Closer ties with Harvard ...

SINGAPORE - Its internship and rotation placements are notoriously hard to get, especially for overseas applicants. Or, as Harvard University's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre (BIDMC) chairman of medicine Mark Zeidel put it, "a salmon swimming upstream has an easier time".But with the National University Health System's (NUHS) collaboration with the prestigious American institution, the best and brightest of Singapore's medical students now stand a better chance of securing such opportunities.For instance, one of the top medical students from National University of Singapore (NUS) applying to do a geriatrics elective at the BIDMC now has a leg-up, with its vice-chair of education Gordon Strewler looking into her application, said NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine dean John Wong yesterday."From our students' and faculty's position, they're of course over the moon," said Prof Wong of the new collaboration.For BIDMC, closer ties with NUHS help identify top-grade applicants from Singapore. "It can be difficult sitting in Boston to identify a really strong student," said Prof Zeidel. "Now we know who wrote the (recommendation) letter here."He also expects BIDMC's students and residents to opt for rotations in Singapore to increase their clinical exposure.Both institutions will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to cement the wide-ranging partnership, which includes exchange and cooperation in research, education and clinical care.The collaboration started, thanks to Professor Daniel Tenen, who was appointed last year to lead the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore. He is also with the BIDMC, one of Harvard's three major academic hospitals. He introduced Prof Wong to Prof Zeidel.With the NUS medical school embarking this year on American-style residency training - students have the option to start specialty training after graduation, instead of continuing on a one-year housemanship - having Prof Zeidel's team an email away will allow the sharing of "knowledge, insight and pitfalls", said Professor Wong.Singapore can also expect to see BIDMC faculty members on teaching stints here, or to conduct continuing medical education courses. Both sides are already engaging in research on areas like metabolism and cancer biology.