Life@sgh sep oct 2014

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 MCI (P) 078/03/2014

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Waltzing with SGH through the decades Giving 40, 50 and 60 years to SGH

A-Team effort saves the day

Pharmacists spot and save patient from drug over-dose

Getting IT right Levelling up from vendor to partner

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LIFE at SGH Campus | Sep/Oct 2014

e r u feat

Waltzing with SGH through the decades

Giving 40, 50 and 60 years to SGH

03 06 08

Getting IT right

Getting IT right

Levelling up from vendor to partner

IT enables ‘one-patient, one record’ and facilitates multidisciplinary care.

Rainbow of hope

Patients inspiring patients through art

Advisor Tan-Huang Shuo Mei

in every issue 10 12 14 18 19 20

quality pulse spree in action campus buzz cross culture your 2nd take the last page

contents

Contributors Caleb Low, Matthew Han, Vanessa Peters, Jennifer Wee, Michelle Scully, Goh Sai Luan Distribution Helen Yang On the Cover Mr Ng Hon Wing shows no signs of slowing down after 60 years on Page 6 ----------Life@SGH Campus is published every two months in print and online by the SGH Communications Department

Today, SGH ranks among the world’s top hospitals in the use of Information Technology (IT).

We use IT to automate or replace manual processes, making us more efficient and our work easier.

IT supports us in making clinical decisions and it makes care safer for our patients. IT tools facilitate teaching and research. Our researchers use IT to collect, manage and study large amounts of data needed to identify trends and patterns. Our leaders use IT to analyse and track organisational performances.

As we grapple with physical constraints such as space and manpower, IT offers us extra capacity in virtual form to meet the increasing needs of our population.

IT also provides the platform for us to integrate our care into the national healthcare system, to make care more accessible and centred on our patients.

In sum, IT enables us to transform the way we work and deliver care, to benefit our patients and ourselves.

The smart thing we can do to help ourselves is to take the initiative to learn how we can tap into and maximise the benefits that IT can potentially bring.

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LIFE at SGH Campus | Sep/Oct 2014

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(continued from Page 3)

Getting IT right The unsung heroes

Making all this happen is a team of over 300 dedicated men and women at Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS). They are the hidden central processing unit assigned to support SingHealth for all projects.

They do most of the coordination between the infrastructure team, applications team, the vendors and users. “When you hear of projects, it’s the users who front it, you don’t hear much about us,” says S M Arish, IHiS Deputy Director.

Case Study: Hmail.sg • Put work email on mobile and personal devices • Consolidation of 30,000 email accounts for 6 healthcare clusters in 1 year • Allows staff to use varied devices to access emails • Found in-house solutions when vendors failed • Developed user tools like Portal guide and tutorial videos

Partners, not vendors

Often, the IT team is approached as a vendor.

However, the most successful projects are results of partnerships, said Benedict Tan, SingHealth Group Chief Information Officer. “When you want to develop an IT solution, come and talk to us. We’ll go through the whole process and journey together. We don’t want to just automate existing processes. We will work together with you and other parties involved to review and redesign the work flow, using IT to transform the process."

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Case Study: 1 Queue 1 Bill • Worked with multiple departments • Studied and redesigned processes end-to-end • Tapped into new heart centre’s patient centric design • Thorough functionality testing and intense usertraining • Cut 3 queues and 2 bills from old process

Great expectations

Susan Lee, SGH IT Director observes, “Today, people expect IT improvements to be extended to tablets, dashboards and phones where they can access information at their fingertips. However, transferring our work applications to such devices is complex and not viable due to issues like security and compatibility.”

Consumer grade vs Enterprise grade

Consumer-grade products are meant for individual usage like on our personal computers and mobile devices. These products are designed to serve one user at a time. However, enterprise grade hardware or software developed for an organisation has to serve multiple users and withstand high usage. Our IT team ensures the products we use are able to support a staff strength of over 18,000 people.

As Mr Tan shares, “Enterprise grade solutions ensure resilience, reliability, security and connectivity. A

good example is our intranet. In the mornings, many staff use the intranet at the same time. Yet there is no disruption because the system is able to handle the high volume – because it is enterprise grade.”

