Lauded as high-skilled, highly valued professionals following error in White Paper footnote
By Salma Khalik, The Straits Times, 10 Feb 2013
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong has expressed regret over a "factual error" in the Population White Paper that described nurses as "low skilled" workers.
The mistake, contained in a footnote on Page 40, triggered dismay and anger when it emerged last week.
It has now been amended following calls from nurses and their unions. On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean apologised in Parliament for the error and acknowledged the contributions of nurses.
Mr Gan told The Sunday Times: "I regret the emotional distress that it has caused some of our nurses. Nursing is a profession that requires a high level of clinical skill, dedication and passion.
"Nursing capabilities and scope of practice have also expanded to keep up with the increasing needs of the population."
Meanwhile, other health-care workers were quick to defend Singapore's 34,000 nurses as high- skilled, highly valued professionals.
"If there were no nurses, there will be no hospitals," said Mr T.K. Udairam, head of Eastern Health Alliance, which includes Changi General Hospital.
An operating theatre nurse is not only there to provide doctors with all the correct instruments, said Mr Udairam, but she also "has a right to stop a surgeon from carrying on an operation if his integrity is compromised".
This means if a doctor has touched something that makes him no longer sterile, the nurse will stop the operation until he has scrubbed down again. Mr Udairam said this is certainly not the job of a low-skilled worker, but of a highly skilled professional.
Professor K. Satku, an orthopaedic surgeon and director of medical services at the Health Ministry, posted on the Internet: "As a surgeon, I work with very highly trained nurses, without whom much of my work would have been impossible.
"In the operating theatre, nurses ensure that the most complex operations are carried out smoothly. In the wards, nurses work to ensure the well-being of our patients and continue to do so long after everyone else has gone home."
Associate Professor Lim Swee Hia, president of the Singapore Nurses Association, welcomed the correction. In a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and Mr Gan, she said nurses today "have deep expertise".
She added: "In our public health-care institutions, many have taken on clinical tasks which used to be performed by doctors.
"We see more of our bright and young choosing to join the profession. They become much better qualified, possessing a bachelor of science in nursing, master's, PhD or specialisation certificates."
Student nurse Desmond Loo said it was disheartening that the Government described nurses as "low skilled". He felt that such poor regard for the profession could deter youngsters from joining it.
Mr Gan said: "As we celebrate Chinese New Year, it is important that we pay tribute to our nurses and health-care workers as the important backbone of the health- care system."
Regrettable error
"I regret the emotional distress that it has caused some of our nurses. Nursing is a profession that requires a high level of clinical skill, dedication and passion. Nursing capabilities and scope of practice have also expanded to keep up with the increasing needs of the population."
Essential staff
"If there were no nurses, there will be no hospitals."
MR T.K. UDAIRAM, head of Eastern Health Alliance
Big responsibilities
"In the operating theatre, nurses ensure that the most complex operations are carried out smoothly. In the wards, nurses work to ensure the well-being of our patients and continue to do so long after everyone else has gone home."
PROFESSOR K. SATKU, an orthopaedic surgeon and director of medical services at the Health Ministry
Deep expertise
"In our public health-care institutions, many (nurses) have taken on clinical tasks which used to be performed by doctors."
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LIM SWEE HIA, president of the Singapore Nurses Association
Nurses are specially trained: Health Ministry medical services director
By Priscilla Goy, The Straits Times, 9 Feb 2013
Nurses work to ensure the well-being of patients and continue to do so long after everyone else has gone home.
The healthcare system here would also not function without them.
That is the view of the Ministry of Health's medical services director, Professor K. Satkunanantham.
"Nursing is not a job that just anybody can do - it is a profession," said Prof Satkunanantham in a post on the ministry's Facebook page on Saturday morning.
"It takes a special kind of person to be a nurse - someone who is compassionate, caring, and who is willing to put the interests of others above their own."
He added that nurses are often specially trained and need to keep up with new developments in their field.
They also work in difficult situations, and have to remain professional in the face of challenges.
"I daresay they are often under-appreciated and taken for granted - but our healthcare system would not function without them. Whether it is our hospitals, clinics or hospices they rely on our nurses," said Prof Satkunanantham.
"Nurses, even though we don't always remember to say it - we appreciate you and your expertise. Thank you for being a nurse."
Prof Satkunanantham's post comes after Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean apologised in Parliament on Friday for a footnote in the Population White Paper that referred to nursing, retail and personal services as low-skilled jobs, and asked for it to be deleted.
Said DPM Teo: "This classification of low-skilled jobs is not correct. I would like to apologise to those whose professions have been unintentionally misrepresented.
"I personally have the greatest respect for those in the nursing profession, which is a noble and caring profession, which all of us and our loved ones depend on and appreciate."
On Friday night, Chief Nursing Officer, Dr Pauline Tan also made a similar post on Facebook, apologising for the misrepresentation in the White Paper that nursing is a "low-skilled" job.