Alumni nurses respond to Covid-19 pandemic: At the NCID

Priscillia at the NCID’s screening centre. She moved to the centre from Nursing Education when it opened in January.

Priscillia Chen: At the NCID screening centre, we function similarly as an Emergency Department of a major Hospital. We screen patients for specific risk factors relevant to COVID-19 and triage them so that those who require urgent medical attention are given priority to see the doctor. Most of our patients are referred by the GPs, polyclinics or Ministry of Health, but we also receive some walk-ins. At the centre, we are empowered to initiate appropriate basic treatment, including chest X-rays, COVID-19 swabs, ECG and capillary blood glucose tests. Nurses here also administer medications to patients showing symptoms of a fever, and prepare patients for either hospital admission or discharge to home or government-assigned facilities.

The recent few weeks have seen an influx of foreign workers, requiring us to operate our standby tentage area at maximum capacity. We have also had to hasten admissions and discharges in order to accommodate the higher patient load. Work at the front line is very dynamic as the numbers at the screening centre closely mirrors the trends and incidents in the community at large. Our workflows and work processes are revised almost every day to ensure accuracy of our screening, to shorten queues and waiting times as much as possible, and to allow for contingency plans.

Currently, with new clusters identified in the community, there is a surge in attendance at the screening centre. Inevitably, queues form and on rare occasions, we do get self-righteous people demanding to be seen first. When you try to reason with them, they can shout at the nurses and get uncooperative. Some do not abide by the safe distancing and infection control measures enforced, and that can cause distress to the healthcare personnel and other patients. But unpleasant experiences are never what defines our job. Most of the patients who pass through the screening centre are mostly appreciative, and as cliché as it sounds, hearing a simple “thank you for what you do” or “it must be hard work” really warms our hearts. Our nursing profession as a whole has received an outpouring of love and support from fellow Singaporeans. I have received food, coffee and herbal teas, handwritten letters and flowers, and even skincare products. The tangible and intangible appreciation for healthcare workers and ancillary staff including porters and cleaners has really touched and heartened me, and hopefully will not end once COVID-19 does.

“I am honoured to be working alongside spirited and selfless nurses who haven’t shunned their call of duty.”

I am honoured to be working alongside spirited and selfless nurses who haven’t shunned their call of duty. Our team is made up of nurses from almost every department in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, yet the teamwork here is wonderful, and there is little emphasis on hierarchy. To my fellow nursing colleagues, and even nurses-to-be, you are not heroes only when there is a crisis. Long after this pandemic is over, we will find ourselves the same nurses giving the same extraordinary care to every patient who needs us – and that is because we are everyday heroes.