THE Ministry of Health (MOH) has set aside $7 million over the next five years to encourage more pharmacists to pursue specialist training, in anticipation of rising demand for such professionals.
The money will provide 35 scholarships in specialist residency training and support another 43 in Doctorate and Master programmes.
Due to the island's growing and greying population, the Singapore Pharmacy Board (SPB) has projected that Singapore will need an extra 200 pharmacists a year for the next five years.
More pharmacists with specialist expertise will also be required, especially in oncology, cardiology, critical care, infectious diseases, geriatrics and psychiatry.
Besides the training scheme, MOH is looking at allowing new pharmacy graduates from overseas to practise in Singapore. They would have to do pre-registration training and pass the pharmacy law and competency examinations before they can register with SPB.
This article was first published in The Business Times on May 29, 2008.
