Ms Laura THAM SCHMIDT
Senior Lecturer
Undergraduate Programmes Director for Year 3
Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies (NUS Nursing),
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
Teaching Areas
- Palliative Nursing
- Community Nursing
- Emergency Nursing
- Gerontology
Laura Tham is the Senior Lecturer of the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies (NUS Nursing), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. She is also the Undergraduate Programme Director for Year 3
Laura’s professional experiences encompassed community nursing, palliative, gerontology, emergency, prehospital care, and education. Prior to her current position, Laura worked as a Nurse Clinician in Ageing-In-Place Community Care Team (AIP-CCT) and Emergency Department in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, National Health Group (NHG) from 2012 to 2019. She was awarded the Health Manpower Development Plan (HMDP) scholarship to Hong Kong in 2016 to study the best practices in community and palliative care in home settings.
She was appointed by Chief Nursing Officer’s Office, under the Ministry of Health as one of the workgroup members in the development of the national Community Nursing Competency Framework (CNCF) and Geriatric Nursing Competency Framework (GNCF). She was also involved in the validation of the Palliative Nursing Competency Framework (PNCF). These frameworks are used to guide nursing practices to meet the multitude care needs of Singapore populations.
Laura was a lecturer in the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) from 2007 to 2012. She contributed in pioneering the Higher NITEC in Paramedic course in ITE. Prior to ITE, Laura was a full time Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Nursing Officer from 2003 to 2006, where she was involved in the Combat Medic Training in the SAF Military Training Institute (SMTI) and overseas’ medical relief missions. She was awarded a medal for her participation in the Singapore Armed Forces Tsunami Relief Operation, Ops Flying Eagle in 2004.
For her service in education, Laura received the NUHS Teaching Excellence Award in 2022.
Education
- Specialist Diploma in Palliative Care Nursing, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore
- Master of Gerontology, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore
- Certificate in Implement Namaste Care (Intermediate), Dementia Singapore Academy, Singapore
- Certificate in Homebound Elderly, Hua Mei Training Academy, Singapore
- Paramedic Level IV, Justice Institute of British Columbia, Canada
- Advanced Diploma in Emergency Nursing, Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore
- Bachelor of Nursing, University of Sydney, Australia
- Certificate in Nursing, Singapore
Research Interests
- Palliative nursing
- Gerontology
- Community Nursing
- Health technology
| Publications | DOI | Impact Factor |
|---|---|---|
| Yoong, S. Q., Schmidt, L. T., Chao, F. F. T., Devi, K. M., Wang, W., & Zhang, H. (2024). Nursing students' perspectives and learning experiences of participating in a palliative and end-of-life care simulation programme: A qualitative study. Nurse Education Today, 106103. | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106103 | 3.9 |
| Chan, V., Cao, L., Wong, M. M. H., Lo, K., & Tam, W. (2023). Diagnostic Accuracy of Waist-to-Height Ratio, Waist Circumference, and Body Mass Index in Identifying Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Current developments in nutrition, 8(1), 102061. | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2023.102061 | 4.8 |
| Lau, S. T., Siah, C. J. R., Loh, W. L., Rusli, K. D. B., Schmidt, L. T., Lim, F. P., & Liaw, S. Y. (2023). Enhancing professional competency in clinical procedures using head-mounted display virtual reality-a mixed method study. Medical Education Online, 28(1), 2232134. | https://doi-org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/10.1080/10872981.2023.2232134 | 4.6 |
| Lau, S. T., Liaw, S. Y., Loh, W. L., Schmidt, L. T., Yap, J., Lim, F. P., ... & Siah, R. (2023). Mid-career switch nursing students' perceptions and experiences of using immersive virtual reality for clinical skills learning: A mixed methods study. Nurse Education Today, 124, 105760. | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2023.105760 | 3.9 |
| Yoong, S. Q., Wang, W., Seah, A. C. W., Kumar, N., Gan, J. O. N., Schmidt, L. T., ... & Zhang, H. (2023). Nursing Students’ Experiences With Patient Death and Palliative and End-of-life Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-synthesis. Nurse Education in Practice, 103625. | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2023.103625 | 3.43 |
| Yoong, S. Q., Schmidt, L. T., Devi, K. M., & Zhang, H. (2023). Using palliative and end-of-life simulation to enhance pre-licensure nursing students' emotional intelligence, palliative care knowledge and reflective abilities: a single group, pretest-posttest study. Nurse Education Today, 130, 105923. | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2023.105923 | 3.9 |
| Awards and Honors | Year |
|---|---|
| NUHS Teaching Excellence Award | 2022 |
| National University Health System (NUHS) Healthcare Education Research Award 2021, Presented at the NUHS Educators’ Day 2021 | 2021 |
| Henry Lim Best Dissertation Award (SUSS Master of Gerontology Course) | 2018 |
| HMDP Award- Ministry of Health Strategic Nursing Development Programme (SNDP)-Clinical Attachment for Community Care, Department of Community Outreach Services Team, Prince of Wales Hospital, New Territories East Cluster, Hong Kong. | 2016 |
| Year | Project title | Funding Organization (Role - PI / Co-PI/ Co-I/ Collaborator) |
|---|---|---|
| June 2023-May 2025 | Using Death Café as a learning pedagogy for teaching palliative care for nursing students: A two-phase study | Teaching Enhancement Grant, Singapore (Co-I) |
| Sep 2021 – Aug 2024 | “Death doula” service-learning to enhance nursing students’ knowledge, personal reflection and professional comportment in palliative and end-of-life care: a pilot sequential explanatory mixed-methods study. (Co-I) | NUS TEG |
| Apr 2021 – Mar 2023 | Enhancing Clinical Procedures through Deliberate Practice using Immersive Virtual Reality (Co-I) | MOE Tertiary Education Grant |
| Sep 2021 – Aug 2023 | Home-based care nurses' competency-based assessment: Development of instrument for cross-sectional study in Singapore (Co-I) | MOH HSG |
| Sep 2021 - Aug 2022 | Empowering workplace allies to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees | Welcome Trust, UK (Co-I) |
| June 2021- May 2022 | Nurses Perceived Competence and Education Needs in Home-based Care: An Exploratory Study. (Co-I) | SIGMA Grant |
| March 2021-Feb 2023 | Using palliative and end‐of‐life simulation to enhance pre‐licensure nursing students’ emotional intelligence, palliative care knowledge, reflective ability and experience in caring for the dying patients: a pilot study (PI) | NUS ALCNS |
