Time for nurses to have honest discussion about state and direction of nursing in S’pore

I refer to the commentary, “Empowering our nurses” (March 27) by Dr Desmond Wai.

I agree with Dr Wai that we need to do more to empower nurses in Singapore, but not in the way he suggested.

Nurses do not need to take on more technical roles of physicians to feel empowered. Doing so would further reinforce the prevalent perception that nurses are “doctors’ assistants” instead of independent professionals in their own right.

As Dr Wai noted, nurses have, over the years, taken over a variety of technical work that were once the purview of physicians. Yet, this work has not made nursing more attractive nor empowered nurses.

They have burdened nurses further and have taken them away from their key role, which is to be patient advocates and caring for patients, families, and the community in a holistic manner, one that fits within the science of nursing and the art of caring.

As for prescribing medications, this privilege is given only to Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) presently and not to all community nurses. APNs are Masters-trained and undergo rigorous training to qualify as practising APNs.

We do need to empower nurses and take charge of the direction of nursing in Singapore, but this must come from within the profession itself.

That means, nurses from all levels, from students to nursing leaders, must work together to raise the status of nursing in Singapore.

As an educator, I often hear students and other nurses speak of their admiration of nurses overseas, especially in the West, of the autonomy and respect that these nurses command.

However, what our nurses fail to consider is that the respect and autonomy that overseas nurses have is the result of decades of sustained and ongoing effort by nurses themselves to raise the level of nursing through education, research and policy work.

If Singapore nurses wish to have the same level of respect and autonomy, they need to step up to their professional responsibility and speak without fear.

It is time for nurses to have an honest discussion about the state and the direction of nursing in Singapore.

We need to ask what does it mean to be a nurse in Singapore? Where do we see nursing heading in the next five or 10 years? Are we involved in health policies on a larger scale? How do we see our profession contributing to Singapore’s changing healthcare landscape?

In particular, we need to discuss why is it that for a profession that deals with the care and lives of people, if you look at the schools offering diplomas in nursing, the aggregate scores of the lowest-ranked students who were admitted to these courses were 28 or better, while the scores of the lowest-ranked students in other programmes were at 15 or better, for instance? How does this enhance the social, economic and professional profile of nursing and nurses?

We must also speak openly about the bullying of nurses, both from within the profession and without: Issues of power and powerlessness; about retention of nurses; factors that cause burnout among nurses; the lack of autonomy and control of nurses; and low remuneration.

Dr Subadhra Rai is an adjunct lecturer in nursing, and has more than 30 years of nursing experience.