The IT factors

Logging in with IT

IT technical effort usually makes up 20% to 30% of a project. The remaining 70% lies with you.

•H ave a good idea for a hospital initiative? Discuss with your supervisor, touch base with IT and put it in the work plan •O nce the project is approved, have a preliminary study of existing processes before engaging IT •W ork with IT to review or redesign processes •C onsider downstream consequences and applicability of your solution to other departments cluster-wide •W ork with IT and take the lead in conducting staff training on new processes

Myth Busters IT team is slow “We have 300 staff to support the 18,000 staff in SingHealth. Limited resources mean we prioritise hospital-wide initiatives through our IT governance bodies using a 5-year work plan. We also align solutions to the overall organisational strategy.”

They are expensive “We deliver full value as we have to account for use of our resources, down to the minute. And Enterprise grade products are far more expensive than consumer grade ones.”

IT team is not innovative “We constantly seek ways to innovate and help users improve their work. We cannot simply introduce the latest devices or software if these are not compatible with organisational systems which have to perform at a higher level, be more robust and more capable.”

The team ensures uninterrupted operations and works with GCIO to develop the strategic plan for the following areas (From Left to right): • SM Arish, Deputy Director (Business Applications) IT applications to support Administrative Functions, Patient Registration, Finance, Human Resource, Materials Management • Susan Lee, Director, SGH IT All areas at SGH IT, to enhance efficiency and improve healthcare delivery at SGH • Benedict Tan, SingHealth Group Chief Information Officer Charts the cluster’s IT roadmap and strategies to exploit IT to improve patient care delivery and clinical outcomes • Clarence Kua, Deputy Director (Clinical Applications) Clinical applications - Electronic Medical Records, Laboratory Information System, Pharmacy System • Serena Yong, Director (Technology Management) IT infrastructure - End User Computing, Network and Infra Data Centre

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LIFE at SGH Campus | Sep/Oct 2014

up close

Staying Gold through the years

Partners in a long intricate dance

At this year’s Long Service Awards, Mr Ng Hon Wing was celebrated for serving patients at SGH for 60 years! In total, 444 long-serving staff were recognised. We speak to a few who have stood the test of time and continue to dance with us.

How are the patients today different from those of the past?

In the early days, many Chinese female patients had tiny, bound feet. In those days, it was the custom. Today, there is no such thing. Our patients were younger as well, the older ones were about 50 years old. Today, we see a fair number of 80 and 90-year-olds.

Mr Ng continues to share his invaluable skills and knowledge.

Seeing into the future

At 79, Principal Radiographer Ng Hon Wing shows no signs of slowing down. He was cited by the Prime Minister in his recent National Day Rally as someone who is able to work beyond the retirement age - "My radiographer in SGH - he's 78 years old and he's still going strong."

Beyond attending to patients, Mr Ng has been to numerous conferences overseas as a participant and presenter. He has

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also worked on research with the late Dr Khoo Fun Yong, Father of Radiology in Singapore and some of these joint papers have been published in high impact journals.

Can you share a memorable experience?

The racial riots in July and September of 1964 were exciting for us. Due to the unrest, there was a curfew and staff were not allowed to go home. So, we ended up staying overnight in the hospital together.

What is your wish for the future?

I am eager and looking forward to the next medical imaging technique. X-ray was invented in 1895, and within 100 years, we have ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. I love challenges and can’t wait for the next discovery.

How do you remain so agile physically and mentally?

I have many personal interests – reading, photography, microcomputers, taichi, swimming and golf. International chess is also a favourite pastime and I’ve enjoyed taking part in competitions. I also love travelling and have been to over 30 countries. I’d love to visit South America though.

Mr Chew Chin Teong – 50 years’ service Operating Theatre Technical Associate

First day at work “Nobody trained you – we had to learn fast on the job. Today, it’s different; there are training programmes you attend before you start. It’s much better.”

A memorable experience “There was a very fierce surgeon who asked for help in hanging a blood bag. The anaesthesiologist was so nervous he dropped it on the floor, spilling blood everywhere. The surgeon started yelling at him, asking him why he touched the bag.”

How patients have changed "In the old days, most patients spoke their own dialects, so you had to quickly pick up these other languages or it would be very difficult to understand and help them. Now, this is not a problem."

