Speech by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health, at Nanyang Polytechnic’s Graduation Ceremony 2018, at Nanyang Polytechnic (Ang Mo Kio Campus), on 4 May 2018

Mr Tan Tong Hai, Chairman, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) Board of Governors

Ms Jeanne Liew, Principal and CEO, NYP

Members of the NYP Board of Governors and the Health Sciences Advisory Committee

Distinguished Guests, Parents and Graduands

1.             First of all, a very good morning to one and all. I am pleased to join you today at this year’s Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) Graduation Ceremony.

2.             My heartiest congratulations to all graduates and award recipients. Your graduation is a culmination of many years of hard work and perseverance, and I am glad that your family, loved ones and lecturers are here today to celebrate your achievements with you. They have supported you to get to where you are today, so please join me in giving a round of applause to thank all of them.

3.             Today is also a momentous occasion for the last batch of NYP students graduating with diplomas in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, diagnostic radiography and radiation therapy. I would like to thank the faculty which is led by Ms Lau Cheng Mun in the past 26 years and the alumni who have contributed to the successes of all the allied health professionals (AHPs) who have passed through the NYP School of Health Sciences. I think you also deserve a big round of applause.

4.             All of you are about to embark on a new phase of life, be it furthering your studies, serving National Service or joining the workforce. For most of you, today also marks the start of a new career in healthcare, and I would like to warmly welcome you into our healthcare family.

5.             Healthcare is a growing and promising sector. You are joining healthcare at an exciting time. With our fast ageing population, there are many new service developments and better ways of delivering care in the community to serve our seniors. Nurses today play diverse roles during their career as nurse clinicians, educators, managers, mentors and patients’ advocates. Beyond these roles, we are also developing community nurses to conduct early interventions for pre-frail residents in the community and provide holistic care to patients with chronic conditions. Likewise, AHPs work across a wide range of care settings and are key members of today’s healthcare team, providing prehabilitation, diagnostics, therapeutic treatment and rehabilitation for patients. There will be ample opportunities for you to develop your clinical expertise, gain enriching exposure in co-creating innovative care models, quality education and research as you progress. As AHPs and nurses, you will also play a vital role in contributing to affordable and accessible care by shifting the centre of gravity of care from the hospital to the community.

6.             I am sure that all of you have heard of the five Cs which Singaporeans are said to strive for – if you cannot remember, they are cash, credit card, car, condo and country club membership. Today, I would like to share a different set of five Cs with you instead. These five Cs represent five values that are relevant for success and fulfilment in work and life. They are: competence, creativity, collaboration, compassion and commitment.

Competence and Creativity

7.             As healthcare professionals, you have to be both competent and creative in what you do in order to care for your patients effectively both now, and in the future.

8.             Graduation is a major milestone, but learning does not end here. With advances in technology and medical knowledge and changes in how care is being provided to patients, the healthcare landscape is evolving rapidly. A critical skill of survival is to be able to unlearn and to relearn. Learning involves challenging and abandoning outdated practices or thoughts that no longer serve in the interest of our patients.  You must never stop learning, wherever you are.  In your own area of expertise, be it nursing, therapy and other healthcare disciplines, you will need to develop both breadth and depth of knowledge and skills to provide holistic, person-centred care in partnership with other healthcare professionals.

9.             To meet the evolving healthcare needs, we will need to stay adept in the face of change, and transform the way we work. For example, senior pharmacists and advanced practice nurses (APNs) will be upskilled through a Collaborative Prescribing Programme to be able to legally prescribe medicines and order tests. This not only brings greater convenience for patients, but also empowers our pharmacists and nurses to perform more advanced and broader roles.

10.          This is just one example of how lifelong learning will enable you to take on new opportunities. To support you on your learning journey, MOH Holdings and the Agency for Integrated Care have rolled out healthcare scholarships and awards which you may tap on, as you progress in your career in the public healthcare and community care sectors.

