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Nursing: Not just a woman’s job

SINGAPORE — “Congratulations! Is your wife delivering today?” That is the most common response Mr Pethaperumal Chandra Sekaran and Mr Ahmad Khair Syukri Suparman get from taxi drivers whenever they commute to and from work at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH).

SINGAPORE — “Congratulations! Is your wife delivering today?” That is the most common response Mr Pethaperumal Chandra Sekaran and Mr Ahmad Khair Syukri Suparman get from taxi drivers whenever they commute to and from work at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH).

Most drivers, like many of his friends and family members, are surprised and curious when he tells them he works there as a nurse, said Mr Chandra, 38, a nurse clinician at the hospital’s Children’s Intensive Care Unit (CICU).

Said Mr Chandra, who started working at the hospital in 2000: “Most people think that guys shouldn’t be working at the KKH because it’s a women’s hospital. My family and friends were also initially shocked when they heard I was working there, because they thought I was based in the maternity wards, but they were very supportive when I told them I was with the CICU.”

Male nurses like Mr Chandra and Mr Ahmad make up about 8.2 per cent of the total number of nurses registered with the Singapore Nursing Board (SNB).

Although there are substantially more female nurses than male nurses in the profession, the number of male nurses increased by 55 per cent to 2,624 in 2011 from 1,688 in 2007, according to the SNB.

At the KKH, male nurses form less than 0.5 per cent of the nursing cohort. Ms Tan Soh Chin, Director of the hospital’s Division of Nursing, explained that male nurses attached to the hospital are only allowed to work in areas such as the CICU, Major Operating Theatre for children and Children’s Emergency.

As male nurses, Mr Chandra and Mr Ahmad inevitably experience some inconveniences during the course of their work. For instance, male nurses are only allowed to care for female patients under the age of 10 and female chaperones need to be present when they administer certain treatment, said Mr Ahmad, a staff nurse at the CICU.

The 27-year-old added: “Sometimes, I have mothers telling me they would prefer a female nurse to care for their child. I don’t take this personally because I understand they are just being careful. When this happens, I’ll inform my supervisor who will make the necessary arrangements. It is important for the child and parent to be comfortable with our care.”

However, the duo, who love working with children, said the hospital was their “natural choice” when it came to choosing a hospital to work in as it specialises in paediatrics.

“I feel that children are wonderful patients. Even when they are very sick, they are still positive, cheerful and carefree. At the CICU, my young patients always manage to muster a smile for me behind their ventilators,” said Mr Ahmad.

This week, hospitals around Singapore have been marking Nurses’ Day, with awards given out to those who have done well in their profession.

For Mr Chandra, he finds fulfilment and satisfaction in knowing that he has played a part in helping a child regain his health and move on to adulthood. That is why the father of two young children — aged three and six — said he was not overly concerned about being outnumbered by female colleagues when he made nursing his profession. On the contrary, he feels that there is much to learn from them.

“They have certain strengths that I don’t have. I feel women are generally more detailed, naturally caring and nurturing, so I try to learn from them,” he said.

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