Advancing Physiotherapy Education and Practice:

Emerging Pathways in Singapore’s Postgraduate Training Ecosystem

Learning objectives:

By the end of this symposium, participants will be able to: 

1. To share the development of Advance Physiotherapy Practice within TTSH Emergency Department and the Pharmacotherapy and Prescribing for Physiotherapists Course (P3C)

2. To outline how Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) are applied within the SGH Physiotherapy Residency Program to structure assessments, guide feedback, and support competency- based progression.

3. To describe the new curriculum structure of the Master of Health Sciences programme, stackable micro-credentials, key changes and benefits

4. To examine how Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can serve as a bridge between workplace-based experiential learning and formal academic training.

Symposium Convenor: Dr Audrey Lim Ei-Ping, Assistant Professor, Singapore Institute of Technology

Biography: Audrey is an assistant professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). She is the Program Lead for SIT Physiotherapy undergraduate program and is involved in the module development for the SIT Master of Health Sciences (Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy). Her teaching responsibilities include ethics and musculoskeletal physiotherapy. Audrey’s research interests are in the areas of ethics and healthcare education with a focus on use of technology to enhance teaching and learning.

Speaker: Mr Christopher Ng Thong Lian, HOD, Physiotherapy, Senior Principal Physiotherapist, Deputy Director, Adjunct Professor, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Group Allied Health, National Healthcare, Singapore Institute of Technology

Title: Advancing Physiotherapy Practice: From Emergency Care to Prescribing Excellence

Biography: Christopher Ng is a Senior Principal Physiotherapist with a Master’s degree in Manipulative Therapy and over two decades of experience in clinical practice and leadership. His expertise lies in musculoskeletal (MSK) care, and he is a strong advocate for advancing physiotherapy through Advance Physiotherapy Practice and direct access for MSK conditions. Christopher has played a pivotal role in shaping physiotherapy services to meet evolving patient needs and improve care delivery. His leadership journey spans acute and community care settings. He was seconded to Ren Ci Hospital as Rehabilitation Manager, later serving as Advisor to the rehabilitation team. At Tan Tock Seng Hospital, he held the position of Assistant Director (Allied Health Services) for Quality, where he drove initiatives to enhance clinical standards and service excellence. Currently, Christopher leads the Physiotherapy Department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and serves as Deputy Director in NHG Group Allied Health. In this role, he champions innovation, workforce development, and collaborative care models to strengthen allied health services across the healthcare system. His vision is to empower physiotherapists to take on advanced roles and deliver high-quality, patient-centred care.

Speaker: Dr Dawn Tan, Associate Professor, SIT & Senior Principal Physiotherapist, SGH

Title: Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) applied within the SGH Physiotherapy Residency Program

Biography: Dawn is an Associate Professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), where she teaches in undergraduate and postgraduate allied health programmes. She is also the program director of the Core Residency in Neurological Physiotherapy program at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), which aims to train physiotherapy residents towards specialisation in neurological physiotherapy. At SGH, Dawn is also one of the education chiefs of the physiotherapy department, providing oversight to faculty development, training pathways and workplace-based learning and assessment initiatives to the neurological, general medicine and emergency and acute medicine team of physiotherapists. She is currently pursuing her Master of Education in the Health Professions at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education.

Speaker: Dr Muhammad Rahizan Zainuldin, Associate Professor, Singapore Institute of Technology

Title: New curriculum structure of the SIT Master of Health Sciences programme

Biography: Since 2023, Rahizan is the Programme Lead of the Master of Health Sciences offered by the Singapore Institute of Technology. With MOH’s call for competency acquisition through learning blocks and the industry’s demand for stackable micro-credentials, he leads the strategic pivot of the Master’s programme towards a competency-based stackable pathway. The new pathway will be introduced in September 2026. Other areas of education initiatives Rahizan currently and previously led were Entrustable Professional Activities as assessment in the undergraduate physiotherapy clinical placements and harmonising of allied health clinical placements within SIT during COVID and post-COVID periods.

Speaker: Dr Ong Hwee Kuan, Associate Professor, SIT, Deputy Director, SIT Teaching & Learning Academy (STLA), SIT, Senior Principal Physiotherapist, SGH

Title: Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as a bridge between workplace-based learning and formal academic training.

Biography: Hwee Kuan began her clinician educator journey in 2010 with the Basic and Advanced Courses in Educational Planning (NUS-MEU, PGAHI), followed by the Pioneer Fellow Program at AMEI in 2013. She earned a Master of Health Professions Education from Maastricht University in 2017. Since 2015, she has been teaching faculty at Singapore Institute of Technology’s Health & Social Sciences cluster. Administratively, she served as the inaugural Education Chief for SGH Physiotherapy from 2013, overseeing SGH Physiotherapy training and building competency-based frameworks. She also directed two post-professional programs: Advanced Certificate inPhysiotherapy (2010–2019) and Core Residency in Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy (since 2015). Currently, she is Deputy Director at the SingHealth Teaching & Learning Academy (STLA), leading initiatives in Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) between SingHealth and SIT to advance healthcare education and workforce development.