Clin Asst Prof Ong Eng Koon

Dr Ong Eng Koon is a specialist palliative medicine senior consultant at the Division of Supportive and Palliative Care, National Cancer Centre Singapore and Assisi Hospice. He leads the home hos-pice team at Assisi Hospice and contributes towards improving patient care outcomes, including good symptom control, psychosocial support, and journeying with families during bereavement. Taking on further administrative, leadership, and education roles, he is also involved in strategic planning, formulation of processes, and curriculum planning for the interdisciplinary palliative care teams. Dr Ong has keen interests in medical education, especially in the field of humanities, ethics, and professionalism. He has special interests in the humanities and is Co-lead, SingHealth Duke-NUS Medical Humanities Institute; Director, Office of Medical Humanities, SingHealth Medicine ACP, and Deputy Director, Medical Humanities Education Unit (MHEU), Division of Cancer Education (DCE), National Cancer Centre Singapore. Through medical education, he hopes to nurture profes-sional identity formation for both medical students and postgraduate colleagues, improve clinical communications, achieve education excellence in interprofessional education and collaboration, and foster wellbeing for all staff of the academic medicine institute.

• Master’s Medical Education (University of Dundee) 
• Specialty training, Palliative Medicine (National University of Singapore) 
• Master of Medicine, Family Medicine (National University of Singapore) 
• Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (National University of Singapore)

• Core Faculty, Palliative Medicine Senior Residency Integrated Programme. 
• Accreditation and Registration Advisory Committee (ARAC) member, Association of Music Therapy Singapore. 
• Deputy Director, Medical Humanities Education Subunit, Division of Cancer Education, National Cancer Centre Singapore. 
• Co-lead, Healthcare professions education, SingHealth Duke NUS Medical Humanities Institute. 
• Co-chair, Academy of Medicine Singapore, Professional Ethics Committee. 
• Director, Office of Medical Humanities, SingHealth Duke NUS, Medicine Academic Clinical Programme.

• Duke-NUS Faculty Appreciation Award – Individual Star Award 2025 
• AMEI Golden Apple Award - Programme Excellence Award 2024 
• NCCS Research Publication Award 2024 
• SingHealth You Shine Award - Team award 2024 
• COVID-19 Resilience Medal MOH Singapore Clinical 2023 
• SingHealth Joyful Community award 2021 
• Long service award – 10 years MOH Singapore Clinical 2020 
• NUS Dean’s Visit award 2019 NUS YLL SoM 2019 
• Health Quality Service Award – Silver 2019

• Arts and Humanities 
• Healthcare professions education and faculty development 
• Professional Identity Formation 
• Grief and Loss 
• Staff support and wellbeing

