​“When I was six months pregnant and working in an Isolation Ward during the SARS period in 2003, I had to don scrubs and masks daily. This made breathing and moving difficult. It made me realise that if an able-bodied person like myself found it challenging to continue my clinic work, imagine a bedbound patient who needed to take an ambulance to the hospital multiple times in order to complete his many appointments. Since then, I make a conscious effort to ensure that appointments are scheduled appropriately, thereby reducing the number of visits patients have to make to the hospital for their follow-up care. This helps them reduce costs too!

As a PSA (Patient Service Associate), knowing that my role helps improve a patient’s journey in our hospital is my greatest motivation. In fact, nothing gives me greater satisfaction than receiving a ‘thank you’ from a patient who is able to complete multiple appointments within a day. This serves as a reminder to me that I am not just a number in the workforce, but a person who can make a difference in our patients’ lives daily.”

Salbiah Binte Seri
Senior Patient Service Associate, Ward 73 – Internal Medicine
Singapore General Hospital

Winner of the “Outstanding Ancillary Staff Award” at the SingHealth Excellence Awards 2017.