In the vibrant realm of healthcare, a transformation unfolded with "GROSS magic unleashed: Radiography’s quest for fewer calls and endless smiles." Guided by Nurse Clinician Choo Kwee Leng from Diagnostic Radiology and her intrepid companions, the story weaves through challenges and triumphs on a quest to slay the beast of too many calls to the wards—a decade-long challenge that had haunted the kingdom—bringing joy and efficiency to the entire realm. In a world where fewer calls mean more smiles, GROSS became the magical solution, transforming the daily grind into a cheerful journey of teamwork and celebration.

The tale began in an era when calls accompanied faxes to remind colleagues in the wards to prepare patients adequately for their MRI scans, to reduce delays or cancellations. Born out of a necessity to optimize usage of the MRI facility, the calls grew into an uncontrollable beast that terrorized the land.

A pre-intervention survey revealed that each call took about 5 minutes, and on an average day, Radiology Nursing made a whopping 30 to 40 calls to the wards. The grand total? A staggering 76 minutes spent on calls, not to mention the times they had to play a game of phone tag before a call was answered. The misery did not end there.

At times, after the call, the porter would embark on a journey to the ward, only to find that the patient had disappeared like a puff of smoke. It added a comedic twist to an otherwise woeful saga.

Armed with her wisdom and a dash of magic, Kwee Leng proposed a solution – the GROSS project. A quest was born, to slay the beast and bring fewer calls and more smiles to the kingdom. After a few meetings, the key stakeholders—ward nurses, radiology nurses, radiographers, Patient Care Associates, and porters—came up with the magic potion. They agreed on a carefully crafted memo that captures all the details and instructions to the wards, strengthened by a powerful dose of trust that everyone would abide by it to get the patients prepped and ready for their scans.

The team, united in their quest for efficiency and control of their destiny, worked towards the goal of slashing calls by 75%. Abracadabra! A post-intervention survey showed that an astounding 93% of CT patients and 95% of MRI patients were now prepped and ready!

Everyone in the kingdom rejoiced and celebrated their freedom from tyranny. The loudest cheers were raised for the enchanted teamwork of Diagnostic Radiology nurses - NC Kwee Leng, Assistant NCs Bindu B P and Vijayarani D/O Nagalingam, Senior Staff Nurse Moe Moe M T - radiographers Colin Lim, Lo Kim Hin, Marcelo Amparo and administrators Lee Chang Mei and Gareth Ng. A special shout-out also to SSN Chen Jie from Ward 63 who shared insights about her experience at the receiving end of those calls.

And so, the legend of GROSS spreads, leaving a trail of efficiency and smiles in its wake. The tale's legacy continues as other radiography teams, such as Ultrasound and Nuclear Medicine, eagerly await their turns for a dash of GROSS magic in their realm.