WHAT’S NEXT
While Singapore’s retention of nurses is “pretty good” now after rolling out multiple measures, the country cannot rest on its laurels, said Ms Thanaletchimi.
One important area to pay attention to is their workload, she added.
“What are the areas that can be improved using technology? What are the areas we can shift to some other job roles and right site the task so that the nurses can practise on top of their licence and do much more value-added jobs?”
Another common concern is that when nurses take on projects or research work, they typically do not have protected time and have to pitch in outside work hours.
While nurses are happy to take on these projects because it enhances their profession and abilities, employers should recognise that this is eating into their time and see whether they can be given protected time, said Ms Thanaletchimi.
“That means that we may need more nurses, or we need to automate some of the stuff.”
Generally, advanced practice nurses are in their late-20s, said Ms Hsu, adding that it is no longer perceived as a very senior nursing role.
When she first started seeing patients in the clinic five years ago, they would ask her: “Why am I seeing a nurse and not a doctor? What do you do? What do I need to pay to see you?”
As the years went by, patients evidently became more familiar with the evolving role of nurses.
The sky is the limit for the training available, which in turn leads to career opportunities, said Ms Thanaletchimi, pointing out that Alexandra Hospital’s new CEO is a nurse.
“Never would we have thought 20, 30 years ago, a nurse could be a CEO of a healthcare institution.”
While Singapore has done a “very decent job” in promoting nursing as a respectable job, nurses’ welfare can still be improved, she added.
“We need a mindset change in society. Many (patients) are very good, very respectful, but there are pockets of them that can be pretty rude, and that will spoil the day of many nurses in the entire institution,” said Ms Thanaletchimi.
Like the nurses CNA spoke to, she hopes people can understand that nursing is a profession on its own and that they do more than assist doctors.
“We urge that we keep on promoting, campaigning for the prevention of abuse and harassment, and if we continue to do that, I’m sure that society’s mindset will be more enlightened towards nurses.”