SingHealth celebrated this year’s Nurses’ Day with a twist.  With the current H1N1 situation, risk-mitigation measures have been taken when planning the celebrations. The organisers gave extra thought and effort into making it an equally festive, if not more festive and meaningful Nurses’ Day this year.

To kick off this year’s SingHealth Nurses’ Day celebrations, Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Manpower, visited nurses at their workplace after going through the usual triage and screening at the clinics.  He also viewed the innovative installations on campus, and joined nurses to do the SingHealth Stretchercise.  All armed with their customised orange stretchbands, they enthusiastically participated in a workout or Stretchercise designed by Singapore General Hospital’s physiotherapists to show appreciation for their SingHealth nurse colleagues, who are Fabulous Inspiring Talent (FIT).

Our Nurses are Fabulous Inspiring Talent (FIT)

True to the theme of this year’s celebration, “SingHealth nurses are FIT” in more ways than one.  Apart from keeping up their strength and energy to take on a demanding workload, they are also professionally fit in upgrading their skills and raising the bar of nursing practice standards, as well as fit in balancing family, social, community and personal responsibilities.  More recently, SingHealth nurses have gone the extra mile for patients, for nursing, and for healthcare in Singapore, working alongside other healthcare professionals to deal with uncertainties like the current H1N1 crisis. 

Adding cheer and excitement despite H1N1

Risk-mitigation measures, such as staggering the attendance of the expected 2000 SingHealth nurses at the party grounds to avoid a large gathering, did not dampen our nurses’ spirits as special effort was made to create a celebratory mood in creative ways.  Nurses who were unable to join in the party due to work duties were not forgotten, with Minister Gan visiting nurses at Outram Polyclinic prior to the party to convey his well-wishes and give out SingHealth Nurses’ Day gift packs comprising a cooler bag, lunch box, and stretch bands to encourage them to continue keeping fit and healthy.  In addition, SingHealth senior management also delivered hampers to nurses in wards and clinics in appreciation of their untiring efforts to provide quality patient care. 

SingHealth nurses were greeted with life-size, 2-D cut outs of nurses in SingHealth uniforms, along with colourful flowers, butterflies, windmills and thank you messages all around the campus grounds, when they arrived at work on the week of 27th of July.  These “Models of Inspiration” give thanks to our nurses with their cheery silhouettes, much like the way our nurses have brightened up their patients' lives with their tireless dedication and hard work.

Said SingHealth’s Group CEO Professor Tan Ser Kiat, “I am extremely proud of how our nurses have put up a strong defence against the H1N1 infection, rising up to the challenge. I also applaud SingHealth nurses for continually raising the bar in nursing through their exemplary performance and invaluable contributions.”

A party FIT for our nurses

Guest of Honour, Mr Gan Kim Yong arrived at the celebrations in a specially decorated SingHealth bus with nurses from SingHealth’s 9 institutions.  Together with SingHealth’s Chairman Mr Peter Seah, Group CEO Professor Tan Ser Kiat, and Deputy CEO Professor Ivy Ng, Minister Gan then led the large gathering of nurses in the SingHealth Stretchercise in keeping with this year’s FIT theme. The set of fun and easy-to-follow stretching exercises was formulated by physiotherapists from Singapore General Hospital, as a tribute to keep our nurses active, healthy and alert especially during these stressful times.

After the workout, Minister Gan, SingHealth’s senior management, and doctors donned aprons and manned hawker stalls, serving up local snacks and desserts such as muah chee, kueh salat, bubor pulut hitam, chee cheong fun, soya beancurd, and ice cream to the crowd of delighted nurses. Minister Gan’s stall attracted a beeline of nurses who snapped up his boxes of muah chee. 

At the end of his visit, Minister penned his greetings for SingHealth nurses, alongside the well-wishes of patients and staff, on a Nurses’ Day Tribute Wall situated prominently near the Specialist Outpatient Clinics at Singapore General Hospital.

Nurses: The Pride of SingHealth

A segment of the SingHealth Nurses’ Day party was devoted to recognising the contributions of SingHealth nurses towards enhancing patient care.  This year marks the launch of SingHealth nurses’ sixth publication, “Wound Management Guide for Healthcare Professionals”. With contributions from doctors and allied health professionals, this book contains best practices in wound management that every healthcare professional will find useful.

Said Associate Professor Lim Swee Hia, Group Director of Nursing, “Wounds can affect patients physically, socially and psychologically, with some patients having to live with a wound long-term till the end of their lives. This book reflects the remarkable advances in wound management that help improve the quality of life for our patients.”     

