The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) grants temporary registration to the following groups:

1. Visiting experts here to perform medical or surgical procedures or conduct  demonstrations on patients;
   
   
2. Foreign-trained doctors here for training attachments, research or postgraduate training in approved institutions, e.g. in restructured hospitals. They will be designated as clinical fellows or clinical observers.
   
   
3. Doctors without registrable qualifications to work in specialties/department where there is an acute shortage of doctors (Temporary Registration of Doctors in Areas of Need).
   
   

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TEMPORARY REGISTRATION

The doctor must first be in active clinical practice; have an offer of a training position either as a Clinical Fellow or Clinical Observer in an approved healthcare institution in Singapore or In the case of visiting experts possess the pre-requisite knowledge, experience and skills and of international standing.  In addition he must have:

• a basic medical degree from an accredited medical university or medical school.
  
  
• passed the relevent national licensing examination in the country of conferment of basic degree, where applicable.

• evidence of at least 12 months housemanship/internship with a certificate of satisfactory completion of housemanship or equivalent;

• been registered as a medical practitioner in the country where he is currently practising as a medical practitioner;

• been certified to be of good standing by the Medical Council or the relevant national authority.
  
  

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA

A) For Clinical Fellow

1. minimum of 3 years working experience as a medical officer (or equivalent);
2. fulfill English Language requirements of SMC¹
3. preferably have obtained a postgraduate diploma or degree in his country.
   
   

Postgraduate Training Programmes for Clinical Fellows are capped at a maximum of 2 years and are accredited by SMC

As a Clinical Fellow, the doctor will be allowed to be involved in patient care and make entries in patients' case note, communicate care plans to patients and fellow healthcare professionals and perform procedures under direct supervision or Level 1 supervision.

B) For Clinical Observer

Postgraduate Training Programmes for Clinical Observers are capped at a maximum of 3 months and the programmes do not need to be accredited by SMC.

Clinical Observers unlike Clinical Fellows cannot

1. be involved in direct patient care; and
2. be allowed to make entries in patients^' case notes or write prescriptions for patients.
   
   

However they can be allowed to assist in procedures under direct supervision and will be subject to Level 1² supervision by their supervisor at all times.

Temporary registration granted for Clinical Observership will not be considered for extension. 

C) Visiting Expert

Not all visiting experts need to be registered. Those who are here solely to lecture but do not perform procedures on patients or carry out consultations with patients need not register with SMC.  However visiting experts who are here to do procedures or demonstrate their skills on patients must be temporarily registered to practise. Furthermore, the sponsoring healthcare institution must inform the SMC of the purpose i.e., application should be submitted to SMC at least 2 weeks before the visit.

Verification of the Visiting Expert who need to be registered for practice

1. The Head of Department and Chairman, Medical Board of the host institution in Singapore OR an academic professional body (e.g. The Academy of Medicine, Singapore or the College of Family Physicians, Singapore) must verify the visiting expert's expertise in a field of specialty (and confirm that such expertise is not available locally since such experts are here to do such procedures or demonstrate their special skills on patients).
   
   
2. However there are circumstances in which such expertise is available in Singapore in which case the host institution must inform in writing why the local experts could not perform the clinical/surgical procedures or demonstrate the procedure.
   
   

TEMPORARY REGISTRATION FOR SERVICE PROVISION

With effect from 1 Apr 2009, SMC may consider registering doctors without registrable qualifications under temporary registration to work in specialties/department where there is an acute shortage of doctors. Read more under Temporary Registration for Service Provision in Areas of Need.


EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY REGISTRATION
 

Existing doctors granted temporary registration under short term employment prior to 1 Apr 2009 and whose current term of temporary registration is expiring may apply for an extension of their registration in writing, subject to compliance with prevailing requirements for temporary registration. Only those with good performance from their assessment reports will be allowed to extend.

Furthermore, for extension of temporary registration beyond the limit of 4 years to the maximum limit of 6 years, the doctor must show that he has:

• been accepted and enrolled in any of the courses leading to a Diploma awarded by the Academy of Medicine Singapore, apporved under the Staff Registrar Scheme (SRS) or

• obtained Part I of a registrable postgraduate degree³, or the Graduate Diploma in Family Medicine (GDFM); and is further pursuing a recognized postgraduate degree, e.g. MRCS, FRCS, MMed (Family Medicine).
  

Please refer to List of Approved Diplomas on the list SMC approved Diplomas under the SRS.

Note: No more extensions will be given if temporarily registered doctors fail to meet the milestone criteria at the 4^th year and 6^th year of practice in Singapore .

A new application for temporary registration will be required if the approved period for temporary medical registration has expired or if the temporary registrant reapplies after he/she has ceased practice at the approved place of practice for whatever reason.

The above criteria for extension is NOT applicable to temporarily registered service provider doctors in areas of need.

TEMPORARY REGISTRATION FOR SERVICE PROVISION IN AREAS OF NEED

Doctors employed under this scheme will be granted temporary medical registration for 12 months in the first instance, subject to the conditions stipulated by the SMC. Their performance must be consistently good before they can extend their registration with SMC.

These doctors will not be eligible for conditional registration unless they acquire a postgraduate qualification recognised by SMC.

The areas of need are Emergency Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine, Internal Medicine, Renal Medicine, Neonatology, Paediatric Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Eligibility Requirements

Besides meeting the General Requirements for Temporary Registration, doctors granted registration under this scheme must also:

1. be in active clinical practice; and
2. have at least 3 years of post housemanship working experience as a medical officer (or equivalent) in the relevant field or possess a postgraduate qualification in the relevant field.

