Tang Dina is generally responsible for caring for the elderly with dementia and more complex cases. (Provided by Tan Tock Seng Hospital)
Shin Min (20 July 2023)
A female nurse was inspired by her father to take care of her demented grandmother when she was a child. She has served patients for nearly 30 years and is now awarded the Nursing Merit Award.
Tang Dina (52 years old) joined Tan Tock Seng Hospital as a nurse in 1994. She told this newspaper: "My father has two jobs. He is a businessman during the day and a policeman at night. He also often takes orphans home for dinner and play. He is a kind person and always lends a helping hand to those in need. He has a great influence on me."
Tang Dina and the team are currently responsible for providing home visit services for discharged patients, closely monitoring them and ensuring that they receive good care at home to prevent their condition from deteriorating. Her team also works with community care organizations to address the more complex health and social needs of patients and residents, helping them maintain their overall health.
With experience, she generally takes care of seniors with dementia and behavioral problems, as well as more complex cases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. With two children, she also takes calls from patients after get off work to provide timely assistance. Even during the SARS and COVID-19 outbreaks, she never stopped working.
"Maintaining a work-life balance is not easy, and there will be difficulties and challenges at every stage. Fortunately, I have the support of my husband, relatives and friends."
A total of 13 nurses from Tan Tock Seng Hospital received the Nursing Merit Award this year, and Tang Dina is one of them.
She said frankly that this award affirmed the hard work of her and the team, which made her feel very honored. "Nursing brings me joy and I can't imagine myself in any other profession."
Helped patients go home to spend their last days
He once made up for the regrets of patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and assisted them to return home to spend the last time.
Tang Dina recalled that she once took care of a patient with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The patient always wanted to go home to spend the rest of the day. He didn't want to stay in the hospital for a long time, and wanted to find friends in the neighborhood to eat delicious food at the cooked food center.
In order to fulfill his last wish, Tang Dina and the team cleaned his home in advance to ensure a clean environment, set up a drug distribution system, and cooperated with occupational therapists to allow patients to drive electric scooters independently and move freely. "We will visit him regularly when he feels unwell and provide the care he needs."
When the other party was dying, he asked Tang Dina to make a video call with his wife who was abroad. Tang Dina assisted him to make a phone call to say goodbye to his family, so that he finally passed away peacefully at home.
Another award-winning nurse participated in monkeypox case tracking care
Participated in the follow-up care of the first imported monkeypox case and the work of the new crown epidemic. The frontline nurse of the National Center for Infectious Diseases was awarded the Nursing Merit Award.
Lin Ying (42 years old), who has 19 years of experience in infectious disease nursing, has experienced the first local imported monkeypox case in 2019, the outbreak of measles and coronavirus, and was once responsible for tracking the close contacts of confirmed cases of monkeypox. In addition, he was sent to labor dormitories and long-term care facilities to administer measles vaccinations for foreign workers and residents.
"I started taking care of my grandfather in the hospital at the age of 14, so I wanted to become a nurse to help others. I was very encouraged by the smiles of the patients who recovered."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she oversaw the infection control workflow in the wards of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, and led a team to conduct COVID-19 testing for migrant workers.