My clinic at Mount Elizabeth Novena Medical Centre is officially closed. Two years did pass by very quickly. It is not without regrets and a sense of pensiveness when I made the choice to move back to the public sector (the university appointment basically remains unchanged).

Nice view of Novena from the consult room window

Flashy clinic signboard (not my design!). The clinic owner did not leave for private practice in the end

The private sector stint has been great. There has been more time to spend with the family, and I could even indulge in writing a book and producing a video for SG50, among other things. I think it is also good to experience what has colloquially been termed the “dark side” or “Wild Wild West” of Singapore medicine. Doctors and healthcare professionals remain human regardless of which side they are on. It is important to see that the public and private sectors (and TCM) are essentially linked parts of our intricate healthcare system. Perhaps I should write a book about the experiences on both sides of the divide some day.