Conditions for practice:

Doctors granted temporary registration under this scheme are required to work under the following conditions:-

a)      They will only be allowed to work in the identified departments;
b)      They must not be rotated to any other departments and institutions unless
         approved by the SMC;
c)      They will be subjected to close supervision throughout the first 2 years of their
         temporary registration; Employing institutions must submit assessment reports
         at the 3rd month and 6th month after commencement of work, and thereafter at
         6-monthly intervals to the Council.

Criteria for Extension:

To apply for extension of temporary registration, the temporary registrant must:

i)    have assessment reports of 'Exceeding' and above by the end of 1^st year of registration; and

ii)   be accepted into a Diploma course conducted by the Academy of Medicine, Singapore under the Staff Registrar Scheme (SRS) approved by the SMC within the 2^nd year of registration; and

iii)  have a long-term career plan i.e. be on track to obtaining the Diploma under SRS by the end of the 4^th or 5^th year of registration (depending on the duration of the Diploma). A doctor who has successfully completed an approved Diploma under the SRS may apply for conditional registration; or

iv)  obtain a registrable postgraduate medical qualification such as MRCP by the end of their 4^th year of registration; or

v)   be accepted as specialist trainee in areas of need only by the Joint Committee on Specialist Training (JCST) by the end of their 4^th year of registration.

Note: The temporary registration for service provider doctors in areas of need will be cancelled if they fail to meet the milestones for extension above. The doctor's performance/ assessment reports will also be taken into consideration when the SMC considers the doctor's application for extension.  Only doctors whose performances were considered good by the SMC would be allowed to extend their medical registration. 

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APPLICATION FORM AND FEES

All applications for temporary registration must be submitted using SMC's prescribed form which can be downloaded from http://www.smc.gov.sg under  .

An additional Form A - Clinical Observer/Fellow is necessary for those who are here for training available from the web link above.

All completed forms should be sent to SMC THROUGH the local employer or sponsoring institution together with supporting documents where applicable and fee.  The current application fee for initial temporary registration is SGD$180 and for extension of temporary registration is SGD$65. 

All documents and fees must be submitted at the same time to avoid delays.  Processing of applications only start when all documents and fees are submitted. Authenticated English translations must accompany all documents in a foreign language.  Incomplete applications will not be clocked in for processing and will be returned to the HR Directors of applying institutions with the reason for the returned application. 
 

Supporting documents for registration

Every application will be considered based on its merits. To ascertain that the doctor's status is bona fide, with no disciplinary actions against him or investigations pending, the following documents are to be supplied at application.

Photocopies of:

1. Undergraduate and postgraduate medical qualifications (For certificates or qualifications in a language other than English, a certified true copy of the English translation).
2. Transcripts of examination results of each undergraduate year of medical studies.
3. Documentary evidence of housemanship or internship with details on the period of training in each discipline.
4. Certificates of service or service testimonials for work experience for the preceding 3 years, indicating job grade, nature of medical employment, period(s) of employment, assessment of work performance and other relevant information to show clinical competencies attained.
5. Current and where applicable, previous Certificates of medical registration with other medical licensing authorities.

Note: The SMC may require the applicant to submit other relevant documents for non straightforward applications e.g. explanation for lapses of employment.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FROM ISSUING AUTHORITIES:

The SMC requires the applicant, employer or institution to arrange for the following letters and certificate to be forwarded to the Council:

1. Letter of verification for applicant's basic medical qualifications;
2. Letter of verification for applicant's postgraduate medical qualifications;
3. Certificate of Good Standing (CGS)
   

The letter of verification must be addressed to the specific HR officer or the institution or the person representing the employer by NAME before it can be accepted by SMC i.e. if source verification is obtained by the HR/ employer.

SMC'S VERIFICATIONS

After the registration process is activated, SMC may independently liaise with the corresponding council or licensing authority for the Certificate(s) of Good Standing (CGS) where the applicant has been practising for the preceding 3 years prior to his application. To avoid delays in processing, the doctor is advised to arrange for the CGS to be sent directly to the SMC or his employer in Singapore by the issuing authority. CGS handed to SMC directly by the doctor will not be acceptable for registration.

DOCUMENTS FROM THE EMPLOYER OR SPONSORING INSTITUTION

A) CLINICAL FELLOWS/ OBSERVERS

1. Offer of training from the local training institution;
2. Form A for Clinical Fellows/ Observers  which must be signed by the applicant, the appointed clinical supervisor and the Head of Department of the training institution and the :

Annex B - signed by the CEO, or  Chairman of the Medical Board, or Medical Director or equivalent to indicate that the institution or practice is aware of and conforms to SMC's Supervisory Framework for this applicant;

Annex C - signed by the appointed supervisor to indicate that he will comply with SMC's Supervisory Framework for the applicant.

Form D1 - completed and signed by the Head of Department

B) VISITING EXPERTS 

(Application MUST be submitted to SMC at least 2 weeks before the clinical or surgical procedure or practice)

1. Letter from sponsoring healthcare institution, stating the purpose of the application and period of registration required for the Visiting Expert;
2. Curriculum vitae of the Visiting Expert;
3. Copies of undergraduate and postgraduate medical qualifications. Certificates or qualifications in a foreign language must be submitted together with a certified true copy of the English translation.
4. Verification of Visiting Expert's status -  Confirmation of the applicant's expertise and endorsement either by the Head of Department and Chairman, Medical Board of the restructured or private hospital OR the relevant academic professional body where applicable.

PRACTISING CERTIFICATE AND FEE

A practising certificate (PC) will be issued once a doctor is successfully registered.  The fee is SGD $100 for a PC of less than 6 months and SGD$200 for a period of up to 12 months.

PROCESSING TIME

Provided all documentations required by SMC are submitted with relevant fee, the average time required for processing an application for medical registration is about 3 - 4 weeks. The time clock for processing will only start if the application and all documents submitted are in order.