SINGAPORE : Nurse specialists will now be called advanced
practice nurses, and under the Nurses and Midwives (Amendment) Bill
passed in Parliament on Thursday, they will also be allowed to
perform certain procedures usually done by junior doctors.
The move will raise the status of nurses, while recognising and
maximising the potential for some to take on added
responsibilities.
Nurse clinician Tan Siok Bee will be one of 15 pioneer graduates of
the Master of Nursing programme at the National University of
Singapore.
Upon completing her internship, she will be an advanced practice
nurse, able to perform physical assessments of patients, order and
interpret diagnostic tests and initiate treatment.
Ms Tan, a nurse clinician at the Singapore General Hospital, said,
"Having the skills doesn't mean that I will take over the doctors'
role. We, as the nurse, will collaborate with the doctors and work
towards a better patient outcome."
Nidu Maran Balakrishnan, a senior staff nurse at SGH studying to be
an advanced practice nurse, looks forward to his new role and the
greater autonomy he will be given to diagnose patients when he runs
his own clinic at the hospital.
He said, "At a nurse-run clinic, patients will be able to spend
quality time with a specialist nurse, bring them through the
surgery and post-surgery and follow them through the wards,
eliminate their anxiety; after they have been discharged, follow
them up to the clinic, prevent further complications. Therefore
this patient will receive a total care from one person."
Upon graduation, the nurses will be deployed to hospitals and
polyclinics.
At the hospitals, they are expected to work in specialties like
critical care, emergency medicine or oncology with particular
emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention.
At the polyclinics, the nurses can help doctors manage patients
with common acute illnesses and injuries.
Said Kaldip Kaur, assistant director of nursing at SGH, "It's a
great need to have such specialised and skilled nurses in Singapore
to work alongside with our physicians. However, our main role in
nursing is to develop them to be the expert nurses."
And the Registrar for Advanced Practice Nurses will be doing just
that; by allowing experienced and skilled nurses an alternative
career track, it is also hoped good nurses will remain in the
profession. - CNA /ct