Welcome to the June issue! For those of you who took leave to go on overseas trips with your kids, I trust that you had a good time with them (and meanwhile, counting down the days before they go back to school!). For those of us who stayed in Singapore, at least we enjoyed the eased traffic and reduced crowds at the malls.
In this issue, we carry a full report on this year's SMA Annual Dinner, where Minister for Health Mr Gan Kim Yong graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour. Dr Chan Sing Kit and A/Prof Goh Lee Gan were conferred the SMA Honorary Membership for their years of patient care, education and contribution to the profession. Incidentally, A/Prof Goh Lee Gan served as the SMA News Editor from 1985 to 1998, leaving big shoes to fill!
At the dinner, SMA President Dr Wong Tien Hua highlighted the problem of escalating healthcare costs and the various contributing factors. One of the solutions he mentioned was the reintroduction of fee guidelines, which would help both doctors and patients know what constitutes reasonable pricing. Those of you who have been following should know the full history of why SMA had to remove the guidelines (https://goo.gl/esLW2M). Tien Hua suggested that the Ministry of Health should take the lead in reinstating the guidelines on fees.
Other recent SMA events include our participation in the 17th Medical Association of South East Asian Nations Mid-Term Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, and a tax seminar to help private practitioners better know their rights and obligations. SMA Centre for Medical Ethics and Professionalism shares with us techniques on how to build resilience; these tools should help us to resist burnout, in both our professional and personal lives.
Vanessa Lim and Tan Si Qi were part of the annual Paediatric Brain Tumour Awareness Day, which was held on 19 February 2017 at KK Women's and Children's Hospital. It was a fun-filled event that brought much joy to the brave children and their families.
In continuing awareness on national programmes to promote healthy lifestyles, we have Dr Seow Weibin writing about the Health Promotion Board's "I Quit" programme. He provides a comprehensive overview of the impact of smoking, the difficulties in quitting the addiction, and the details of how the programme helps smokers kick this habit.
We continue down memory lane with A/Prof Cuthbert Teo's historical articles, this time taking us through a harrowing period of our nation's history – the Japanese Occupation. Multi-talented Dr Chie Zhi Ying ties in with a poem inspired by her visit to the Changi Museum and the tales of suffering endured by the prisoners of war during that period.
Enjoy this read, and whatever jam-free traffic there is for the rest of June!