SINGAPORE — In conjunction with Teacher’s Day, 108 healthcare professionals from the National Healthcare Group (NHG) — who are also teachers in their field of work — were awarded the annual NHG Teaching Excellence Award today at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Prof Chee Yam Cheng, Group CEO of NHG said: “We know a very special group of heroes who have nurtured our workers and brought out the best in us. We want to recognise their commitment and extraordinary efforts.”

The awards were presented to recognise “outstanding excellent individuals for their teaching and mentoring” in areas like clinical and pharmacy.

Amongst the awardees was forty year-old Dr Win Mar Kyaw, a senior epidemiologist at TTSH who has taught medical students preventive measures to stop infection transmission. In her field, she was involved in the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, amongst other healthcare emergencies.

“I am so glad to have received the award, in appreciation of all the hardwork in training my juniors for the past few years,” said Dr Win.

Another award recipient was Mr S B Viknesan, senior counsellor from the Institute of Mental Health. For 11 years, he helped many people overcome their addictions, and taught many professionals such as doctors how to engage and motivate their clients, especially those with addictions-related issues.

“Our teachers play a pivotal role in our pursuit to uphold quality healthcare for our patients and they continue to nurture current and future healthcare professionals across diverse fields,” Prof Chee added.

This year, NHG has seen a 25 per cent increase of teachers since last year. This means that nearly one in 10 NHG staff is a teacher.