It's been a LONG time since I've read such a good article to speak up for the population of nurses in Singapore. The author wrote and I quote,

"The traditional mindset of a public only thinks that nursing job is to clean faeces and urine... The public should be aware that nursing is a more of a profession than just a normal occupation. We save lives and use our instinct, critical thinking, and knowledge to do the best for the patient care."

Why then, are Singaporeans so harsh on nurses?

We silently endure verbal (and sometimes physical) abuse, we are condemned as maids by patients' relatives, we are viewed as merely helpers to the doctors (think: cleaning of excretion and vital signs taking), we have to be weary of perverted patients...

All these and more for that meagre (I refrained from using 'pathetic') amount of monthly pay, exposure to all sorts of occupational hazards (H5N1, SARS etc.), short (and sometimes even 'no') lunch/dinner breaks at weird timings (9am for lunch, anyone? 4pm dinner?), and grueling hours of shift work where many a times we only have 5 hours of sleep before going back to nurse our patients again the next day (think: PM AM PM AM shifts! We leave the place seeing our patients sleeping soundly in bed, and come back the following day to see them still sleeping soundly in bed)...

And I have not included the days where some nurses are not allowed to celebrate special occasions (e.g. New Year, CNY, Christmas) with their loved ones.

Oh! Have I mentioned that we have to be on standby during our off-days just in case the ward recalls us back due to the lack of manpower?

Rest? What rest?

Work-life balance? What's that?

To all the nurses in Singapore, I salute you!

But above that, I hope the public recognises our continuing efforts to provide the best quality care to our patients and be less demanding on us. With that said, please do understand that we are unable to attend to all of your requests ASAP as we have to prioritise our work on hand.

For example, between getting a cup of warm water versus settling some administrative work so that another patient can be sent down for an urgent CT scan, the latter takes the top priority.

Sure enough, I do not deny that there are Singaporeans who have been very understanding thus far. However, many still demean the nursing profession and treat us as 'higher-class maids'.

This perennial problem should be analysed in depth by the relevant authorities (MOH, MOM, SNB, SNA) in order to raise the image of nursing here in Singapore.

Having more institutions offering degree courses is a good start. What about the remuneration and work-life balance? I am sure these are the key issues which are tugging at many nurses' heartstrings.

Lastly, I would like to urge all nurses be united as one. Regardless of race, nationality, religion, language, and institution, we are still nurses here in Singapore. As the adage goes, unity is strength. Only if we are united as one then can we seek to advance the Singapore nursing scene.


If you are interested, here's the article I read which sparked off this post:


It's a little lengthy with a few grammatical errors here and there. Despite that, I strongly encourage you to read the entire post. Who knows? It might just wreck your perspective of nursing.

Labels: nursing