PS' Speech at Health Science and Nursing Scholarship Award Ceremony

30 Jul 2010

By Ms Yong Ying-I

Venue: NUSS, Guild House, Kent Ridge Road, Singapore

Good afternoon principals, teachers, parents, scholars and fellow colleagues.

1. A very warm welcome to the Health Science and Nursing Scholarship Award Ceremony. This is the first time we are hosting an award ceremony for all Health Science and Nursing scholars and recipients of the Healthcare Graduate Studies Award. I would like to congratulate all scholarship recipients. I am also delighted to have their parents here, and am grateful to their principals and teachers who have joined us for today’s ceremony.

2. The Health Science and Nursing Scholarship covers all disciplines in allied health and nursing. The Healthcare Graduate Studies Award offers postgraduate training opportunities in more specialized areas such as microbiology and epidemiology. Together, these scholarships offer a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate education options for top students who have a passion for healthcare. It is important that we attract some of our brightest and best students to take up careers in healthcare because it is a rapidly growing sector that we all have vested interest in. Singapore’s society is not only becoming very sophisticated with very high expectations for their healthcare, but it is also ageing rapidly, with the numbers of elderly expected to swell. The elderly of the future will include us adults in this room today. We need to grow our capabilities and restructure our healthcare delivery system substantially if we are to provide healthcare in the future that we can be proud of.

3. At one level, we are rapidly expanding our healthcare delivery services. As you know, we just opened a new acute hospital, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, in Yishun. We are already working actively on the next general hospital in Jurong, to be opened in a few years’ time. My Minister has already mentioned publicly that we had better start planning the one after that soon, even though it may be many years away. We are not just opening acute hospitals. Next to KTPH and JGH, we are planning 2 new Community Hospitals .

4. Just in terms of the sheer number of new jobs, healthcare is definitely a growth sector. Let me give you a few specific examples of these jobs. An elderly patient who suffered a stroke would require not only check-ups with his doctor at the hospital, but also rehabilitative care by physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists . And with the elderly, mental health is equally important as physical health. We will need many more skilled clinical psychologists to support them. And many elderly cannot be treated for their medical conditions in isolation. Their health is affected by a mix of many factors, including social, family and home issues. Addressing their healthcare needs holistically requires capable and talented medical social workers. We also recognize the need to train up our professionals who work behind the scenes, such as the epidemiologists and microbiologists. For example, epidemiologists play a critical role in undertaking in-depth study of factors affecting the health and illness of the population and identifying risk factors for disease, which inform public health policy and the practice of preventive medicine.

5. However, we are not giving scholarships just because we have more jobs to fill. We are giving scholarships in Health Sciences and Nursing because these professions will be at the forefront of driving major changes in the model of care delivery. In the past, medicine was essentially about doctors treating patients. Across the world today, we are seeing a big shift to team-based care where nurses or a range of allied health professionals decide on the treatment of patients. This has arisen because of the new nature of treatments including treating patients outside acute hospital settings, the shortage of doctors, and most importantly, the growing skills of nurses and allied health professionals who are trained to a much higher level than in the past.

6. In the face of this changing context, many nurses and allied health professionals in mature first-world countries have top quality graduate, post-graduate and advanced specialist training. Singapore is not yet at this level, although we have made great progress. Take nursing, for example. Today, we have a small group of Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs), with postgraduate qualifications, and are able to work as independent partners to the doctors in their areas of expertise. Some APNs hold consultation clinics in some polyclinics, helping their patients to manage their chronic diseases well, thus avoiding unnecessary and potentially expensive complications.

7. We also have senior nurses with PhD qualifications such as Dr. Emily Ang from NUH. The first Singaporean nurse to be sponsored by the World Health Organisation to study nursing oncology (cancer treatment) in the UK, she went on to train a whole generation of nurse oncologists at Nanyang Polytechnic as a senior lecturer and course coordinator for the Advanced Diploma in Nursing (Oncology). She has

transformed nursing oncology practice in NUH into one of the best in Asia. She also developed NUH’s palliative care service to ensure the comfort and dignity of terminally ill patients. On top of her full time work, she obtained her PhD qualifications in 2007. She is highly respected by the entire team of doctors, allied health professionals, nurses, and has attracted back many nurses from the private sector because they want to work under her. Our hope for our scholarship winners is that you will become gems of our healthcare sector like Dr. Emily Ang, and you will match, if not to surpass her achievements. Each new generation should build on the achievements of the previous one so that we raise our healthcare capabilities to greater heights.

8. Beyond growing a group of well-trained nurses and allied health professionals who will excel in care delivery for our patients, the scholarships we are giving out today are very important to growing our pipeline of future leaders across health sciences and nursing in Singapore. I see our scholars playing major roles in designing and guiding the development of the healthcare delivery system when they join us after their studies. They must come from within the profession because they must know the subject intimately and in-depth. Without this, they will not have the respect of their colleagues. However, they also need to be able to see above the day-to-day work to review the broader healthcare landscape and think through how to improve the way care is delivered. Should we grow more day therapy services in the community instead of institutionalizing patients in hospitals and nursing homes? Would mobile services work? Can we use technology like telecare to advise patients over the phone or internet? This requires professionals trained not only to a high professional level but also exposed to leadership and management challenges.

9. While I have highlighted a few reasons why healthcare is an exciting and challenging area to be in, the fundamental mission of healthcare is to improve the lives and health of the people. Having accepted the scholarship, you have joined the healthcare family, and will have the important and noble responsibility of taking care of the health of fellow Singaporeans, friends and family. There are few other professions in which you would be able to touch lives so deeply, the way you can in healthcare.

10. Today, I am happy to announce that we are awarding a bumper crop of 98 Health Science and Nursing scholarships this year. I would like to thank the principals and teachers from the various junior colleges and polytechnics for their assistance in bringing awareness of healthcare careers to the student population and the offer of our scholarship.

11. We are also giving out 20 Healthcare Graduate Studies Awards this year. These recipients were selected not only for their academic achievements, but more importantly their aptitude and commitment to serve in the healthcare industry. We thank the universities for assisting in our publicity efforts – by offering facilities for our talks and career fairs, and emailing their undergraduates.

12. To the parents here, may I thank you for entrusting us with your son or daughter. We will look after them during the scholarship period and beyond, as they embark on their careers with us. To the scholars and award winners, I hope you will do well in their studies. I suppose that goes without saying. I do however encourage our scholars to also spend their time doing other things, whether contributing to University life

or doing community work, reading widely and developing broader interests. For those going overseas, I urge you to mix with the students of other nationalities and build up new friendships, find time to travel and broaden your horizons. These experiences are also important to personal growth and character building, which is important to developing leaders. I look forward then to your competing your studies and joining us in our mission of improving healthcare for all Singaporeans.

11. My best wishes to you all. Thank you.