Continuing medical education (CME) consists of educational activities that serve to maintain, develop or increase the knowledge, skills and professional performance of a doctor.

Beyond medical school and housemanship, each doctor needs to keep himself current with changes in medicine generally and in areas relevant to his own practice in particular. Patients and society at large also want to be assured that the doctors they consult are practising up-to-date medicine and offering them good quality care. For these reasons, the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) has made CME compulsory for all doctors in Singapore with effect from 1 January 2003.

Since 1 January 2005, all fully and conditionally registered doctors renewing their practising certificates (PCs) are required to meet the compulsory CME requirements for their CME qualifying period(s) before their PCs are renewed.

The SMC-CME Coordinating Committee accredits CME programmes / activities and reviews CME policies and programmes. The Committee includes representatives from the Academy of Medicine Singapore, College of Family Physicians Singapore, Singapore Medical Association, Division of Graduate Medical Studies, as well as the Associate Deans of restructured hospitals.

Doctors can claim points for attending accredited local and overseas CME events; for the publication of original papers in refereed medical journals; for the presentation of original papers/ posters; for the reading refereed medical journals / MOH Clinical Practice Guidelines and for participating in accredited distance-learning programmes.

Attendance records for Categories 1A and 1B CME activities are submitted by the CME providers. However, all doctors are responsible for submitting their own claims for participating in Categories 1C, 2, and 3A activities and for specialists, Category 3B activities as well.

You can learn more about the 'Categories of CME Activities and Credit Claims' and the 'Policies on Compulsory CME and Renewal of Practising Certificates ' by clicking on the following hyperlinks:

(A) Categories of CME Activities and Credit Claims

(B) Policies on Compulsory CME and Renewal of Practising Certificates