(Clockwise from left) Ms Siti Farhana Jumari, Ms Nan Saung Hti Kalane and Ms Khor Sia Liew (bottom right photo top row, second from left). PHOTO KUA CHEE SIONG, GIN TAY, COURTESY OF QUEK SWEE CHONG
SINGAPORE – Ms Siti Farhana Jumari is a nurse in the emergency department who keeps her mobile phone close to her at all times – in case a family emergency requires her to attend to her mother who has dementia or to her autistic son.
Ms Nan Saung Hti Kalane was diagnosed with an aneurysm – an abnormal bulge or ballooning in the wall of a blood vessel – in her brain, but for two years she carried on working as a ward nurse anyway.
At age 71, operating theatre nurse Khor Sia Liew does not seem to be slowing down – she uses her personal leave to go on medical missions to India.
Through their lives and work, the three show that being a nurse is a calling and a passion.
This means having the desire to make a positive impact on the lives of patients, families, co-workers and the community.
The upcoming Nurses’ Day on Aug 1 pays tribute to the people who are the backbone of the healthcare system, and who have the innate tenacity and high degree of compassion for others to keep on caring.
According to the latest available figures, Singapore had 43,772 nurses and registered midwives, including 36,995 registered nurses, in 2022.
This was despite the attrition rate of local public-sector nurses increasing from 6 per cent in 2017 to 7.4 per cent in 2021.
Since then, Singapore managed to surpass its recruitment target of 4,000 nurses, with a record of 5,600 accepting positions at healthcare institutions in 2023.
Siti Farhana Jumari: Constantly on her feet and on her toes
Emergency department (ED) nurse Siti Farhana Jumari does not seem to catch a break at all.
Like all ED nurses, the 38-year-old senior staff nurse from the department of acute and emergency care at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital hits the ground running when she starts her shift and does not stop until it ends.
Ms Siti Farhana Jumari hits the ground running at the department of acute and emergency
care at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Loving the adrenaline rush at the ED, where she has been since 2010, Ms Siti Farhana Jumari does not see
herself moving to the other areas of nursing. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Ms Siti Farhana Jumari said she has learnt how to compartmentalise work and family life.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
In Ms Farhana’s case, the end of one shift means the start of another.
When she reaches home, she starts work of another kind – taking care of her mother Hajjah Amnah Hassan Kalyubi, 76, who has dementia, and her autistic seven-year-old son Yusuf Ali.
Madam Amnah was diagnosed with mild dementia in late 2019, and her condition got “progressively worse”.
Two years later, Ms Farhana was told that Yusuf, who was four then, has severe autism.
He had failed his hearing test at five months and was referred to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
“That was when I told (the doctor) what I had observed, that Yusuf was not like his brother and he was flapping his arms more than usual. She referred him to an autism specialist,” Ms Farhana told The Straits Times.
“I was very heartbroken,” she said.
Yusuf, the second of three sons, used to be non-verbal. It was only after he went through therapy that he can now say a few letters of the alphabet, and name some animals and fruits.
Madam Hajjah Amnah Hassan Kalyubi was diagnosed in 2019 with dementia, which got
progressively worse. She needs help eating. PHOTO: COURTESY OF SITI FARHANA JUMARI
Yusuf Ali, seven, the second of Ms Siti Farhana Jumari’s three sons, was diagnosed in
2019 with severe autism. It was only after therapy that he could say some letters of the
alphabet. PHOTO: COURTESY OF SITI FARHANA JUMARI
Ms Farhana said it is difficult having young children, especially one who is severely autistic, in the same home as a senior with dementia.
“It is tiring,” she said, notwithstanding the help from her domestic helper whenever she is at work.
But she said she has learnt how to compartmentalise work and family life. Whenever she is at work, she would leave family issues at home.
In fact, her training at work has helped her cope with home life.
“(Work) challenges (me) to be quick in thinking and acting. For example, when a patient comes in with a heart attack, I need to know what to do instantly... I would need to (assess) and send the patient quickly for medical intervention, so that he would have a good quality of life when he recovers,” she said.
Loving the adrenaline rush at the ED, where she has been since 2010, Ms Farhana does not see herself moving to the other areas of nursing.
However, she holds her mobile phone close as it serves as a lifeline to her family. She lives a stone’s throw away from the hospital and can rush back home should any crisis arise.
When asked who gives care to a caregiver like her, who has dedicated her life to caring for others – her patients, her mother and sons – Ms Farhana became teary-eyed and said: “Me.”
“Whenever I go home, my goal is to reach my bedroom, my sanctuary where I decompress before dealing with the goings-on with my mother, the maid and my son. Sometimes this fails,” she said.
“Whenever I need to rant, my husband is there as my sounding board,” she added.
Nan Saung Hti Kalane: Her aneurysm did not stop her from her passion
When her bouts of headaches grew in frequency over two years, Ms Nan Saung Hti Kalane, an assistant nurse clinician at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), finally sought help.
“Everyone has headaches and I thought mine was because I did not rest well or that I was tired,” she said.
In 2021, she was sent for scans and “they revealed that I had an aneurysm in my brain”, said Ms Kalane, 41, a mother of one who is originally from Myanmar.
