To anyone who is applying for Duke NUS, this is just a take from the inside to list some if the more negative aspects which you might not see.( Some of the comments are not unique to Duke NUS , but are just what I feel. )
1) It is a really expensive course for anyone contemplating to enter the course at a annual course of 40000 SGD per annum. It costs 109 SGD per day for the course and bare minimum life expenditure it will cost 120SGD per day. Beware of the opportunity costs which you are accumulating as you are in the course, with very average assumptions, the total cost you will have would be around 200SGD per day at a cost of 80000SGD per year.
So unless you may be offered the 10 odd full scholarships the school is offering I reckon you reconsider.
2) Now let us take a look at career prospects, You may think that there will be definitely good career prospects for yourself as a doctor, but normally, this is only so for those at the tip of the pyramid. After graduating from the school, you will have to fight for the minimal training positions in the various health groups in the country. Estimates have it that only 40% of students getting training spots, this is the figure for slots when considering the absolute. When we think about the more lucrative spots like neurosurgery, orthopedics and dermatology, the figure will be going lower.
The school may tell you that the figure is currently being increased by the Singapore healthcare system and the figure is still unknown. And those situations will be improving.
3) But. There are difficulties in these as well. Even through the many years of encouraging doctors to stay in the public sector, there has been a general attrition of doctors towards private practice. This would largely limit the increase in mentors we can have in the system which we would need to increase the training spots.
And Singapore is also boosting the number of new medical trainees who enter the system. This is done through the NTU medical school, attraction of local students back from foreign universities( from formerly unaccepted countries like India, Russia and China) and opening the doors to foreign trainees.
So it is true that the situation is still evolving, but it in the next few years will likely to difficult as the supply of spots will be limited. ( And it may be totally gone when a certain category of doctors exceed required quantity) Kind of like a good pyramid scheme, the ones who get in first gets the most benefits
4) As for those who managed to get into the system, at the junior level, all signs haveit pointing to you will have low pay in the public sector, many hours. It is highly political and nepotic .
5) Well, we have come to an end for now, to many people who say that they want to do medicine because of they wish to help people. Well look at our respected Tan Tock Seng, Ng Teng Fong and Khoo Teck Phuat, many of them have contributed far more to the education of clinicians and treatment of patients. So if you can earn outside the healthcare, just do so and donate. I am sure you will provide more help.
If you have any questions, just let me know, i will try to give a side which is not given by the marketers.