Ms Fung Moh Kui

– 50 years’ service Senior Pharmacy Technician First day at work “We had no orientation or training. Everybody was so busy, you had to learn everything on the job and just ask around for help.”

A memorable experience “When I first joined, learning everything on the job was fun, especially practical sessions where we learnt how to mix drug compounds.”

How patients have changed “Most patients then couldn’t speak English. The Chinese spoke different dialects like Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew and the Malays spoke their language. It was a little chaotic, like being in a market! Today, because most patients can speak English or Mandarin, we can understand them better and build a stronger rapport with them.”

DDN Yeo Bee Chin - 40 years’ service Operating Theatres

First day at work “In those days, we lived at the School of Nursing and studied together. On the first day of work, fresh from school, we were starting work together as well. It was fun learning together.”

A memorable experience “It was thrilling when visiting experts came to teach us. We were expected to scrub in as a team with them, to observe and learn new operating procedures first hand.”

How patients have changed “Patients were less informed and educated. Today, patients are very knowledgeable and many research their illnesses online. Although they are still nervous, they come prepared with questions to allay their fears. At our end, having more informed patients keeps us on our toes.”

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2015

LIFE at SGH Campus | Sep/Oct 2014

focus

Make them your priorities too CEO has outlined the plans and Priorities for SGH for 2015 in his annual memo. You can do much in your own way to help make them happen. Here are some suggestions.

Set standards on patient safety and quality • Innovate & improve processes • Entrench a culture of safety • Be vigilant on emerging infectious diseases － Ask: Can we do this better? － Report near misses － Stay away when unwell － Wash your hands

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Continue to attract, nurture and retain talent

• Build a culture of vitality and learning • Support collective and individual learning • Actively keep us informed and seek our contributions － Share information and ideas with colleagues － Look out for courses or workshops － Start a journal club － Be curious – ask why, and why not?

Build capacity

• Complete key infrastructure projects in a timely manner and within budget • Review and refine our processes • Constantly seek new ways to do things better • Leverage external capacity of our hospital － Cooperate and be gracious if the projects cause inconveniences － Learn about new projects so you can be our campus ambassadors to the public

One System, One Cluster, One Service • Set up multi-disciplinary service lines • Provide seamless patient experience • Use of Information Technology to improve healthcare delivery

－ Find opportunities to work with other departments － Get to know people from areas outside your own － Be positive and open to new initiatives that help us and our patients

Care integration across the continuum

• Develop disease-specific Integrated Care Pathways • Engage patients to manage care at the community level • Identify patients at risk of frequent admissions • Establish strong ties with external partners － Look out for news on Singapore’s healthcare － Share with your family and friends about what is appropriate care － Know that it's all right to decant patients once their conditions are stable

Strengthen structures to further Academic Medicine

• Leverage on our clinical strengths to cultivate education and research growth • Grow Academic Clinical Programmes • Enhance education quality • Partner with local and international institutions • Encourage contributions to fund research and education － If you have an interest in education or research, sign up for workshops and talks at AM.EI and AM.RI － Put on a scientist's hat – collect evidence to track whether you have become better

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LIFE at SGH Campus | Sep/Oct 2014

quality pulse

A CAUTIonary tale

Between December 2011 and May 2012, clusters of catheterassociated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) surfaced several times in Ward 74 during daily surveillance by the infection control nurses. The Neuro team was formed to eliminate these CAUTIs. Background

Ward 74 is attached to the Department of Neurology, with an Intermediate Care Area and a holding area for Stroke patients. The ward takes care of mainly stroke patients with post-stroke urinary incontinence and retention, who rely on urinary catheters to empty their bladders.

The Problem

Based on weekly infection control audits, the Neuro team discovered that insufficient knowledge on catheter care, inappropriate pants for patients and lack of daily catheter review contributed towards the CAUTIs. Maintaining the cathether tube below the level of the bladder prevents backflow of urine and cuts risk of infection.

Solution

The team came up with several solutions.

• An in-service talk was conducted to educate staff on the correct practices to reduce the risk of CAUTIs. • All patients with urinary catheters switched to wearing Orthopants. These pants’ key feature - a special slit down the length of the leg, enables the urine collecting bags to be kept below the level of the bladder at all times. This stops backflow of the urine from the catheter into the patients’ bladders, and prevents the urine from staying stagnant in the patient’s bladder.