Top nurses from the various SingHealth institutions were also presented with awards and scholarships. Minister Gan presented 12 nurses with the SingHealth – Lee Foundation – D.S. Lee Foundation Nursing Awards – the highest honour for nurses in SingHealth for their outstanding work performance, dedication and passion. Another 11 nurses received the SingHealth - Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing Scholarship, enabling them to pursue their academic goals at universities locally and abroad to deepen their expertise in areas that will contribute significantly to patient care in Singapore.

(Please refer to Annex A for the list of award and scholarship recipients, and selected profiles for interview.)

In addition, special mention was made of SingHealth’s President’s Award for Nurses recipient, Ms Lim Siok Hong, Senior Nurse Clinician, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, who is one of the three recipients this year. 

For media queries, please contact:
Janet Low
Group Communications
SingHealth
DID: +65 6557 4949
Email: janet.low.t.l@singhealth.com.sg

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Annex A
SingHealth – Lee Foundation – D.S. Lee Foundation Nursing Award
The award was initiated in 2004 and made possible by the generosity of the Lee Foundation and the D.S. Lee Foundation.  It is SingHealth’s highest honour for nurses, recognising outstanding nurses for their excellent work performance, dedication and passion.

The award is open to any nurse in SingHealth who has had at least three years of nursing experience. Nurses can be nominated by any staff of SingHealth, including their subordinates, peers, supervisors and non-nursing colleagues. Nominees are expected to have good work performance, make significant contributions to the organisation, and actively participate in community service. They are also role models for going the extra mile in their work.

This year, 12 nurses will be receiving the award, which comprises a plaque, a collar pin and a $2,000 cash prize.
The winners are recognised in 3 categories, as follows:

Nursing Leaders Category
1. Ms Norhayati Bte Ahmad, Assistant Director of Nursing, Singapore General Hospital
2. Ms Rohanah Binte Pagi, Senior Nurse Clinician, SingHealth Polyclinics
3. Ms Lee Kim Nai, Nurse Clinician, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital

Registered Nurses Category
1. Mr Hwang Chung Cheng, Senior Staff Nurse, Singapore General Hospital
2. Mr Teoh Yen Tjuin Eugene, Senior Clinical Instructor, Changi General Hospital
3. Ms Lee Mei Bao Jasmine, Senior Staff Nurse, National Heart Centre
4. Ms Xu Yi, Senior Staff Nurse, Singapore General Hospital
5. Ms Lee Kim Hua, Senior Staff Nurse, National Cancer Centre Singapore
6. Ms Goh Poh Hong, Senior Staff Nurse, Changi General Hospital

Enrolled Nurses Category
1. Ms Sharonjit Kaur, Principal Enrolled Nurse, Singapore General Hospital
2. Ms Ayshabeevi Binte Abdul Rahman, Senior Enrolled Nurse, SingHealth Polyclinics
3. Ms Aisah Bte Md Said, Senior Enrolled Nurse, Singapore National Eye Centre

SingHealth - Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing (IAN) Scholarship

The SingHealth - Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing (IAN) Scholarship was established in 2005 to encourage and support SingHealth nurses who wish to realise their academic goals at local and overseas universities. The scholarship allows SingHealth nurses to undertake their undergraduate and post-graduate education (e.g. Bachelor, Master and PhD degrees) in areas that will make a significant contribution to patient care and management in Singapore.

A $10 million donation from the Lee Foundation in 2004 towards the Alice Lee IAN made it possible for SingHealth to grant the scholarships to its deserving nurses.

This year, SingHealth is giving out 11 scholarships to nurses across its institutions. Eight of these nurses will be pursuing their Bachelor’s degree, one will be embarking on her Master of Nursing degree and another two would be doing their PhDs.

The scholarship recipients are:

Basic Nursing Degree Scholarship
1. Ms Siti Zawiyah Bte Mohammad, Staff Nurse, Singapore General Hospital
2. Ms Angela Kirk Hui Ping, Staff Nurse, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital
3. Mr Chan Joon Kai, Staff Nurse, Singapore General Hospital
4. Ms Loke Xinyi, Staff Nurse, Singapore General Hospital
5. Ms Tan Wan Yi, Staff Nurse, Singapore General Hospital
6. Ms Chong Kim Fong, Staff Nurse, Singapore General Hospital
7. Ms Nur Maizura Bte Abdul Rahim, Senior Staff Nurse, Singapore General Hospital
8. Ms Kang Hui Gek, Senior Staff Nurse, Singapore General Hospital

Masters Nursing Degree Scholarship
1. Ms Wee Hwei Li Gillian, Senior Staff Nurse, National Heart Centre Singapore

Doctorate in Nursing Scholarship
1. Ms Irene Too Ai Ling, Nurse Clinician, Singapore General Hospital
2. Ms Lim Su-Fee, Advanced Practice Nurse, Singapore General Hospital