11.          Hai Song who is here with us today is one of our study award recipients graduating with a Diploma in Occupational Therapy. He was inspired to pursue a career in healthcare by his father who is a Traditional Chinese Medicine physician and his mother who is a nurse. So, I must thank the whole family for being the healthcare family. He is currently working at St Luke’s Hospital and enjoys spending time with his patients and witnessing their progress first hand. In the spirit of upgrading his skills, he looks forward to furthering his studies through pursuing an OT degree in about a year’s time and is especially keen to explore other community care settings such as outpatient rehabilitation and home therapy. The exposure will give him the opportunity to further deepen his skills to serve his clients in the community. So, I wish Hai Song the very best.

12.          We have also begun to transform the avenues for continual learning. Today, with the Earn and Learn Programmes (ELP), you are empowered to progress in your career and deepen your skills by working and studying at the same time.

13.          Kairu, who is here with us today, graduated from the NYP School of Health Sciences in 2016 and started her nursing career at St Hilda’s Community Services Centre. There, she saw first-hand the difficulties elderly patients face while getting in and out of hospital. This motivated her to embark on the ELP for the Specialist Diploma in Gerontology. Now she is equipped with the necessary specialised knowledge and skills to serve her elderly clients better. Congratulations, Kairu.

14.          Inculcating a spirit of innovation and enterprise has been an integral part of the NYP brand of education. In 2016, NYP created Makerspace for students and staff to bring their ideas to life together with the industry. In 2017, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) had organised a two-day Make-A-Thon, held in Makerspace. During this Make-A-Thon, NYP students from various disciplines worked together with TTSH interdisciplinary staff to brainstorm, design and develop multi-functional chair prototypes which could facilitate patient rehabilitation and at the same time, enable better seating and rest for caregivers. This was motivated by feedback from TTSH patients’ caregivers who needed a more conducive chair to rest in in between caring for their loved ones in the wards. The team is now in the iteration phase of prototyping and working towards mid-fidelity prototyping. So, I am looking forward to having a look and trying the chair when it is ready.

Collaboration

15.          Next, let me move on to the value of collaboration.  To meet the population’s healthcare needs, healthcare professionals cannot work alone. A patient’s needs may go beyond health problems, to psychosocial and financial needs. In order to ensure that patients receive holistic help, there is a strong impetus for us to work closely with one another.

16.          As healthcare professionals, you will have to work together to provide team-based care. You would also need to understand the types of care provided by different community care settings to coordinate care for patients. AHPs and nurses play an increasingly important role in coordinating care and enabling clients to regain their ability to live independently in the community. For instance, the nurses, social workers, physiotherapists and occupational therapists from TOUCH Community Services work together to develop and implement care plans to support vulnerable seniors living in the community. This allows our seniors to age-in-place and live well with dignity.

Compassion and Commitment

17.           Finally, on compassion and commitment.  Your work goes beyond the routine of daily work to touch people from all walks of life in very tangible ways. It is of utmost importance to put patients at the centre of all that you do.

18.          The work will not be easy and sometimes, you may have to care for more patients than you feel you have time for. These are times where we have to remember that patients are persons with hopes and dreams, just like all of us. They look to healthcare professionals for advice and strength. And you have been placed in a very special position to care for them in their time of sickness or vulnerability.

19.          In this journey, there will be times when you will face criticism, obstacles, exhaustion and failure, although there will be many, many fulfilling, satisfying and meaningful moments and opportunities. Find it in your heart the strength to care for your patients even when you meet these challenges. Find support from colleagues and friends around you. Band together to care for your patients and one another. Indeed, it is really team-based care for patients, and for the healthcare professionals.

Closing Remarks

20.          I have just shared with you the five Cs of competence, creativity, collaboration, compassion and commitment. All are important, but if you can only remember one thing from my speech today, remember to care. Indeed, that is the heart of healthcare. Every one of you has a role to play in caring for others, be it your patients, colleagues, family or friends.

21.          So, thank you for allowing me to celebrate this significant occasion with you today. I wish you all the best as you enter the next phase of your life. And once again, my heartiest congratulations to all our graduates, and all our recipients, as well as to the parents. Thank you very much.