THE SINGAPORE ASSOCIATION OF CLINICAL BIOCHEMISTS AT ITS SILVER JUBILEE 2003

The Singapore Association of Clinical Biochemists (SACB) has come a long way in its 25-year history. As a society, the SACB was formally registered in January 1978 with an initial membership of fourteen. Since then, the society has matured and membership census put us at close to three hundred. This brief review highlights some of the activities of the SACB over the last year.

Working Relationships
In addition to student, associate and ordinary members, the SACB has a complement of nine corporate members who have virtually supported the entire operating budget of the SACB. Crucial to the success of the SACB-Corporate relationship has been the "win-win" attitude prevalent on both sides. Although the SACB does actively seek funding and support in kind from vendors, we also have the novel approach to think through scenarios whereby our vendors can benefit from exposure in an SACB event. For example, the SACB organises Corporate Evenings, where new equipment/kits and products can be show-cased. It would only be appropriate for me to acknowledge that much of our success in organising events is due to the generous support of major vendors.

SACB Education Programme
The concept of lifelong learning continues to receive wide coverage and discussion in clinical circles. Conscious of our mission and our role in society, the SACB established a mechanism to provide access to education to all those who are in a position to benefit from it. The SACB undertook to provide a regular series of lectures for members to be updated on the core topics of clinical biochemistry. Weekday evening classes were conducted to cater to the workforce and a typical education module would consist of ten two-hour sessions, complete with handouts and snacks to sustain the audience. The philosophy behind this programme is to instill a habit of continuous learning in our technical staff so that laboratories can stay abreast of rapidly evolving clinical developments and technologies. The lecture-style education programme facilitated the conversion of lifelong learning and continual medical education from mere rhetoric to reality.

The SACB has successfully conducted five of such modules, each time with overwhelming participation. In our experience, important ingredients for a successful course include good course content and a convenient venue. We managed to keep the course extremely affordable for participants as we actively sought vendor support for the activity. As an extension to the existing class-room model of teaching, I would hope to take the SACB into the e-shaped future and provide a vast array of clinical and technical information via web-based portals. In this respect, the SACB would be looking towards establishing partnerships with some of the more established vendors and educational agencies.

The SACB-SAMLS Certificate in Chemical Pathology
Sometime towards the end of 2001, the SACB mooted the proposal for an examination leading to the award of a Certificate in Chemical Pathology, under the joint auspices of the Singapore Association of Clinical Biochemists (SACB) and the Singapore Association for Medical Laboratory Sciences (SAMLS). The SACB is responsible for upholding the development of clinical biochemistry in Singapore and the SAMLS represents the interests of, and supports continuing professional development of Medical Technologists working in various disciplines in Singapore. At the inaugural examination, in 2002, the SACB was pleased to receive applications from five candidates for the examination. The examination format included aspects of theoretical questions of an MCQ paper, a short answer type paper and an essay paper. All candidates were required to have a pass mark in the theory section before presenting themselves at the viva-voce, where all candidates face the Board of Examiners, which includes an external examiner.

This certification examination is not designed to test in-depth knowledge of the complexities of chemical pathology, nor ability at digesting case data interpretations. Rather it is meant to demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental basis of providing and certifying a valid test result. Laboratory technologists who generally have had some formal academic training with about three years of experience working in the laboratory should have no problems with the exam.

Annual Gathering of Minds
The SACB caps its activities of each year by organising its Annual General/Scientific Meeting. This is where everyone in SACB would get their fair share of good scientific content, sumptuous food and tons of goodies from our very generous corporate sponsors. It has become very well known that the SACB end-of-year programme has plenty to offer for all registered. Not surprisingly, the response is always overwhelming.

A Memorable Year
The last year has indeed been memorable for the SACB. The council worked cheerfully and effectively to accomplish a great deal for our members and because of these efforts, planning, funding and executing programmes and events has been most rewarding. I am certain that with these fundamental ingredients in place, the SACB can only go from strength to strength

Sunil Sethi

President