General practitioner continuing medical education is important to both Singapore doctors and the public. Doctors graduate from medical school into a challenging world of general practice armed with immense knowledge. They, however, still need more of the skills that will help them adapt to their new role. They need to learn how to connect with their colleagues and their patients, how to properly manage problems rather than just provide a cure, and how to encourage patients to share in decision-making.
-420957-edited.jpg?width=360&name=72dpi_shutterstock_394388467%20(1)-420957-edited.jpg "Here are the recommended online courses for GPS")
Continuing professional development (CPD) leads to safer and better health care. In saying this, before you embark on a journey to professional development, you need to identify what skills you need to learn most. It’s the first step to addressing your CPD needs.
CPD is defined by the Singapore Medical Council as any learning done “beyond medical school and housemanship”. Its main goal is to improve the quality of care you provide your patients and your performance as well as that of the teams you work with.
There’s no doubt that online courses for gps are necessary. A good locum doctor in Singapore must be competent and up to date in all the areas of general practice amidst a busy schedule.
Continuing professional development activities should be identified and planned based on your needs. But considering the health issues faced by Singaporeans based on the Singapore health statistics, these are the courses that will provide general practitioners in Singapore the capacity to provide the public the help they need the most:
1. Genomic and Precision Medicine University of California, San Francisco
This course aims to provide an “understanding of the structure of the human genome, genetic screening and diagnosis, solutions to diagnostic issues using genome studies, and treatment of cancer patients through genome expression”.
Why do Singapore GPs need to understand human genomics? According to the University of California, Genomic medicine is rapidly moving towards mainstream medicine. You need to understand it so that you can explain it to your patients and tell them how their “genomic profile” can affect their cancer treatment.
2. Screening and Assessing Depression in Primary Care Settings: Clinical and Ethical Considerations
This course aims to teach students the process of identifying signs and symptoms of depression, identifying patients at risk for suicide, evaluating the severity of depression and suicide risks, enforce a referral process of depressed and/or suicidal patients to psychiatric care, and supervise long-term care for depressed patients by teaming up with mental health professionals.
Why is there a need for Singapore GPs to undergo such training? The number of kids in Singapore with mental health issues is on the rise. Fortunately, GPs are now able to help patients with mental health problems with the help of the Institute of Mental Health in Singapore. More than 90% of patients have reported high levels of satisfaction because “the GP spends more time listening” to them and “the GP was patient”.
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3. Stanford University Palliative Care Always
The goal of this course is to provide the students with the knowledge they can use to extend help to patients needing palliative care. Communication skills, the proper response to emotion, and effective coaching for managing symptoms and distress are just a few of the skills you can learn from this online course for general practitioners.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Singapore. But with proper delivery of palliative care, cancer patients can be given a better quality of life. Cancer patients want to experience peace and the least discomfort possible during the last few months of their lives. And because GPs have extensive experience dealing with patients in primary care setting, you have an important role throughout the diagnosed cancer patients’ journey.
General practitioners often struggle with providing satisfactory care to their patients in terms of pain and symptom control, dealing with emotional distress, and attending to their psychosocial needs. Taking a course will aid in the improvement of your skills in these aspects of palliative care.
4. Stanford Center for Continuing Medical Education Introduction to Food and Health
This course aims to teach students to perform a patient interview and nutritional assessment so they can create a strategy to improve patients’ health.
Poor diet is a top risk factor that causes the most death and disability in Singapore. Yet, medical schools don’t provide enough training in the use of nutrition in patient management. In fact, many believe that nutrition plays a key role in the care of patients, but feel inadequately trained to provide the best nutrition advice. Taking this course should be the first step you take if you want to integrate diet and nutrition into your practice.
Want to be a good locum GP in Singapore? Looking for an effective way of managing your career in the dynamic world of the medical industry? Invest in continuing medical education with these online courses for general practitioners.
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