• A daily review of catheter needs was started. Reasons for non-removal of catheters were documented.

Doctors were reminded during ward rounds to review the catheter needs of patients.

Orthopants have a unique opening down the side of one leg which enables a catheter to be maintained below the level of the bladder at all times.

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Result Median number of CAUTIs

⬇

5.5 to 2.5 per 1,000 device day

Neuro-team clinched in the Team Excellence Innovation & Quality

QI Project of the year

Circles (TE-IQC) in

award at Quality Convention

May 2013

2014 held in Mar 2014

Urinary Tract Infections

The success of this project depended on the ward nurses adhering to our urine catheter management system of reviewing catheter needs daily and keeping the catheter tube below the bladder with the help of Orthopants.

There are plans to try using these same measures to reduce CAUTIs in other wards.

Urinary Tract Infections are one of the most frequentlyoccurring healthcare associated infections worldwide. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2012 they accounted for roughly 32% of infections reported by acute hospitals in the United States.

Congratulations to the team! The project will be presented at the International Convention for Quality Control Circles competition in Oct 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Clockwise from back left: SSN Umma Sali Mah, PEN Chua Bee Har, SSN Wu Lijia, NC Azizah Hasbadi, SSN Fazilah Ibrahim, NC Qua Choon Ling. Absent: OT Zelda Chen Minyi

The majority of these infections are associated with a urinary catheter, which is a tube inserted into the bladder through the urethra to drain urine. Each catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is an additional cost to patients and the cost increases even further if it results in secondary infections.

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LIFE at SGH Campus | Sep/Oct 2014

spree in action Geraldine Wong, Pharmacist

focus AN SGH MOMENT

A-TEAM

Rainbow of hope

effort saves the day Tin Zar Thet, Pharmacy technician

A pharmacist processing a refill order catches an odd request and suspects a case of possible overdosing. Not satisfied with just raising the alarm, the pharmacy team swung into action.

At the Outpatient Pharmacy, Pharmacist Geraldine Wong spotted something strange in the patient’s request to refill the medication. Ten days earlier, the patient had been given enough supply to last a month.

Cassandra Chang, Senior Pharmacist

Joel Chiang, Pharmacist

Geraldine quizzed the Burmese caregiver who presented the prescription, with the help of Pharmacy Technician Tin Zar Htet who helped to translate. They discovered that the caregiver had been giving the patient three times the prescribed dosage of warfarin (an anticoagulant drug). On further questioning, the caregiver shared that the patient’s wound after dialysis would take almost a day to stop bleeding.

Geraldine quickly consulted Senior Pharmacist Cassandra Chang and together, they went to check on the patient who was undergoing dialysis at SGH. The dialysis nurse reported that the patient was not showing signs of active bleeding.

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The pharmacists then advised the nurse to promptly inform the doctor if she noticed any signs of severe or internal bleeding.

Still unsettled, Geraldine and Cassandra enlisted the help of inpatient pharmacist Joel Chiang to check the patient’s measure of blood coagulation through a finger stick test. The test proved that there was indeed a serious excess of warfarin.

After a review by the on-call doctor, the patient was sent to the Department of Emergency Medicine and was eventually warded for over-dose of warfarin.

Gynaecology cancer survivors, caregivers, volunteers and staff of an SGH support group have transformed pieces of their cancer journey into art during workshops conducted by ceramic artist, Pearl Yang.

Their work can be seen at the Arts Expression wall along the corridor between block 2 and 5 of SGH.

“The painted rainbow expressed the peace and calmness at the end of treatment. Cancer is no longer a death sentence. Having survived cancer, I want to inspire people that with determination they can overcome any situation.”

—M DM QUEK PECK ENG, a cancer survivor

The butterflies signified faith and transformation, celebrating the lives of loved ones. Another survivor, Mdm Meng Robinson shared, “My faith gave me strength and peace to help me get through the hard times.“

“Your vigilance averted a potentially serious adverse event. Keep it up!” encouraged Ms Ang Hui Gek, Director of Allied Health Division.

