Scene and Heard

Healthcare Scholarships Open for Application

Calling all students who are keen to consider a career in the healthcare sector! The next Healthcare Scholarships application cycle will start from September 2021 and end in March 2022.

If you are interested to pursue allied health and nursing, the Healthcare Merit Award, Community Care Scholarship, Community Nursing Scholarship or Integrated Nursing Scholarship will be applicable to you.

If you are interested in joining the healthcare sector in administrative or corporate functions, check out the Healthcare Administration Scholarship.

Find out more details on our website at www.healthcarescholarships.sg.

Making every breath count at the frontlines of TTSH-NCID

"Respiratory Therapist" is not a profession you regularly hear from news outlets reporting on the national effort towards the COVID-19 pandemic. We are however, a small but mighty team of healthcare professionals who play a very significant role in the last 2 years of COVID-19.

Respiratory Therapists take care of patients who have breathing difficulty and require support from a mechanical ventilator. Patients who are unable to support their respiratory requirements are usually very ill and reside in Intensive Care Units and High Dependency Units. Most of the time, the patients we see are not fully conscious and aware of who we are, but we are part of the multidisciplinary critical care team who helps them breathe better during their most critical time of need. Beyond the Intensive care units and emergency call lines, Respiratory Therapists also care for discharged patients who require home ventilation. These patients may require ventilator support ranging from a simple night time use to chronic life support.

We work tirelessly round the clock, to ensure that all our patients (whether Covid or non-Covid patients) are well taken care of, 24/7, every day of the week. Most of us in the team were separated from our loved ones and family members in the last 2 years because of travel restrictions and the need for intense manpower to support the Singapore COVID-19 frontlines.

I'm extremely proud to lead a team which is as resilient and strong as the TTSH-NCID Respiratory Therapy Department and any awards I may win would not be possible without all of their support. So next time, when you think about the COVID-19 pandemic, don't forget to remember the Respiratory Therapists who are making every breath count at the frontlines of the pandemic!

Lynn Lee Xuan Lin Head of Service, Respiratory Therapy

Teaching Scholarships and Awards Presented to Deserving Talents

2021 was the first time that the Teaching Scholarship Presentation Ceremony was held virtually. It was graced by Minister of Education, Mr Chan Chun Sing, who handed out the awards to two cohorts of teaching scholarship and award recipients. The recipients will be pursuing their undergraduate studies at overseas universities, local autonomous universities or NTU-NIE.

During the ceremony, Mr Chan shared a piece of wisdom to our recipients, "Be open to new experiences, and seize the opportunities available to them in this fast-changing world. Constantly seek to refresh your skills, and role model the spirit of lifelong learning for our students. During your studies, ask questions and learn from those around you. Seek out viewpoints that are different from yours, and challenge yourself to empathise with and to learn from them."

Mr Chan also highlighted that "Teachers are the ones who keep education going. We know that teachers work very hard to do their best for our students. With COVID-19, teachers have had to juggle teaching, administrative duties, their students' well-being, and their own responsibilities at home. Amidst all of this, do remember that being committed to your vocation also means taking good care of your own physical and emotional well-being. As the saying goes, one cannot pour from an empty cup."