"EVEN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH KNOWS THAT THE COMMUNITY DOES NOT GET ALONG": INVESTIGATING THE SCPA'S ATTEMPTS TO PROFESSIONALISE TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE IN SINGAPORE FROM 1970 TO 1990

Abstract

This thesis was inspired by a seemingly simple question: “why are Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) physicians not considered doctors?” In my search for an answer, I discovered a fascinating series of interviews from the National Archives of Singapore. The interviewees were TCM physicians who had held leadership positions in local TCM organisations. These interviews form the empirical basis of this thesis, as they provide rich insights into the development of TCM in Singapore which have not been explored in extant scholarship. Theoretically, this thesis employs Andrew Abbott’s work in the sociology of professions – his ecological view of professions – to reconstruct the history of TCM in Singapore from 1970 to 1990. It hones in on the Singapore Chinese Physicians’ Association (SCPA), the most prominent TCM organisation, as an entry point into the TCM community’s professionalisation journey. It argues that the SCPA failed to professionalise the TCM community during the critical period of 1970 to 1990 because it tried to achieve markers of professionalism without obtaining the corresponding jurisdictional authority. The argument will be substantiated by analysing the SCPA’s role in jurisdictional definition in the local healthcare landscape, transnationally, and within the TCM community. Above all, this thesis hopes to make a theoretical and empirical contribution to the existing literature by problematising the essentialist myth that TCM is an inherently unprofessional occupation, telling the stories of the TCM community from their perspective.