Appointment of New Chief Nursing Officer in Ministry of Health

             With effect from 1 January 2015, Ms Tan Soh Chin will succeed Dr Pauline Tan as the new Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) in the Ministry of Health (MOH) to oversee the strategic development of the nursing profession in Singapore.  She will be appointed as CNO-Designate from 1 to 31 December 2014.

2.           MOH deeply appreciates the contributions of Dr Pauline Tan.  In her seven years of tenure as CNO, Dr Tan has made invaluable contributions in shaping nursing development and resourcing policies to advance healthcare standards in Singapore. She has played a key role in the planning and development of a holistic branding and market campaign for nursing, entitled “Care to Go Beyond”, to attract more people to take up nursing as a career. She also championed the Return to Nursing (RTN) initiative, which seeks to attract non-practising nurses back to the nursing workforce, and the Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) development, including APN internship programme. She developed the framework to better resource the intermediate and long term care (ILTC) institutions, thereby contributing to better care for our elders. Her milestone contribution is co-chairing the National Nursing Taskforce which has made several important recommendations to transform the nursing profession.

3.           Dr Tan has placed the nursing profession in Singapore on the international map through her leadership and active contributions in international and regional committees on nursing. A highly respected nurse globally, she has an established extensive network and forge strong working relationships with various international healthcare partners.  She was the first nurse in Singapore to be conferred an honorary Doctorate of Nursing by La Trobe University, Australia in 2011. For representing the best of her profession and her outstanding contributions towards the improvement of our healthcare system, Dr Tan was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2012.

4.           Upon stepping down as CNO, Dr Tan will remain in the public healthcare sector and continue to contribute her expertise at Alexandra Health System as the Chief Executive Officer for the upcoming Yishun Community Hospital.  She will be responsible for engaging and cultivating community partnerships and for integrating care delivery for the northern region of Singapore.

5.           Ms Tan Soh Chin is the Director of Nursing in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), and the Deputy Group Director of Nursing in Singapore Health Services (SingHealth).  Ms Tan brings with her wealth of administrative, clinical and nursing leadership experience in the public healthcare sector.  She leads the development of the nursing profession in KKH and SingHealth, and is equipped with perspectives of policy development from both the institutional and cluster level. Her proven track record in the healthcare clusters and her active participation in the National Nursing Taskforce will provide her with a strong foundation to contribute well in her new role as CNO in MOH, and advance the nursing profession both in Singapore and internationally.

6.           The Ministry of Health wishes to express its deepest appreciation to Dr Pauline Tan for her able leadership in advancing the nursing profession in Singapore, and at the same time, extend a warm welcome to Ms Tan Soh Chin as the new CNO.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
28 NOVEMBER 2014