For me, being a nurse has never been about a job; it’s about answering a calling deep inside me to help people. More than tending to their medical woes, I wanted to be there for my patients at every moment with purpose and kindness.
I had always wanted to further my nursing career through education, but in my first few years of nursing, my children were young and they had to be my focus at the time.
In 2017, I had a hip replacement surgery that greatly restricted my mobility and I was forced to take a long break from nursing.
It hit me hard. For once, I was the patient in need of care from dedicated nurses. Being on the receiving end reminded me of how much nurses matter in every patient’s journey to recovery.
Later that year, I started working in medical sales. I was grateful for it. It was a cushy job and I was able to tap my nursing background to do well in it.
Yet, it never drove me the way nursing did.
When the COVID-19 crisis hit in February 2020, I had an awakening. I was comfortable but unfulfilled in sales. I had to get back to what I was meant to do – help people when they need it most.
Thankfully, I had fully recovered from my surgery by then and my kids were old enough that they didn’t need me around as much.
It seemed like the exact right time to jump back into nursing. And so I did, as a senior staff nurse at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
However, being on the frontlines of healthcare during the pandemic and all its uncertainties felt like a wake-up call. I couldn’t put it off any longer – it was time for me to further my nursing skills and knowledge through education.
I still wanted to keep working full-time, so I needed a programme that would give me the flexibility to do so. I eventually applied for a new scholarship at PSB Academy, for a top-up nursing degree from the Australia-based La Trobe University.
