The Nursing profession is undergoing the biggest transformation of our time. Even as we confront ongoing and emerging challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, ageing populations and rapid technological advances, we continue to confront age-old problems faced by the Nursing profession—workforce shortages, compensation and recognition, as well as education and professional development.
Nursing education is at the heart of the solution to counter these, with Nursing educators playing a critical role in shaping future nurses and, consequently, the healthcare landscape. The 9th International Nurse Education Conference (NETNEP) from 28 to 30 October—held in Singapore and Asia for the first time—provided a platform for the Nursing fraternity to come together, discuss and learn from one another. As NETNEP’s partner for this edition of the conference, we are honoured to support and facilitate the event in various ways.
Ahead of the conference, we hosted the NETNEP delegates at our campus, giving them a tour of our facilities and the National University Hospital. It was an instructive and informative session in which we shared how NUS Nursing students learn through simulation and virtual reality, and learned from the delegates about their approaches at their home institutions.
This lively exchange of ideas and views formed the basis for sharing throughout the conference—across presentations by our NUS Nursing colleagues, the keynote speech by Head of NUS Nursing, Professor Liaw Sok Ying, and the workshop I hosted on immersive virtual reality programmes for teaching clinical skills. The conference brought together old and new collaborators, potentially seeding partnerships to advance the future of Nursing education. I look forward to reconnecting with my new friends to discuss collaborations.
Beyond the conference, we also encourage our faculty members to seek opportunities that contribute to their growth as educators. For example, the Ministry of Education’s START Overseas Postdoctoral Fellowship recipients—Research Fellow Dr Darryl Ang and alumnus Dr Jeremy Cheng—will soon embark on their overseas stints at the University of Tokyo and the University of Oxford. I hope they return with fresh insights and ideas to elevate the quality of Nursing education.
Nursing education today is no longer just about training nurses with competent clinical skills. It is also about honing their critical thinking and leadership capabilities so that they can become leaders in their chosen fields. We are heartened to see our alumni—Carol Ho, Kiren T, Munirah Binte Saifuddin and Dr Li Ziqiang—excel across healthcare clusters and various disciplines. They deserve recognition as Nurses’ Merit Award 2024 recipients.
Our NUS Nursing alumni are also making an impact in research. Assistant Professor Jocelyn Chew’s weight management application is helping to nudge the nation’s obesity problem towards normalcy. We also look forward to Research Fellow Dr Brigitte Woo—Singapore’s second Harkness Fellow—bringing back novel ideas to better support the Nursing workforce when she returns from her fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.
The Nursing profession is dedicated to delivering care, commitment and compassion. We held our very first Nursing Inauguration and Badge Pinning Ceremony in August to impress these values upon the incoming cohort. Chief Nursing Officer Ms Paulin Koh attended and praised the ceremony spearheaded by Project Directors Terina Tay and Muhammad Amir—both Year Two students—under the guidance of Director of Student Affairs, Dr Lim Fui Ping. More importantly, however, we hope the theme of ‘Enduring Care, Commitment and Compassion’ will stay with the new students as they embark on their Nursing journeys.
As we approach our 20th anniversary in 2025, we remain unwavering in our vision to inspire health for all and nurture future Nursing leaders, researchers, educators and innovators.
Associate Professor Lydia Lau
Deputy Head, Undergraduate Programmes (NUS Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies)