>

The Arts Expression wall between blocks 2 and 5

The Gynae-Oncology Support Group The Gynae-Oncology Support Group gives socio-emotional support to patients suffering from women-related cancers (ie cancers of the womb, ovary and cervix). These women are able to seek comfort and offer support by sharing their feelings, thoughts, experiences and knowledge.

Support Pillars at SGH • Ambulatory Support Group • Amputee Support Group • Breast Cancer Support Group • Caregivers Support Group • Colorectal Cancer Support Group • Gynae-Oncology Support Group • Haematology Support Group • Lactation Support Group • Light Weight Club • Neuroscience Nurse Volunteers Group • Oncology Support Group • Parkinsons Disease Support Group • Silver Touch Support Group • Stoma Care Nurse Volunteers • Stroke Club and Dementia Support Group For more information on the various groups, please go to the volunteer section on the Nursing Intranet site.

Chinese calligraphy by Prof Tay Sun Kuie, Senior Consultant, Dept of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Interlocking ceramic pieces symbolise patients’ journeys

Are you from a support group and would like to be a part of our Arts Expressions wall?

Contact Mumtaj at mumtaj.ibrahim@sgh. com.sg to discuss the possibility.

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campus buzz

LIFE at SGH Campus | Sep/Oct 2014

Grapevine 9-11: Are you prepared?

Appointed SUSAN LEE

Director, IT, SGH

Bike it, Run it, Do it!

A record 48 teams from various departments in SGH traded their uniforms for sweat pants and t-shirts as they took to bicycles and treadmills in the name of charity. This year's Bike it, Run it, Do it! raised over $13,000 for President’s Challenge.

DR CHEE HUEI LENG

Director, Department of Quality Management, SGH At Grapevine on 11 Sep 2014, CMB Prof Fong Kok Yong and six experts from within SGH shared how we prepare for various crisis situations such as mass casualties, disease outbreaks and other incidents like major power outages or IT failure.

Prof Fong ended the session with a lesson on leadership from the SARS outbreak. Leaders led from the front, like a platoon commander who joins the troops in the frontline. This made the difference to our staff morale.

How do we prepare?

Prof Fong, DDN Chiang Juat Lan and Dr Chlebicki from Infectious Diseases shared lessons from the SARS pandemic in 2003 and the SQ006 plane crash in Taipei which helped us review our protocols.

Can we ever be over-prepared?

Dr Ling Moi Lin from Infection Control pointed out that having numerous exercises helped built confidence, teamwork and trust among staff which would enable us to perform well in a crisis.

What do we do when IT systems fail?

IT Director Susan Lee explained, “We work with key departments to ensure

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there are downtime processes so that caregivers can still access patients’ records and carry on in manual mode.̋ What keeps COO up at night?

COO Loh Yong Ho’s biggest concern is possible power failures. Not assured that we have one set of backup generators, he ensures we have a second one just for critical areas like Operating Theatres and the Emergency Department.

What keeps our people going?

During SARS and in our current state of heightened vigilance for the Ebola virus, Dr Chlebicki, Ms Chiang and Dr Puneet from Emergency Medicine all shared how they had no problem getting staff volunteers to work in the frontlines. Our people understand their safety is assured and that they would be the first ones to be updated and informed.

What not to do CMB Prof Fong reminded all of the importance of verifying information to avoid spreading unnecessary fear.

If we are unsure, we should always check with the Preparedness & Response Department.

World Music Day comes to campus

MusicFest 2014 returns to SGH on 31 Oct. Organised with Sing Theatre, music of different genres will envelop the campus as close to 100 performers from over 35 groups will be putting up 40 free performances throughout the day including local favourite Sebastian Tan aka Broadway Beng.

Hear them in the most unexpected spots like lobbies, wards, outpatient clinics, gardens and open spaces of NCCS, NHCS, Duke-NUS Concert Graduate Finale! ABBA Medical Revival Concert 31 Oct, 7pm at School, the SGH Deck on 9 Academia and of course, SGH.

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LIFE at SGH Campus | Sep/Oct 2014

campus buzz

Doctors of substance National Outstanding Clinician Educator “Prof Chow Wan Cheng is a natural recipient for this award because her passion and dedication in training young doctors has been well known for many years,” shares Dr Phua Ghee Chee from Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. “She has amazing energy and a very good ability in being able to connect with people which comes from the fact that she truly cares about them.”

