Mission & History

Mission Statement

The Department of Medicine is dedicated to providing excellent care of adult patients suffering from the full spectrum of medical diseases, and advancing the health of the community at large through its quality staff who are champions of best clinical practices, leaders in education of the current and future generations of doctors, and discoverers of new knowledge and thoughts.

History

The Department of Medicine was one of the first units of the original King Edward VII College of Medicine in the early 20th century. The Department of Medicine (Medical Unit I and II) moved from the Singapore General Hospital to the National University Hospital, where it is today.

Listed below are the names of our distinguished Heads of Department:

Year Name
1981 - 1985 Prof Wong Poi Kwong
1985 - 1987 Prof Chan Heng Leong
1987 - 1993 Prof Tan Yew Oo
1993 - 1997 Prof Chan Heng Leong
1997 - 1999 Prof Tan Chorh Chuan
1999 - 2006 A/Prof Benjamin Ong
2006 - 2014 Prof Ho Khek Yu Lawrence
2014 - 2020 A/Prof Dan Yock Young
2020 - Prof Anantharaman Vathsala

The Department leverages on the synergies in administration, operations and clinical service between the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the National University Hospital. As such, it is able to offer both basic and advanced medical sub-speciality training in a wide range of disciplines, and has been very active in various collaborative research areas. In particular, the Department has been able to develop a stroke unit, a diabetic care centre, and a liver transplantation programme in conjunction with the other disciplines. Today, we strive to be an Academic Medical Centre delivering excellent clinical service, medical education and training as well as opportunities for clinical and translational research.