Hope & purpose: 2 S’porean healthcare scholars share how they decided on their chosen careers

As a child, 26-year-old Jeremy Chua had always wanted to become a firefighter.

However, a diagnosis of mild Brugada Syndrome when he was 19 shattered that dream.

Brugada Syndrome is a rare condition which affects the way that electric signals pass through the heart, and can be life-threatening in certain cases where it causes the heart to beat unusually fast.

As a result of the diagnosis, Chua had to withdraw from an education sponsorship and compensate for the polytechnic tuition fee, stipend and study bonus that he’d received.

He also had to abandon his childhood dream of becoming a firefighter.

If that wasn’t enough, Chua also had a brush with tuberculosis during his polytechnic days.

Both health scares left an indelible impression on him.

A beacon of hope

He recalled: “Growing up, I have been a recipient of Singapore’s healthcare system at different stages of my life. But what I remember vividly was how the healthcare professionals I met throughout my journey helped me to build a better, stronger and healthier self.”

Chua remembers clearly his interactions with doctors and healthcare professionals at the time, who did all they could to put him at ease.

“When I was diagnosed with mild Brugada Syndrome, they assured me that I was in good hands and that I still had plenty of opportunities to live a meaningful life,” he shared.

The hospital staff also showed Chua what it’s like “to be a beacon of hope in someone’s life”, said Chua.

His mum, who’s also a nurse, is one shining example of that as well.

“I remembered an episode when my mum attended to an unconscious elderly at a bus interchange. The care she demonstrated after the person regained consciousness made me want to follow in her footsteps and be able to help those in distress or in need.”

These experiences inspired Chua to pivot and pursue a career in healthcare instead, more specifically, in becoming a medical social worker.

Chua eventually applied and was awarded a Healthcare Scholarship by MOHH, to study social work at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).

Said Chua: “I found medical social work to be as demanding and rewarding as I initially sought in my dreams to be a firefighter.

“As a patient, I could see and experience the important work that healthcare professionals do as part of their duty. I am proud to be part of the healthcare family and look forward to the exciting work ahead of me.”

Called to serve

Nursing undergraduate Christy Lee, 22, on the other hand, had not always had a firm idea of what she wanted to do with her life.

What she did know, however, was that a desk-bound job was not for her.

“I needed something stimulating and a profession that’s exciting,” said Lee.

Besides that awareness, she’d always felt a calling to serve.

Lee, who is a Christian, shared how she “prayed a lot with regard to my future career path” in secondary school, which eventually led her down the path of becoming a nurse.

She admitted to struggling through her secondary school days as a Normal (Academic) student “with no As”.

However, she eventually managed to do well, obtaining her nursing diploma.

Not only that, the third-year student at the National University of Singapore is enroute to getting her degree in nursing, bagging a Healthcare Scholarship from MOHH along the way.

Lee’s experience has shown her that with determination, all obstacles are surmountable.

“I guess the moral of the story is to persevere, grit your teeth through different stages and you’ll eventually cross that bridge when you come to it.”

Perseverance in the face of difficulties

Lee doesn’t deny that being a nurse certainly has its fair share of ups and downs, but it has done little to quell her passion to serve.

She recalled being subjected to verbal abuse during her time as a trainee nurse, where one of her patients was a man with dementia.

“The uncle’s wife and daughter flared up as they heard from him that he ‘didn’t have lunch at all’. However, he’d actually had half a bowl of porridge with vegetables and half a banana,” Lee recounted.

Realising that she couldn’t do anything to alleviate the situation, she kept quiet while attending to the patient’s needs, transferring him to a wheelchair.

“I think I was pretty taken aback and fearful because I haven’t experienced such a situation first-hand,” she shared.

The experience however, made Lee realise the importance of mental health support for nurses as “nursing is indeed a profession where you need physical and mental strength.”

This was most evident in 2021 during the Covid-19 crisis, when Lee and her fellow batch mates at Ngee Ann Polytechnic were roped in to help out in hospitals due to the manpower crunch.

Lee reflected: “I think the pandemic really highlighted the importance of nurses in our healthcare system more than before and I’m really glad that people started acknowledging the hard work of healthcare professionals. I think just knowing that there was an increased recognition of a nurse’s job scope was really heartwarming.”

Not just a “wipe buttock” job

What Lee is also passionate about, is also overturning the perception of others towards nursing as a career.

“I think I speak for all when I say there are indeed many prevalent preconceived notions and stigmas about nurses,” Lee shared.

And if there’s one thing she would like people to know, it’s that being a nurse isn’t just a “wipe buttock or doctor’s assistant” job.

“There’s so much involved in being a nurse that people are unaware and there’s limited knowledge with regards to the profession,” Lee explained.

She continued: “We render round-the-clock care which requires us to constantly assess and monitor our patient’s condition, report any abnormalities in deviation, provide emotional support (in addition to our role), administer medication, coordinate and better our patient’s care plans with other disciplines involved, and more.”

Like Lee, Chua has found his field in medical social work to be “as demanding and rewarding” as his initial dream of being a firefighter.

He shared how a quote he’d chanced upon from the 1998 movie Patch Adams cemented his decision to be in the healthcare sector.

“You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter the outcome.”

The quote by the doctor, played by the late Robin Williams, struck a chord in Chua’s heart as the values of service, empathy and care resonated deeply with him.

“I wanted to be someone who could be there for others, especially in the darkest times of need,” said Chua.

The two received their awards at the Healthcare Scholarships Award Ceremony 2023 on Jul. 21.

The application window for Healthcare Scholarships will open in Sep. 2023.

This sponsored article by Healthcare Scholarships made the writer thankful for the healthcare professionals who are always there for Singapore.

All images via Chua and Lee