“I am a Consultant in the Post-Acute and Continuing Care Department at Bright Vision Hospital (BVH), which is currently a COVID-19 treatment facility. My greatest passion is in the study of viruses and microbiology, and I nearly became a medical virologist if not for my father’s encouragement to pursue medicine.
My love for palliative care grew when I underwent attachments at the Assisi Hospice as an 18-year-old. There, I learnt to care for and journey with patients who were nearing their end of life. I considered it my privilege as they often shared with me intimate details of their lives and reflections on the afterlife. Recalling the inspiring way with which my childhood general practitioner would communicate with my anxious mum whenever we consulted him, it dawned upon me that the relational aspects of science appealed to me as well. As medical practitioners, we should treat our patients holistically, rather than just focus on a specific health condition. Thus, I decided to choose Family Medicine as my discipline and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.
My role as Deputy Medical Director involves leading the COVID-19 care efforts in my institution. One of our crowning glories was to co-create an inter-departmental COVID-19 manual that defines the roles and responsibilities of each team member as we cared for stricken patients. With this manual, and tapping on our core skills as educators such as case-based learning and critical team reflection, team leads were able to train staff across various designations to provide effective multi-disciplinary care for frail, elderly COVID-19 patients.
I am also a core faculty member of the SingHealth Family Medicine Residency programme. My teaching sessions at Sengkang Polyclinic are the highlights of my week as I get to groom and transform the next generation of family physicians into proficient, compassionate and collaborative lifelong learners. A significant memory for me as an educator was coaching one of my resident physicians in the ‘Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (PACES)’, who then went on to pass the test. It honed my ability in empathetic listening, and I was heartened to witness her transform into a confident registrar-to-be.
Beyond daily duties, my team and I also plan for joy at and after work! I’m actively involved in my institution’s Dinner and Dance, and its walking and gardening clubs. My passions outside of work include spending time with the family, slaying zombies virtually, playing the piano, singing and exercising.”
- Dr Gabriel Yee
Associate Consultant, Post-Acute and Continuing Care, SingHealth Community Hospitals
