Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital and Sengkang General Hospital.
Professor Lim Shih Hui, a senior consultant in neurology at the National Neuroscience Institute, told The Straits Times that SingHealth is also actively collaborating with various educational and medical institutions to advance research and enhance treatment delivery in acupuncture.
“The National Cancer Centre Singapore is collaborating with Zhong Hua Medical Institute, Thong Chai Medical Institution and Nanyang Technological University’s Chinese Medicine Clinic on cancer research and education.
“And the National Neuroscience Institute is exploring dementia research opportunities with a local TCM medical institute,” he said.
“Additionally, SingHealth has established a partnership with Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan covering TCM education, research and services.”
On Oct 9, a partnership agreement was signed between NHG Health and DFI Retail Group, in a multimillion-dollar relationship to make preventive care and everyday health and wellness products more accessible to the public.
Prof Seet said NHG Health is known for its innovative products, which range from products for skin healing and rehabilitation to diagnostic kits and speciality nutrient-rich foods for the elderly.
“We actually want to concentrate on making products that reach the people in the community, rather than just writing scientific papers that get published but do not move beyond that. So being able to work with retailers that actually reach more people through evidence-based interventions and products is a key part of this collaboration,” he said.
NHG Health and DFI Retail Group will explore co-developing health and wellness programmes, strategies and services for Asia in the long run. These include screening tools, as well as nutritional and integrated care solutions.
