| 02 Aug 2005
SingHealth marks 120 years of Nursing in Singapore with a new milestone – the formation of the first Nursing Alumni at Nurses’ Day Party
Singapore, 1 August 2005 – A new milestone in Nursing was created on 1 August 2003 with the launch of the first Nursing Alumni in Singapore. Initiated by SingHealth, the Nursing Alumni was launched earlier by Ms Roselin Liew, former Chief Nursing Officer with the Ministry of Health.
Ms Liew and seven former Principal Nursing Officers and nursing tutors lit eight symbolic Florence Nightingale lamps to ignite the flames of the Alumni. The ceremony was witnessed by more than 50 other former nurses and hundreds of SingHealth’s nurses at SingHealth Nurses’ Day Celebrations Party held at Outram Campus, Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
The Nursing Alumni marks the 120th year of nursing in Singapore. It was initiated firstly to recognise the contribution of nurses who have helped to shape the profession, providing today’s nurses with a sound base to soar and take nursing to greater heights. More importantly, the Alumni is a platform for its members to stay connected with their chosen profession (please see Annex A).
"Our former tutors and mentors have stood the test of times, by joining the nursing profession even when it was not that glamorous or much rewarded. They are not just the bedrock of healthcare, but also an inspiration to all our nurses. We hope that with their wealth of knowledge and experience, they could serve as mentors to our younger nurses and be part of the development of the profession," said Mdm Lim Swee Hia, Director of Nursing, Outram Campus, SingHealth.
It was befitting for the Alumni to be launched at the Outram Campus at SGH, as history shows that it was here that the nursing profession started 120 years ago, with the arrival of 11 French nuns to care for the sick at the old Singapore General Hospital.
The Nursing Alumni is open to all former nurses, such as retirees or those who have left the profession for various reasons. Former nurses from both public and private healthcare institutions in Singapore are welcome to join the Alumni. Its members will be involved in activities ranging from networking gatherings to community services. Alumni members will also be invited to various events and activities organised by SingHealth so they could be kept abreast of the development in the nursing profession.
Said Ms Liew, an Alumni member, "On behalf of my fellow former colleagues, I appreciate the gesture of remembering us and forming a special organisation where we could stay connected, the past and the present together."
The highlight of the SingHealth Nurses’ Day Celebrations Party also included the recognition of the future nursing leaders at SingHealth.
13 senior and junior nurses were awarded with the Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing (IAN) Scholarship. Awarded for the first time, the Scholarship was established to encourage and provide for SingHealth nurses who wish to realise their academic goals through local and overseas universities. 7 nurses will be pursuing their Bachelor degree, 3 will be doing their Masters of Nursing degree while another 3 will be embarking on their PhDs (please see Annex B for information on the scholarship and recipients).
In addition, 10 outstanding nurses from across the cluster received the prestigious SingHealth-Lee Foundation Excellence in Nursing Award in recognition for their excellence in work performance and commitment to their patients. The awards, totaling S$20,000 in cash, was given out by Professor Tan Ser Kiat, Group CEO of SingHealth and CEO of SGH (please see Annex C for information on the award and recipients).
The scholarships and awards were made possible by the generous support and donation from the Lee Foundation, who gave more than $10 million in 2004 for the establishment of the Alice Lee IAN and the SingHealth-Lee Foundation Excellence in Nursing Award. They have given yet another boost to the development of nurses at SingHealth with an additional $3 million donation in celebration of Nurses’ Day. The additional donation will be channeled towards the advancement of professional development of our nurses.
"SingHealth is extremely grateful to the Lee Foundation for its support of our efforts to achieving nursing excellence. As SingHealth aspires to be an Academic Health Centre and part of a regional medical hub, we need a solid partnership between our skilled nurses and other healthcare professionals. Providing our nurses with the opportunity to develop their potential is integral to the realisation of this partnership," said Professor Tan. "We are proud of our nurses, who are not only highly educated, skilled and committed, but are also award winners such as the President’s Award for nurses."
Nursing celebrations at SingHealth began in mid-July with a series of activities that represented the many aspects of nursing, such as patient care, education, research and community outreach. Activities included the launch of the Pictorial Communication Aid – a tool to enhance nurse-patient communication, the 2nd Inter-institution Nursing Debate and a Movie Screening for underprivileged children.
Other highlights of the party included food stalls manned by SingHealth’s senior management, song performances by SingHealth’s doctors and nurses and a dance competition. Joining in the celebrations also were 40 elderly residents who live in one-room flats in the Buona Vista Constituency, who are being adopted by the Outram Campus Nurse Volunteers. Food hampers were distributed to the elderly residents and they were treated to a Chinese Opera performance.
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Nursing Alumni – A new milestone in Nursing History
Factsheet
Nursing has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Today, it is increasingly being recognised as a highly skilled profession. Roles of nurses have expanded throughout the years and they are now seen as partners to other healthcare professionals in the management and care of patients.
As the nursing profession celebrates its 120th year in Singapore, it is timely to pause and reflect on its past achievements. More importantly, it would be integral to note the role of our past nurses, nursing leaders and tutors who have contributed towards shaping the profession into what it is today. They have provided today’s nurses with a sound base to soar and take the profession to greater heights.
In recognition of the contribution of former nurses to the profession, SingHealth has initiated the formation of the Nursing Alumni. It is befitting that the initiation came from SingHealth and the Alumni will be launched at the Singapore General Hospital Outram Campus, because history shows that the nursing profession started at this very place 120 years ago.
Purpose
The primary purposes of the Nursing Alumni are to foster camaraderie among, and provide support for former nurses. Initiated as a social organisation, the Alumni will provide a good platform for former nurses to stay connected and network with one another. The Alumni was also initiated with the purpose of providing an avenue for former and current nurses to interact. With their wealth of knowledge and experience, it is the hope that its members could serve as mentors to current nurses and continue to be part of the development of the nursing profession.
Membership
Membership to the Alumni is open to all former nurses. These include retired nurses and those who may have left the profession for various reasons. Former nurses from all public and private healthcare institutions are welcome to join the Alumni.
Activities
Following the formation of the Nursing Alumni, its members will be coming together to decide on the activities which they will undertake. Among these include networking gatherings with their former colleagues and current nurses and community involvement activities where they could put to good use their nursing skills.
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