Training and Education

SNEC Training & Education Department
The Training & Education Department was formally established in 1 Jan 2000 to coordinate all medical and paramedical ophthalmic training in SNEC.

It is an important step in SNEC's development as it has been recognised that teaching is one of the main pillars of our strength.

The primary aim was to centralise and coordinate all postgraduate ophthalmic medical training in SNEC as well as to provide continuing medical education for ophthalmologists and general practitioners.

The department organises and coordinates all teaching activities involving SNEC. E.g. CME lectures, Subspecialty Courses, Workshops for General Practitioners, Joint meetings with overseas institution, Nursing and Paramedical Training Course etc.

It also supervises all aspects of the specialist training programmes in SNEC. This is to ensure that all trainees meet the training requirements adopted by the Specialist Training Committee.

SNEC Education Programmes
Continuing education and training will be key in steering SNEC into its next phase of development and ensuring that she maintains her position as the leading Centre of Ophthalmology in the region. As such, our relentless pursuit of training and education is one of the pillars of our strength. The width and depth of our teaching programmes attest to the fact that we are the main providers of ophthalmic training opportunities in Singapore and the region.

SNEC is the country's largest eye care provider and commands two-thirds of the national patient load with its wide range of general and subspecialty services. The Centre is well placed as the leading training institution in the region. Through active participation and hands-on training, our consultant based teaching is the backbone of continuing medical education. This has proven to be a very effective mentoring system for our specialists undergoing training.

SNEC is an accredited training centre for Basic Specialist Training leading to the MRCS/MRCOpth degrees of the College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (United Kingdom). Annually, we accept up to 5 residents into our basic training programme.

Besides basic training, SNEC also provides advanced training to specialists in the various subspecialties, namely, Cataract & Comprehensive Ophthalmology, Vitreous and Retina, Cornea & Refractive Surgery, Glaucoma, Oculoplastic, Paediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus, Uveitis and Neuro-ophthalmology. These rotations allow trainees to complete their higher surgical training before certification as qualified specialists.

One aspect of our education programme that we are justifiably proud of is our overseas fellowship and observership programmes. We offer 6 months to 1-year fellowship positions in the various sub-specialties listed above. To date, we have trained 42 foreign specialists from USA, UK, China, India, Philippines, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka just to name a few.

"If you perform a good eye operation, you restore vision to one man. But if you spread the teachings of good quality eye surgery to your colleagues, they will ultimately restore vision to millions in Asia." is a strongly held belief of all at SNEC.

"When we teach, we learn"

Clin Assoc Prof Ong Sze Guan
Head, Training and Education Dept

SNEC Taught Courses (Global)
SNEC Education Programme 2008
Clinical Ophthalmology - An Asian Perspective & Atlas of Inflammatory Eye Diseases