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13 Nov 2006, Today
Question
A dead end?
TODAY
Monday, 13 November 2006
A letter by Mr Ahmad Elmy Mohd Yunos who strongly felt that while varsities offered graduate and diploma nursing programmes for fresh O-level graduates and mid-career professionals, there were no career advancement options for nurses who graduated from ITE. He quoted his sister who had been an enrolled nurse for five years, starting with ward duties and was now with the Aandamp;E unit at one of the busiest hospitals in Singapore. Although his sister had put in effort to attain hospital recommendation and attended talks and seminars, she had yet to be sent by her employers for an upgrade of skills. Her bosses cited the lack of manpower resource as an obstacle. Similarly, he opined that the policy whereby nurses could only attain educational qualifications through ministry-accredited programmes hindered enrolled nurses from upgrading even though it maintained the quality and credibility of our nurses.
Reply
Name of the Person: Ang Beng Choo (Ms)
Chief Nursing Officer
Ministry of Health
Avenues to upgrade for enrolled nurses
In 'A dead end?' (Tdy, 13 Nov). Mr Ahmad Elmy Mohd Yunos felt that there was limited opportunities for career development for enrolled nurses who graduated from ITE.
Based on merit, enrolled nurses can upgrade to become registered nurses through courses at Nanyang Polytechnics. There is also a wide range of formal as well as skills-based courses open to graduates of the ITE nursing course who are unable to pursue a nursing diploma course in the polytechnics. ITE College East conducts Post-Nitec courses in Medical-Surgical and Mental Health Nursing. Both the National Healthcare Group and SingHealth institutions also conduct specialty-based courses to provide career development for Enrolled Nurses. The courses include Critical Care Nursing, Surgical Nursing and Peri-Operative Nursing. Enrolled Nurses who complete any of these courses have the opportunity to become Senior Enrolled Nurses.
Besides formal courses, there are also skills-based courses like monitoring of blood sugar levels, recording and basic interpretation of electrocardiograph, and taking of blood specimens for tests, to provide job expansion opportunities for Enrolled Nurses. The Singapore General Hospital will be offering a 'Senior Enrolled Nurse Developmental Programme' to create a higher Enrolled Nurse grade called the 'Principal Enrolled Nurse.' This programme is opened to Enrolled Nurses from other institutions.
Enrolled nurses have an important role in our care and delivery and the Ministry of Health will explore more avenues for the career development of Enrolled Nurses.