Published on 23 September 2024

History Taking, History Making

Professor Joseph Sung
Distinguished University Professor
Senior Vice-President (Health & Life Sciences)
Dean, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine

Having lived here in Singapore for more than three years now, I am honoured to have many opportunities to be connected with Singapore’s senior physicians, surgeons, and clinical specialists, as well as to be invited to deliver named lectures for medical professionals. These include the Sir Gordan Ransome Oration of the Academy of Medicine Singapore; the Seah Cheng Siang Lecture of the College of Physicians, Singapore; and the Tan Tock Seng Hospital Oration.

To prepare for those lectures, I studied the history of these household names intently and was deeply touched by the evolving story of the medical profession in Singapore. They were pioneers in their own field, established new treatments and introduced new services to the country. These intellectual giants and professional heroes made a strong impression on me, having selflessly devoted their whole lives to the science of medicine and the service of their patients.

As one of the masters Professor Chew Chin Hin put it so aptly, “The medical fraternity in Singapore has this motto: ‘Not to be served unto, not the be ministered unto, but to minister.’”

Practising medicine is not just about fulfilling career dreams or building fame and fortune; it is about giving back what we have learnt to relieve pain and suffering for the sick and the poor. Isn’t that what medical education and speciality training should be for? We teach a lot about advances in medical science and often propagate high-tech surgical procedures. Have we forgotten the contributions of those who came before us and the ethos they lived by?

The history of medicine in Singapore is not something that could be taught in a classroom; it has to be discovered by the students themselves. Based on this belief, I proposed to our medical students that they embark on a special book project, launch into deep research on the history of medicine in Singapore, and more importantly, record its oral history through interviews and dialogues with senior members of our medical fraternity in order to capture their first-hand experiences, immortalise their stories, and eternalise their invaluable contributions to medicine. Through this process, I believe that our eyes will be opened, not just to the glorious history of hospitals and medical schools in Singapore but also to the blood, sweat, tears and toil of our profession.

I am glad that my proposal was met with great enthusiasm by the Students’ Medical Society and our student leaders across Year 1 to Year 5. There are certainly many stellar leaders we can learn from, but alas, we can only choose a select few whom we think are representative of the various specialities in Singapore’s three hospital clusters. We listened closely to their riveting stories, carefully recorded their deep reflections and sage advice, and came away inspired by their words of wisdom.

In this era when omics, big data, precision medicine, artificial intelligence and robotics have become so much our focus, let us look back into Singapore’s past in medicine to glean its many lessons and sacred values. This book, entitled “History Taking, History Making: Walking into the History of Medicine in Singapore” published just last month, is the proud production of our students in Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. It will be worth your time to leaf through it, and gain glimpses of the glorious history of our profession.

Explore the e-book here: [History Taking History Making: Walking into Singapore's Medical Story]