In keeping with Dr Michael Benedict Toh Kok Kuan's vision of paying it forward, his estate has set up this campaign to raise funds for the SMA–Dr Michael Toh Kok Kuan Medical Students' Assistance Fund for undergraduate recipients, so that they can better focus on medical education and community service without financial burdens.
Dr Toh was born in 1945 and passed away in 2015. Dr Toh had an intimate connection with medical students burdened with financial struggles – his father passed away in his first year of medical school. He was only able to complete his education with the financial assistance of a close family friend whose help he never forgot, and he constantly reminded his family to pay it forward.
After completing his postgraduate radiology training on the back of a scholarship to the UK, he returned to Singapore in 1974. During his time back in Singapore, he served at Singapore General Hospital and joined Mount Elizabeth Hospital in 1977. He set up the Mount Elizabeth Hospital’s X-Ray department during his tenure as the first head radiologist. He then went into private practice and worked as a consultant radiologist and founding partner of Radiologic Clinic Pte Ltd. He later dedicated his time to being the head/chief radiologist and medical director in multiple companies. He was last a visiting consultant at Changi General Hospital.
Dr Toh cared deeply for medical education, and he continued to contribute to the teaching of residents under his care even in his last days.
The SMA–Dr Michael Toh Kok Kuan Medical Students' Assistance Fund is a joint named bursary set up between his estate and the SMA Charity Fund in 2017, created in loving memory of Dr Toh.
From 2017 till the present, the SMA–Dr Michael Toh Kok Kuan Medical Students' Assistance Fund campaigns have raised over $173,862, which was utilised to support 35 bursaries for medical students' living expenses, enabling them to focus on their studies.