Her mentor of 30 years, Emeritus Consultant Prof Ng Han Seong, also praises her limitless energy. “She is very enthusiastic, eloquent, persuasive and patient. All her students, patients and colleagues love her.”

In her acceptance speech, Assoc Prof Chow, Division of Medicine Chairman, thanked her family as well as her

teachers from the hospital and her school days for inculcating the right values in her.

Assoc Prof Chow is heavily involved in undergraduate and post-graduate medical education and is the programme director for the Residency of Internal Medicine. Besides these, she also makes time for her secondary school alumni.

Pick-up lines that work Our Call Centre can now serve patients and members of public quicker after we managed to cut the number of staff calls to the General Enquiry line asking for doctors’ mobile telephone numbers.

These requests form the majority of staff calls to the General Enquiry line. As part of a service transformation project, we took steps to make such information more accessible and readily available to staff.

Please press 1

“We launched the Staff Directory phone application in March, and the number of such enquiries to the Call Centre plunged from above 7000 to about 4500 in the following two months,” said Ms Sandra Koh, Director of Operations at SGH.

Please press 2

National Outstanding Clinical Quality Activist words of fellow anaesthesiologist Assoc Prof Tay Sook Muay.

As co-chair of the committee for Quality and Risk Management Network, she is always inventing creative ways to engage staff when it comes to Quality, like using humour through her alter ego, Opra Khalikh or Dolly of Phua Chu Kang fame.

“She’s highly intelligent; she knows people and understands them intuitively. She also tracks people in the way she journeys with them, and spots the challenges they grapple with, as individuals. She doesn’t see people just as workers.” That was Assoc Prof Ong Biauw Chi, in the

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True to her nature, Assoc Prof Ong thanked all the people on the ground, especially those in Operations and our cleaners. “These people play a big part in helping to ensure quality patient care.”

Prof Ong, who is also Pro-Term Chairman, Medical Board, of Sengkang Health, was instrumental

in leading a team from various healthcare sectors to successfully implement the World Health Organisation’s set of surgical protocol, ‘High 5s’in Singapore, placing us on the world map for surgical safety.

National Outstanding Clinician Mentor

Prof Chay Oh Moh from KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital received the Award, for her 20 years of teaching, training and mentoring.

The National Medical Excellence Awards are given by the Ministry of Health for contributions from health professionals.

“Staff frequently call the General Enquiry line to enquire on doctors on-call roster and to find doctors' mobile numbers.

The on-call roster is now available on the intranet while doctors' mobile numbers are easily acccessible through the mobile directory. Again we saw marked improvement. The number of calls for the doctors on-call roster fell by 50% while that for doctors' mobile numbers fell by 25%” said Ms Koh.

User Guide to download m-Directory Pre- Requisites • 3G/4G mobile network or WIFI connection •M obile OS version: iOS 6.0 and later; Android 4.0 and later Download the mobile application •K ey the following URL into your mobile phone browser http://www.singhealth.com.sg/mobile/ staffdirectory/ •L ogin using your Institution AD ID Select “Install on your xxx device” to download the application SingHealth mDirectory •L ogin using your Institution AD ID

“The number of such calls fell from about 5000 per month to about 2500 in August,” said Mr Goh.

Thank you for not calling

“While the results are encouraging, we want to bring the number of such calls down to ZERO. We urge our staff to continue to use the intranet and mobile directory, which we will continue to to refine and improve,” said Ms Koh. The workgroup led by Ms Sandra Koh and Mr Lucas Goh, Assistant Director (Operations) at SingHealth Polyclinics, is one of the 5 workgroups of the Appointment Access Taskforce. The taskforce looks into ways to make it easier for our patients and staff to obtain and change appointments, most of which are handled by our Call Centre's Central Appointments line.

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LIFE at SGH Campus | Sep/Oct 2014

crossre c ult u

y o ur e 2nd tak

Cross Culture

LAST ISSUE'S MYSTERIOUS ITEM:

Music therapist Christal Chiang came to Singapore to work at SGH in 2011. Originally from Macau, her first memorable experience here was celebrating a ‘hot’ Christmas compared to the cooler December weather at home.

