Medical Doctors

How to become an otorhinolaryngologist or Ear, nose, throat specialist

Official title: Otorhinolaryngologist/Ear, nose, throat (ENT) specialist

Also called: Ear, nose, throat (ENT) physician, Ear, nose, throat (ENT) specialist, Otolaryngologist, Otorhinolaryngologist, Otolaryngologist

Otorhinolaryngologist/Ear, nose, throat (ENT) specialist performs surgery to correct diseases and disorders of the ear, nose and throat (ENT), and related structures of the head and neck.

Main tasks

Conducting physical examinations of patients and interviewing them and their families to determine their health status
Considering medical information provided by a referring doctor or other healthcare provider
Ordering specialised diagnostic tests to determine the nature of disorders or illnesses
Prescribing, administering and monitoring patients’ responses to treatments, medications, anaesthetics, psychotherapies, physical rehabilitation programmes and other preventive and curative measures
Performing surgery of a specialised nature
Recording patients’ medical information and exchanging information with other health professionals to ensure the provision of comprehensive care

How to become one

Occupations included in this unit group require completion of a university-level degree in basic medical education plus postgraduate clinical training in a medical specialisation (excluding general practice) or equivalent. Medical practitioners are required to be registered with the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) or its equivalent and possess a Practising Certificate (PC) in order to practise medicine in Singapore. Medical practitioners who wish to practise as a specialist are required to be accredited by the Specialists Accreditation Board (SAB) or its equivalent and registered under the relevant specialty by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) or its equivalent.

See the SSOC 2024 notes

Ways in

University: Medicine & Dentistry degrees, Offered by 2 universities in Singapore
Licence or registration: To practise medicine you must be registered with the Singapore Medical Council and hold a current practising certificate. Local graduates start with provisional registration during their first year of postgraduate training. To practise as a specialist you also need specialist registration, which follows accreditation by the Specialists Accreditation Board. Law: Medical Registration Act 1997. Regulator: Singapore Medical Council (SMC) (https://www.smc.gov.sg).

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: $79,488 a year. The middle half earn $73,164 to $116,484 a year.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Questions people ask

How do I become an otorhinolaryngologist or Ear, nose, throat specialist?

How much does an otorhinolaryngologist or Ear, nose, throat specialist earn in Singapore?

Median full-time pay is $79,488 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $73,164 to $116,484.

Will AI change the work of an otorhinolaryngologist or Ear, nose, throat specialist?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat): Singapore Standard Occupational Classification (SSOC) 2024 (SSOC 2024 (definitions and index updated 2026-06-24)), Singapore Open Data Licence, retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026