Education

Department Education Group – Who we are?  

We are the group of clinician and science educators in the department who oversee the delivery of Pathology teaching through the various programmes, viz undergraduate, graduate, residency and continuing education and training.  Taking guide from the needs of the university and the healthcare landscape, we help plan and implement effective Pathology teaching for the various groups of students and trainees. ​

A/Prof Tan Kong Bing, is the Department Education Director, and likes to engage students in group discussion.​​

A/Prof Evelyn Koay is Honorary Fellow in the Department of Pathology.  Trained as a chemical pathologist, she teaches Molecular Pathology (Phase 4 Pathology Posting), using cases encountered at NUH diagnostic service laboratories (2011-2019).​​

A/Prof Thomas Putti, is the Dentistry (Pathology) module coordinator for several years along with his commitment to teaching Phase 2 and Phase 4 medical students. ​​

A/Prof Nga Min En is Clinician Educator and Core Faculty, and has an interest in developing interactive online learning content, and leads the Pathweb team. She enjoys using both ‘old school’ and IT-enabled methods for teaching. ​

A/Prof Victor Lee is the Deputy Head of Department.   ​​

Dr Cheok Chit Fang is the Postgraduate Education Director and oversees the graduate program for PhD and MSc students at the department. She teaches NUS Medical students and NUSMed graduate students and enjoys discussing about science and research.  ​​

Dr Thomas Paulraj Thamboo is the Program Director for the NUHS Pathology Residency Program. ​​

Dr Seet Ju Ee is Clinician Educator and Deputy Director of the Phase 4 Pathology Posting.  ​​

Dr Derrick Lian is Clinician Educator and the Phase 4 Posting Director. He is interested in discovering new and better ways to learn. ​​

Dr Wang Shi is Clinician Educator and the Lead for Phase 2 Episystems Block.   ​​

Dr Justin Wong is Clinician Educator and contributes to teaching Immunology as well as Pathology to Medical, Dental, and Pharmacy students. ​​

Dr Wu Bing Cheng is Clinician Educator and contributes to teaching Pathology to Medical students.  

Phase 2​

  • Pathology - the study of disease – has a central role in the NUS Medicine Phase 2 curriculum, themed Abnormal Structure and Function. Here, Pathology is organized around a three-pronged contribution. In the first, the foundational package of Principles of Pathology – covering cellular injury and adaptation, inflammation, healing and repair, haemodynamic disorders, and Cancer Biology, is delivered in the early part of the academic year, along with the other Episystems disciplines of Immunology, Genetics, Principles of Pharmacology and Microbiology.  In the second, Systemic Pathology - covering diseases of all the main organ systems is taught alongside the disciplines of Pharmacology, Microbiology and Infections, Radiology, Public Health and the clinical approaches to core conditions or problems. Pathology lessons are delivered via interactive lectures and tutorials, whether in-person or via online mode, during these pandemic times, with students having the option to enrich their learning journey through the Department’s interactive and comprehensive learning resource, Pathweb   (https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/pathweb/). Students may also learn about the clinical aspects of pathology on our instagram channel, @pathweb (https://www.instagram.com/pathweb/).​
  • The third aspect of the Phase 2 curriculum to highlight is the Collaborative Learning Cases (CLCs). These student-driven, tutor-facilitated discussions centering around key unfolding patient scenarios serve as critical capstone events to integrate knowledge within the Phase 2 curriculum. Pathology staff write the pathophysiological basis and salient diagnostic approaches to several of these CLC cases, apart from serving as co-tutors for many of these sessions.  ​
  • Through these multipronged approaches, our medical undergraduates are given a solid preclinical foundation as they proceed in their onward clinical training journey during the Phase 3 to Phase 5 years. ​
  • Our teaching faculty include all academic staff, as well as Pathology residents in our Postgraduate Residency Programme.

 

Phase 4​

  • In line with spiraling of curriculum, our medical undergraduates are once again exposed to Pathology during Phase 4 of their medical school journey. At this point, they would have completed clinical postings in Medicine and Surgery and seen how clinicians interacted with the various Pathology services in the ward to not only derive the clinical diagnosis, but also to select the most appropriate therapy for their patients. The Pathology posting at this point of training builds on pre-existing knowledge from Phase 2, in the context of the clinical encounters that students experienced in Phase 3 and helps to cement important concepts in the interpretation of the myriad of laboratory investigations.​
  • While this posting is relatively short, students are exposed to specialists from the various Pathology sub-specialties including Haematology, Chemical Pathology, Transfusion Medicine, Clinical Microbiology, Molecular Pathology, Cytopathology and Histopathology. Teaching takes the form of interactive tutorials, albeit online during this pandemic period, with some sessions featuring combined teaching with clinicians. Tutorials are designed with case-based elements, allowing students to appreciate how a good understanding of Pathology is a cornerstone to being a good clinician.​
  • A highlight of the posting is the attachment to the Health Sciences Authority Forensic Medicine Division, during which the students will be able to observe autopsies up close, visit the Subordinate Courts to see the Coroner in action, learn about autopsy practice in Singapore, and obtain an insight on the legal aspects of Medicine. ​
  • Finally, students who are interested to find out more about one (or all) of the Pathology sub-specialties are welcome to join the Department for an elective during this year of medical school, to get a more hands-on experience on the day-to-day workings of a Pathologist, or to participate in the many research or education projects that Pathologists are often involved in.​

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Pathology for Dentistry​

  • General and Systemic Pathology is also taught to the 2nd year Dentistry undergraduates. The module is delivered as a series of lectures and practicals-cum-tutorials. The scope covers the breath of General and Systemic Pathology and will provide the foundations of understanding the clinical sciences and to build a subsequent career in Dentistry.

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Pathology for Pharmacy​

  • Pathology contributes to the 1st year programme for NUS Pharmacy undergraduates in the PR1153  - Pharmacy Foundations – Science and Therapeutics II. Topics on cell injury and adaptation, inflammation, healing and repair, circulatory disorders, basic clinical laboratory tests and immunopathology – and delivered via a series of interactive classes, e-learning material and collaborative learning workshops (CLWs).

Histopathology Residency​

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Graduate Program at Department of Pathology​

The Department of Pathology provides an active and collaborative environment for graduate students to participate and lead projects in translational research in cancer. Candidate graduate students are welcome to apply to the various scholarship and funding opportunities at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. For more information, please refer to the School of Medicine website here.

Pathweb

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