02 May 2010
Seeing off stiff competition from thousands of other nominees, a 28-year-old nurse from Singapore General Hospital (SGH) claimed top honours at the 2009 Excellent Service Award (EXSA) for the healthcare industry. Ms Hartini Bte Osman beat all other healthcare professionals to distinguish herself and grab the superstar award.
EXSA is a national award that recognises individuals working in 10 industries who have delivered outstanding service. There are four types of awards, with the superstar category topping the rest. Receiving this recognition left the young nurse feeling surprised, delighted and humbled.
“Many people think that nursing is an easy job and that all you have to do is change diapers and just be around. That’s not true. We’re the ears of the healthcare industry and are responsible for the physical and emotional wellbeing of our patients,” she said.
Going the extra mile
Putting her philosophy into practice, Ms Hartini often goes beyond the call of duty to help her patients. Once, she helped the family of a Muslim HIV patient to overcome their grief at his death and prepare his funeral rites.
On another occasion, she took a taxi to a cancer patient’s house after work to teach him to drain abdominal fluid, and called to check on his family the following day. The patient and his family were so grateful that they visited her ward two weeks later to thank her.
One of Ms Hartini’s most memorable and moving experiences, however, was caring for an elderly female patient who was dying. “I had been taking care of her for a while and noticed that no one visited her. She kept saying something in Hokkien. After discussing this with a friend, I realised she wanted red bean “potong” ice cream, so I bought some for her,” said Ms Hartini. Just before she died, the elderly woman told another member of staff that a nurse had granted her final wish.
Caring for patients has made Ms Hartini quite a linguist, and the Malay nurse now has a simple understanding of Mandarin and Cantonese. “As long as you take time to listen, you will understand,” she said. “I believe that there are no difficult patients, only difficult situations. If you have an unpleasant encounter with a patient, it may be because that particular patient had a bad day at work or at home. As a nurse, you have to listen.”
Apart from befriending patients from all walks of life, the newly awarded service superstar is also an active volunteer, hosting Nurses’ Day and assisting in medical examinations. During the President’s Challenge marathon in 2008, she rallied colleagues from her ward, and despite being five months pregnant, even managed to complete the 4.6km walkathon.
Ms Hartini’s personal doctrine is that one is never too old to learn. Two of the most important things she gathered during her eight-year nursing career are to treat loved ones well, especially during the last stages of their lives, and to have strength of character.
“All my nursing friends have a strong spirit because we are in charge of managing people’s lives every day. I believe this sense of responsibility has helped me to grow in many important ways,” she said.
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