• Krishna LKR, Ravindran N, Kwok HYF, Tan XY, Soh J, Leong EYM, Wan DWJ, Low TY, Chan AW, Lim NCJ, Ng YK, Thenpandiyan AA, Leong JR, Lim AYD, Quah ELY, Tse LN, Pl S, Rajanala SP, Lua JK, Rajalingam V, Fam VJE, Govindasamy R, AbdulHamid NAB, Lim C, Ong EK, Sim SW, Mason S, Ong SYK. The impact of mentoring relationships on professional identity formation in medical education: a systematic review. BMC Med Educ. 2025,25(1):576. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07158-y 
• Nwe SN, Murugam V, Ricafort CAR, Tan D, Low M, Lim D, Sim WS, Ong EK. "We Are Only the Guests": How Home Hospice Nurses Experience Professional Identity Formation-A Qualitative Exploratory Study. J Hosp Palliat Nurs. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1097/NJH.0000000000001129. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40179378. 
• Tan D, Yong G, Wong V, Hooi B, Ong EK. An Interdisciplinary Approach to Legacy Work for a Young Cancer patient - A Case Illustration. J Soc Work End Life Palliat Care. 2025,15:1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/15524256.2025.2492023. Epub ahead of print. 
• Ong EK, Sim WS. The Medical Humanities: How Far Have We Come? TAPS. 2025,10(2):13-16. https://doi.org/10.29060/TAPS.2025-10-2/GP3456 
• Ong EK, Govindasamy R, Sim WS, Krishna LKR. The influence of the hidden curriculum on the risk of burnout in junior doctors in a palliative medicine rotation - a qualitative ex-ploratory study. BMC Palliat Care. 2025,24(1):40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-025-01665-x 
• Krishna LKR, Kwok HYF, Ravindran N, Tan XY, Soh J, Wan DWJ, Rajalingam V, Lua JK, Leong EYM, Low TY, Chan AW, Lim CJN, Ng YK, Thenpandiyan AA, Lim AYD, Tse LN, Pl S, Rajanala SP, Leong JR, Quah ELY, Fam VJE, Govindasamy R, Abdul Hamid NAB, Lim C, Sim DSW, Ong EK, Mason S, Somasundaram N, Ong SYK. A systematic scoping review of mentoring support on professional identity formation. BMC Med Educ. 2024,24(1):1380. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06357-3 
• Burla N, Ong RSR, Chee RCH, Wong RSM, Neo SY, Abdul Hamid NAB, Lim C, Ong EK, Somasundaram N, Krishna LKR. A systematic scoping review on group non-written reflec-tions in medical education. BMC Med Educ. 2024,24(1):1119. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06117-3. 
• Krishna LKR, Hamid NABA, Phua GLG, Mason S, Hill R, Lim C, Ong SYK, Ong EK, Ibra-him H. Peer mentorship and professional identity formation: an ecological systems perspec-tive. BMC Med Educ. 2024,24(1):1007. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05992-0 
• Teo MYK, Ibrahim H, Lin CKR, Hamid NABA, Govindasamy R, Somasundaram N, Lim C, Goh JL, Zhou Y, Tay KT, Ong RRS, Tan V, Toh Y, Pisupati A, Raveendran V, Chua KZY, Quah ELY, Sivakumar J, Senthilkumar SD, Suresh K, Loo WTW, Wong RSM, Pei Y, Sng JH, Quek SQM, Owyong JLJ, Yeoh TT, Ong EK, Phua GLG, Mason S, Hill R, Chowdhury AR, Ong SYK, Krishna LKR. Mentoring as a complex adaptive system - a systematic scop-ing review of prevailing mentoring theories in medical education. BMC Med Educ. 2024,24(1):726. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05707-5 
• Phua GLG, Owyong JLJ, Leong ITY, Goh S, Somasundaram N, Poon EYL, Chowdhury AR, Ong SYK, Lim C, Murugam V, Ong EK, Mason S, Hill R, Krishna LKR. A systematic scop-ing review of group reflection in medical education. BMC Med Educ. 2024, 24(1):398. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05203-w 
• Ong EK, Tan UE, Chiam M, Sim WS. The employment of art therapy to develop empathy and foster wellbeing for junior doctors in a palliative medicine rotation - a qualitative ex-ploratory study on acceptability. BMC Palliat Care. 2024,23(1):84. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01414-6 
• Lim YX, Quah ELY, Chua KZY, Lin Ronggui CK, Govindasamy R, Ong SM, Ong EK, Phua GLG, Krishna LKR. A Systematic Scoping Review on Dignity Assessment Tools. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2024, 67(4):e263-e284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.12.008 
• Zhou Y, Cheah J, Tan ESH, Lim Y, Wang Y, Ong EK. The role of spiritual support in pallia-tive care-A case illustration. Psychooncology. 2024,33(3):e6320. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.6320 
• Wan DWJ, Goh LSH, Teo MYK, Loh CJL, Yak GHK, Lee JJH, Ravindran N, Abdul Rahman ND, Chiam M, Ong EK, Somasundaram N, Lim YY, Phua GLG, Krishna LKR. Enhancing self-care education amongst medical students: a systematic scoping review. BMC Med Educ. 2024,24(1):37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04965-z 
• Liang JZ, Ng DKW, Raveendran V, Teo MYK, Quah ELY, Chua KZY, Lua JK, Owyong JLJ, Vijayan AV, Abdul Hamid NAB, Yeoh TT, Ong EK, Phua GLG, Mason S, Fong W, Lim C, Woong N, Ong SYK, Krishna LKR. The impact of online education during the Covid-19 pandemic on the professional identity formation of medical students: A systematic scoping review. PLoS One. 2024, 9(1):e0296367. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296367