In partnership with Care To Go Beyond
SINGAPORE: Stethoscope round her neck, Faith Hwang moves from patient to patient in the medical intensive care unit (ICU) of Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), assessing their condition and checking their diagnostic results.
Examining one patient, she says: “Your blood pressure … looks okay. We’ll see whether we can cut back a little of the medicine for you. We’ll also (perform) a formal heart ultrasound.”
Hwang is not a doctor, however. She’s a nurse, one with advanced training that requires a master’s degree in nursing.
“In terms of theoretical knowledge, there’s no doubt about it — she’s on a par (with) or possibly better than some of the junior MOs (medical officers),” says her supervisor Lew Jin Wen, a senior consultant in respiratory and critical care medicine at TTSH.
“She knows the protocols and procedures here. She’s been around here the longest.”
