The SMA Lecture was instituted in 1963, by a grant from the SMA to the Faculty of Medicine, to establish an Annual Lecture on medical ethics and related topics. Two lectures were held in 1963 and 1964. In 1969, the SMA Lecture was incorporated into the 2nd SMA National Medical Convention held in conjunction with the 4th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of the Academy of Medicine to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Republic of Singapore. Since then, it has become an Annual Lecture and the key feature of the SMA Medical Convention untill 1990 when it was delivered, for the first time, during the SMA Annual Dinner. The theme of the lecture remains to be centered on medical ethics and related topics. The first non-SMA member to be invited to deliver this lecture was Dr M K Rajakumar of Malaysia in 1983 and the first non-doctor was Mr Justice Coomaraswamy in 1989.

The SMA Lecturers are appointed on the invitation of the SMA Council and the Lectureship is awarded in the main to eminent and distinguished members who have made significant contributions to Medicine or the community.

The list of SMA Lectures and Lecturers is given below:

2001	Testing the Bolam Test: Consequences of Recent Decisions	Mr K Shanmugam
2000	Medicine In The Digital Era - Opportunities And Challenges	Prof Feng Pao Hsii
1999	Confidence and Confidentiality - Aspects of the Law	Dr H T Choo
1998	Not To Be Ministered Unto, But To Minister	Dr C H Chew
1997	In Search of Role Models in Medicine	Dr Wong Heck Seng
1996	Impact of Free Market System on Medicine in Singapore	Dr Charles Toh
1995	The Challenge of Modern Day Medical Practice	Dr Robert Loh
1994	There is No Health In Us	Dr Koh Eng Kheng
1993	No Man is an Island...	Dr N K Yong
1992	The Doctor's Role in a Hi-Tech World	Dr Khoo Chong Yew
1991	Singapore's Role in the Provision of Medical Services in this Region	Mr Barry Desker
1990	The Physician in the Year 2000 and Beyond	Dr Halfdan Mahler
1989	Law and Medicine	Mr Justice P Coomaraswamy
1988	Ferment in Medicine	Dr Chow Khuen Wai
1987	Consumer or Patient?	Prof Lee Yong Kiat
1986	Towards Excellence in Medicine	Dr V Kandasamy Pillay
1985	Healthcare: Today and Tomorrow	Dr Victor L Fernandez
1984	The Doctor-Patient Relationship	Prof G B Ong
1983	Ethical Consequences of Technological Changes	Dr M K Rajakumar
1982	Issues in Medical Education in Singapore	Prof Edward P Tock
1981	Ethics, the Profession, and the Nation	Dr Arthur S M Lim
1980	The Outlook for Medicine	Prof Lim Pin
1979	Significance of Abnormal Chromosomes in Singapore	Emeritus Prof Wong Hock Boon
1978	Maintaining Standards in Medical Education	Prof Wong Poi Kwong
1977	A Doctor's Dilemma	Prof S S Ratnam
1976	Good Medicine	Dr Robert Loh
1975	The Limits of Medicine	Dr Ho Guan Lim
1974	Ethics of Human Transplant and Experiments	Prof Khoo Oon Teik
1973	On Specialised Medicine	Prof Seah Cheng Siang
1972	Priorities in Medicine	Prof Phoon Wai-On
1971	Association, Profession, Adaptation	Dr Yahya Cohen
1970	Medicine in Singapore	Dr Yahya Cohen
1969	Medical Education in Singapore - the Past and the Future	Dr Gwee Ah Leng
1964	Infamous Conduct in a Professional Respect	Dr B R Sreenivasan
1963	Advertisement and the Medical Profession	Dr Gwee Ah Leng