Christal Chiang outside the famous Ruins of St Paul in Macau

language – Singlish. It’s difficult to master because it’s a mixture of different languages like Mandarin, English, Malay and Hokkien.

In fact, because many of my patients speak Singlish, they are my teachers.

And now, this is why I can speak with a Singlish accent too.

Did you encounter any funny incidents because of cultural differences?

As a person who enjoys exploring food, my early attempts to order coffee from local coffee stalls were disastrous. The local terms for different requests like Kopi-O, Kopikosong, Kopi-kao and Kopi-siu-dai were very confusing, and I often got my order wrong.

What were the biggest challenges when you first arrived here?

The culture and weather took some getting used to. However, the biggest challenge was understanding and mastering Singapore’s unique local

Are there any similarities between home and here?

Singapore and Macau are both very small so it’s really easy to get from place to place and navigate as everything is nearby.

The real deal What are Singaporeans’ reactions when you mention you are from Macau?

The first response is always, “Oh... you are from Macau, are you good at gambling because there are lots of casinos there?” Honestly, I am clueless when it comes to gambling.

Tell us a few little-known facts

about Macau.

As a colony of the Portuguese since 1500s, Macau has a long and unique blend of the oriental and Portuguese culture. Cantonese and Portuguese are still the official languages in Macau.

Besides the casinos, the colonial architecture and Catholic churches are also worth visiting.

What do you do outside of work?

As Singapore is an exciting melting pot of so many cultures, exploring the endless array of local and fusion dishes, as well as visiting cultural places are always my interests outside of work.

WINNING ENTRY

THE TIME MACHINE IN DISGUISE

“Looking at the object, no one would imagine its significance. The innocuous external appearance hides a dark secret within, that of travel into another dimension.

Wondering about the strange box in the corner of the abandoned office cubicle, the curious intern decided to take a quick peek through the hole in the box. A bright light flashed and reality as he knew it was forever altered. To this day, the intern’s mysterious disappearance remains a campus urban legend”.

— TAY SWEE ENG, Senior Secretary, Dept of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

A tungsten light bulb in the EggCandling box detects live embryos in hen’s eggs placed on the hole at the top of the box. The eggs are then cultivated with viruses via injection.

Visit the SGH Museum at Bowyer Block to see and learn more about this device.

READY FOR A CHANGE? LIFE@SGH CAMPUS IS GOING PAPERLESS.

Come 2015, read your favourite campus news online and on the go!

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st a l theage p

Rise and Shine - how do you wake up in the mornings?

“The best way to wake up is to place multiple alarm clocks at different places away from your bed, ending with one inside your bathroom on top of the shower faucet. Once you stop this alarm, you’re instantly ready to take a shower, which will wake you.”

— AVIGAIL RASALAN RUBIO, Respiratory Therapist

“Thoughts of my projects’ deadlines open my eyes wide in the morning. The other thing which helps me wake up is knowing that my child will be hungry if I am not there to prepare breakfast.”

— JEN KOH, Commissioning Secretariat, Sengkang Health

“I set 15 alarms at one minute intervals on my phone and place it under my bed. I use the terrifying Suspense ringtone which gives me a panic attack every morning as I scramble to look for my phone so that my two roommates aren’t disturbed.

It’s a great and fun way to start my day.”

— ALEXIS FORTEZA, Radiographer, SGH

“I use the kiasi method of setting multiple snooze alarms every 5 minutes. It works for me. Another method would be to get someone at home to wake me up. Pulling my leg irritates me enough to wake me.”

“Waking up with gratitude for the new day motivates me to get out of bed to make the best out of each day.”

— ALICIA PANG, Executive, Division of Community Outreach & Philanthropy, NCCS

— GAN SHAN LING, Programme Coordinator, Dept of Psychiatry, SGH

“I have no problem waking up – it’s always the first ring and I’m up!”

— ANTHONY BRYAN T MACALANDA, Enrolled Nurse, Ward 75, SGH

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“I set an alarm to go off every 5 minutes for an hour, although I usually manage to get out of bed after the first two to three alarms.”

— SUTHA WASUDEVAN, Staff Nurse, Ward 75, SGH