Age is just a number. As long as you find passion in what you do, you can contribute to society.

Kudos to Mdm Pauline Leong Wai Chan who has recently attained her Specialist Diploma in Community Gerontology Nursing, at 60 years young! 

As a Senior Nursing Manager at Care@home in NTUC Health Co-operative, Pauline oversees the Interim Caregiver Service for discharged patients returning home for recuperation. Her key responsibilities include providing short-term nursing care for patients at home while they await long-term caregiving arrangements such as the engagement of foreign domestic workers.

Pauline finds immense satisfaction whenever she sees the delight in her clients’ faces. Her selfless dedication and deep commitment to providing high quality care and services has motivated her to upgrade her skills and knowledge to give patients better and more effective treatment, while showing empathy and concern.

It all started with Pauline accompanying her friend who enrolled in the one-year part-time Specialist Diploma in Community Gerontology Nursing offered by Ngee Ann Polytechnic, in collaboration with Tsao Foundation. Pauline eventually signed up for the same course too! Her morale was greatly boosted when her employer of two years, NTUC Health Co-operative stepped in to sponsor her studies.

From April 2017, Pauline attended weekly classes at Ngee Ann Polytechnic for a year. When asked how she juggled work, course and her personal time, Pauline confidently replied, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!”

Pauline shared that the course empowered her to be ready for the next decade of patient-centric community care, equipping her with the professional skills required to provide holistic care for seniors within the community.

As a strong advocate of lifelong learning, Pauline, with a deep sense of conviction, shared her life philosophy:

The more we learn, the more knowledge and skills we have, the more we can benefit the people around us and the community.