Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine receives International Neighbour of Choice grant from MSD
Published: 08 May 2013
Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), a leading global healthcare company; known as Merck & Co, Inc, in the United States, awarded a US$50,000 (S$61,900) grant to NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in support of the school’s programs to improve medical students’ empathy, community engagement, communication, leadership, and teamwork skills.
The grant known as International Neighbour of Choice, is one of MSD’s Corporate Philanthropy programs which supports outstanding work by non-profit organisations that address critical community issues and needs, and strive to improve the quality of life of local residents.
The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS is responsible for training the vast majority of doctors to serve the healthcare needs of the Singapore population. Continual enhancements and refinements are made to the medical school curriculum to keep pace with the evolving healthcare landscape, emerging pedagogies and international best practices.
Expounding on how the grant will help, Professor Hooi Shing Chuan, Vice-Dean for Education, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine said, “Many elderly Singaporeans suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol, most of which are largely managed in the community and by teams of healthcare professionals. The School pays much attention into nurturing skills in communication, empathy and teamwork, so that our future doctors will be well equipped to deal with the chronic disease burden. We are very grateful to MSD for this contribution that will go towards programs that aim at cultivating such skills, and for their partnership in nurturing our students into doctors who are competent, compassionate and community-minded, to serve the healthcare needs of the Singapore population.”
“MSD has a long history of promoting science education to develop the best-trained scientific minds around the globe. Fostering the next generation of scientific leaders with important skills as characterised by the NUS programs will bring the quality of patient care to a higher level in the future. MSD is committed towards this end and therefore we are very pleased indeed to support NUS in developing our future healthcare professionals,” said Lisa Yeoh, Managing Director of MSD.
The grant will be used to support the medical school programs that equip future doctors to better treat patients in the community.
