The Singapore Medical Association (SMA) was formed in 1959 as the national medical organisation representing the majority of medical practitioners in both the public and private sectors in Singapore. Its slogan, 'For Doctors, For Patients', reflects the belief that the doctor-patient relationship sits at the heart of every scientific, technological, policy and business decision affecting healthcare.
SMA's objectives include promoting the medical and allied sciences in Singapore, maintaining the honour and interests of the medical profession, fostering unity within the profession, voicing the profession's views to Government and other bodies, supporting a higher standard of medical ethics and conduct, and publishing papers, journals and other materials in furtherance of these goals.
Under its umbrella, SMA runs the Centre for Medical Ethics and Professionalism (CMEP), which offers doctors a platform for life-long learning in medical ethics, health law and medical practice, and works to develop and promote the art and science of medical ethics for the betterment of patient care and public health. SMA also organises the annual SMA Lecture, instituted in 1963, an annual lecture on medical ethics and related topics delivered by eminent and distinguished persons who have made significant contributions to medicine and the community.
SMA's services extend to members and the medical community more broadly, including a jobs portal, advertising and partnership opportunities, professional indemnity information, an ethics consultation service, feedback handling on doctors' professionalism, and a Clinic Assistant Course.
The Singapore Medical Association (SMA) has represented the country's medical profession since 1959. As the national medical organisation, it counts the majority of medical practitioners in both the public and private sectors among its members, and its guiding slogan, 'For Doctors, For Patients', sums up its dual focus: supporting the profession while protecting the doctor-patient relationship that sits at the centre of healthcare.
SMA's stated objectives run from the practical to the principled. It works to promote the medical and allied sciences in Singapore, to maintain the honour and interests of the medical profession, and to foster unity of purpose among doctors. It also acts as a voice for the profession to Government and other relevant bodies, supports a higher standard of medical ethics and conduct, and works to enlighten public opinion on health issues, including through its own papers, journals and publications.
A core part of SMA's work happens through its Centre for Medical Ethics and Professionalism, known as SMA CMEP, which is now in its 25th year. CMEP exists to give doctors a platform for life-long learning in medical ethics, health law and medical practice, and to develop and promote the art and science of medical ethics for the betterment of patient care and public health. Its focus areas span professionalism topics like confidentiality, accountability, collegiality, communication, consent and conflict of interest, alongside ethics and health law areas such as understanding health law, medico-legal report writing, expert witness work, statutory certification and the disciplinary process. CMEP pursues this through developing course materials, collaborating with other institutes and professional bodies, and running courses, seminars, conventions and meetings, as well as through position statements, papers and its role as a resource centre for SMA members.
One of SMA's longest-standing traditions is the SMA Lecture, instituted in 1963 through a grant from SMA to the Faculty of Medicine to establish an annual lecture on medical ethics and related topics. The first two lectures were held in 1963 and 1964, and in 1969 the Lecture was folded into the 2nd SMA National Medical Convention, held alongside the 4th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of the Academy of Medicine to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of Singapore. It became an annual fixture and the centrepiece of the SMA Medical Convention until 1990, when it moved to the SMA Annual Dinner, and from 1997 it has been organised alongside the SMA Ethics Convention. The Lectureship is awarded by invitation of the SMA Council to eminent and distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to medicine and the community; the first non-SMA member to deliver it was Dr M K Rajakumar from Malaysia in 1983, and the first non-doctor was Mr Justice P Coomaraswamy in 1989.
Beyond advocacy and education, SMA publishes SMA News and the Singapore Medical Journal (SMJ), along with a monthly SMJ CME quiz for continuing education. For members and the wider medical community, SMA runs a range of services including a jobs portal, advertising and partnership opportunities, a channel for feedback on doctors' professionalism, professional indemnity information, an ethics consultation service, and a Clinic Assistant Course.
SMA's office is located at 166 Bukit Merah Central, #04-3531 Eagles Center, Singapore 150166. The office operates Monday to Friday from 8:30AM to 6:00PM, and is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Enquiries can be made by phone, email, or through the contact form on SMA's website.