Wondering why I join nursing? I managed to retrieve my interview notes with the Straits Times in 2005. Sound very persuasive but the truth about nursing can be very “cruel”. It was unfortunate that I injured my hand and my dreams were crashed (including my migration dream)….sigh.However, I have learnt a lot from the job and it is indeed an eye opening experience for me. I always encourage the student to take up the challenges but not to stay in nursing just because you have no where to go after your GCE ‘O’ levels. There were some students who were discouraged by me along the way but I think it is good as nursing is not for everyone, include myself. You must be flexible and agile to switch your career in order to adopt to the environment. I am just doing that.

Thanks to my nursing experience, I have learnt how to be more flexible in life.

    My interview questions:
  1. What makes you decide to change your career path at that stage of your life?

I have always been interested in healthcare and believe that knowing more about healthcare will benefit those around me, like my family, my relatives and my friends. That is why, I have spent majority of my IT career in healthcare industry. In my spare time as a full licensed Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner, I find that I enjoy treating the sick, as well as improving the health of those who came to see me. I felt that I had not equipped myself with the adequate knowledge about Western medicine. I wanted to be more knowledgeable about the different aspects of treatments available, so as to be able to help the sick better. I believe Nursing will be a great complement to it.Making the mid-career switch to the healthcare sector is never easy for me. One must do it for the right reasons and from within your heart, because only then will you enjoy working with and helping people.

  1. How are you adjusting with the new working environment & job scope?

    As a Staff Nurse, I need to be prepared for the six-day work week and three rotating shifts. I realized that beyond the facts and figures that I have learnt from NYP, I am expected to work hard and to learn from my colleagues as much as possible of all the things I need to know in order for me to be productive as a Staff Nurse. Nursing is indeed a physically and at times emotionally demanding job. The workload can be pretty heavy. Each day, I am thriving on working in an intense atmosphere. There are eyes watching your every move closely and is constantly bombarded by stress.

  2. What are the views & reactions of your family & friends when they know of your decision?

My parents are supportive of my decision to make such career a change. They know that I am interested in Healthcare. They had given me the same support that they had given me many years ago when I took up the Traditional Chinese Medicine.

However, my friends were looking at me in disbelief. While a few of them were very kind to help me to get another job, another of my friend recommended me a psychiatrist.

  1. How have your previous working experiences helped you now?

I can speak a few dialects and that enables me to be better connected to patients, especially the elderly patients who do not speak English and Mandarin. It is not uncommon for a nurse to encounter patients who are confrontational. As I have experienced confrontational scenario before in my work previously, I am able to manage them better.

I am hoping that in future I could make use of my previous experiences in IT to suggest an effective Nursing system. Such system could help to enhance the professional image of nursing and also enables nurses to provide better healthcare services for the patients.


Tag: change, career,  health, nurse, professional, tcm, interview, traditional chinese medicine, mid-career, NYP, Staff nurse, stress, healthcare, psychiatrist.