24th Jul 2019
Five nurses were conferred the President’s Award for Nurses this year. President Halimah Yacob presented the awards at the Nurses’ Day Reception held at the Istana on 24 July 2019. This brings the total number of recipients since the inception of the Award in 2000, to 72.
2. The President’s Award for Nurses is the highest honour in Singapore’s nursing profession, recognising outstanding nurses who have gone beyond their call of duty and made impactful contributions to the profession and community. These nurses have been exceptional in patient care, leadership, mentorship, research and administration. They actively engage in continual learning for the development of the nursing profession and nurture younger nurses.
3. Nurses are nominated for the award by their institutions, peers or the public, with the award open to all nurses from healthcare institutions in the public, private, and community care sectors, and the educational institutions. Nominees are interviewed by a selection panel which is chaired by Dr Chia Shi-Lu, Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, and includes Ms Tan Soh Chin, Chief Nursing Officer of the Ministry of Health.
4. The five recipients of the President’s Award for Nurses 2019 are:
- Ms Jancy Mathews
Chief Nurse, National University Polyclinics
- Ms Samantha Ong Bee Cheng
Chief Nurse, Institute of Mental Health
- Ms Jenny Sim Teck Meh
Chief Nurse, Ren Ci Hospital
- Mr Tay Wei Sern
Deputy Director, Health Sciences, School of Applied & Health Sciences, Health Sciences Cluster, Institute of Technical Education
- Ms Ang Shin Yuh
Deputy Director, Nursing Quality Research & Transformation, Singapore General Hospital
5. This year’s award recipients include three heads of nursing, with Ms Ong from the acute setting and Ms Mathews and Ms Sim from the primary and community care sector. Mr Tay is the third recipient to date from the education sector and the award’s sixth male recipient. Ms Ang champions nursing quality research and transformation. All five have contributed significantly to elevate nursing and drive changes in support of healthcare transformation.
6. Each awardee received a trophy, a certificate and a $10,000 cash prize that can be used for their professional and personal development.
7. More information on the award recipients is in the Annex.