Assistant nurse clinician Nan Saung Hti Kalane continued working at SGH despite her aneurysm in the
brain and having a stent implanted. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
An aneurysm is an abnormal bulge or ballooning in the wall of a blood vessel and can rupture, causing bleeding inside the body and often leading to death.
For the first two years after Ms Kalane’s diagnosis, the doctors observed her.
The size of the aneurysm did not change, so it was status quo for Ms Kalane, who continued working in Ward 73 of the hospital as usual.
She said she has always wanted to be in healthcare to help others.
“One reason for this was that my grandfather had cancer. I was about 11 years old. I helped my mother in the care of my grandfather and realised that it was an area that I was interested in,” she said.
In 2002, after completing secondary school, she decided to join her eldest sister, who was then studying nursing in Singapore.
Ever since she graduated with a diploma in nursing from Nanyang Polytechnic, Ms Kalane has been working as a nurse, first at Alexandra Hospital before moving with the team to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in 2010.
Since graduating, Ms Nan Saung Hti Kalane has worked as a ward nurse, taking care of patients at
three different hospitals. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
She also completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2009 and her Advanced Diploma in Nursing (Orthopaedics) two years later.
She moved to SGH in 2014 as a senior nurse and proved herself there.
The year that brings back many memories for Ms Kalane is 2023.
It was the year she was promoted to her current rank of assistant nurse clinician and when she obtained her citizenship and became a Singaporean. It was also the year she was told her aneurysm was getting bigger.
“To the surgeons, the growth rate of the aneurysm was faster than usual. They had discussions with me again and advised me to go for surgery,” Ms Kalane said.
Ms Nan Saung Hti Kalane said she has always wanted to be in healthcare to help others.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
After all, she has a lot to live for – her husband and her nine-year-old daughter.
“My husband is an engineer, and he believed that since I am a healthcare professional, I would know exactly what I had to do and left the decision to me. I think he believed that I would make the correct decision for myself and for the family,” she said.
In June 2023, Ms Kalane underwent brain stent insertion to divert the blood flow and protect the artery wall.
Two months after the operation, Ms Kalane was back at work.
Khor Sia Liew: Using her own vacation days to go on medical missions
An e-mail in 2009 about a medical mission to Ladakh, India, which was sent to her by mistake, piqued the interest of operating theatre nurse Khor Sia Liew.
“The e-mail was meant for another nurse with almost the same surname – but spelt ‘Kor’, instead of ‘Khor’. I wanted to know more and that was when it kindled my interest and I wanted to join in,” said the 71-year-old senior nurse clinician at Gleneagles Hospital.
As part of the Himalayan Women’s Health project, obstetrics and gynaecology specialist Quek Swee Chong led a 20-strong team of doctors, nurses and volunteers to carry out screening, treatment and education on women’s health.
The medical team led by obstetrics and gynaecology specialist Quek Swee Chong (in the foreground)
to Ladakh in 2019. Nurse clinician Khor Sia Liew (top, second from left) is also part of the team.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF QUEK SWEE CHONG
The main focus of the project is preventing and treating cervical cancer and providing gynaecological and pregnancy-related care to the women of Ladakh, one of the more remote areas of the North Indian Himalayan region.
It was not the first time that Ms Khor went on a medical expedition abroad.
Before travelling with the team from Gleneagles, Ms Khor used to volunteer with Tzu Chi Singapore, a Buddhist organisation that carries out medical missions to places such as Batam, Pontianak and parts of Sri Lanka.
Every year since 2009, Ms Khor would use her own leave to travel with the Gleneagles team to Ladakh.
“I pay for my own air ticket and lodging there... I believe I can help. I have the knowledge and skills. When and where I am needed, I will just pack and go,” she said.
“I remember there was an 18-year-old girl whose baby died but she had an engorged breast that had abscess. We had to drain the abscess.
“Not everything is as rural as we had thought (it would be), because there is an army hospital nearby that is well equipped,” she said.
Ms Khor explains it is not just a professional understanding of the types of medicine that is needed of volunteers, but also the ability to be highly organised and flexible and to prioritise effectively.
“Good interpersonal skills, attention to details and being able to concentrate for long periods of time are (qualities that) are needed at the camp.
“Where we (do volunteer) work is actually very high. The altitude is 3,000m and some people cannot take it,” said Ms Khor, who has been with Gleneagles since 1980.
Every year, Ms Khor and the team will pack the medicine and equipment needed before embarking on the journey up the mountain to set up seven to eight stations where the local women are screened.
“The women travel (there) from far and queue up. At the peak, we screened over a thousand women,” she said.
The Singapore team registering the women from the villages in Ladakh for health screening.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF QUEK SWEE CHONG
The women from the villages in Ladakh waiting for consultation with the team from Singapore.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF QUEK SWEE CHONG
In 2020, the annual mission came to a standstill due to the pandemic. It is resuming in August.
“We have been packing for the last few weeks and we will be leaving on July 31,” Ms Khor said.
“I believe Dr Quek’s younger daughter will be making the trip with us this year and I am sure it will be a learning experience for her and for the younger nurses on the trip too,” she said.
