Alexandra Hospital - the hospital known for its service and personal touch. At "AH", we offer the very best in patient care, including specialist services for the treatment of various conditions.

Putting our patients' needs before our own, we are constantly working with partners, volunteers, and most importantly, our patients themselves, to deliver excellent service and care.

Eileen Cheah Lilian is a Senior Staff Nurse working in the Medical Ward at Alexandra Hospital.

Eileen, what inspired you to join the Nursing profession?

My mum was a nurse. So in many ways, she inspired me to become a nurse!

When I was 19, I got a scholarship from Singapore’s Ministry of Health to study Nursing. So I left my hometown in Penang, Malaysia, and came to Singapore to take a Nursing Diploma at Nanyang Polytechnic.

I joined Alexandra Hospital upon graduation, and have been growing in my career with the hospital for more than 8 years now.

How has your nursing career progressed with Alexandra Hospital?

I started working as a Staff Nurse for the first two years at Alexandra Hospital, and later decided to specialize in Geriatric Nursing (ie caring for elderly patients) in my third year. Alexandra Hospital sponsored my studies for an Advanced Diploma in Geriatric Care, and I worked in the Geriatric Ward for 4 years before being promoted to my current role as a Senior Staff Nurse 1 in the Medical Ward.

What is your job like?

I’m based in a 39-bed Medical Ward for male patients, and I assist the ‘Sister’ or Nurse Manager to supervise a team of nurses and manage the daily running of the ward. I also help to conduct staff training and am responsible for the rostering of work schedules as well. We work on a rotational morning/afternoon/night shift basis.

In our ward, the majority of patients usually suffer from AMS (altered mental state) and this condition often leaves them without a sound state of mind. AMS patients may sometimes require restraint and the challenge is to ensure that they do not hurt themselves or others while we care for them.

Nurses at Alexandra Hospital are provided training to learn self-defence techniques like Aikido (Japanese martial arts) so that we will not only be able to protect ourselves but also be able to confidently handle challenging situations with patients.

In addition to AMS patients, we also frequently care for patients with pneumonia, lung, kidney and heart conditions as well.

How do you find working at Alexandra Hospital?

I feel a sense of pride and enjoy being a part of Alexandra Hospital. The hospital strongly believes in empowering its staff by providing us with opportunities for continuous learning and upgrading.

For example, as part of Alexandra Hospital’s HMDP – Health Manpower Development Programme - I was given the opportunity to go on a 5-week exchange programme to work at two different hospitals in Kameda and Kobe, Japan. It was a great learning experience for me, as I not only managed to pick up the Japanese language, but more importantly, got to learn about their best practices. When I returned to Singapore, I was happy to share my newly acquired knowledge with my management and nursing colleagues at Alexandra Hospital.

Being a bit of a techie, I also get to apply my knowledge and expertise accumulated over the years while serving on our Intranet Committee and working on other IT-related projects. For example, we are currently focusing on how to utilize technology to make our daily operations even more efficient via electronic means. There is the BMS (bed management system) where our nurses are able to view available beds and bed-reservations in real time from a computer terminal.

And to help us cope with work stress, Alexandra Hospital also runs PALS (Peers Around Lending Support), a confidential, peer support telephone hotline service for staff. The service allows staff to call and speak to medical social workers for help and advice, should they be facing problems at work.

Other ways of de-stressing and maintaining a good work/life balance include staff activities such as gym workouts, karaoke-singing, gardening, running and soccer..

In your opinion, what key qualities should a nurse have?

1. Have a service orientation to provide good customer service at all times

2. Have a caring heart that looks out for the patient’s welfare

3. Be hardworking and willing to learn

4. Be able-bodied and fit to handle different patients

5. Be a team player to facilitate care

6. Be multilingual to relate better to patients

What are your future goals that you want to achieve with Alexandra Hospital?

I’m currently studying for a 2-year part-time Nursing degree that is sponsored by Alexandra Hospital. I’m looking forward to applying my knowledge and skills to continue providing excellent care for my patients, and to grow Alexandra Hospital’s reputation as a world-class hospital as well.