Dr Ng Wai May, Deputy Director, Nursing, presenting the award to SEN Juraidah (right).

Senior Enrolled Nurse Juraidah Binte Abdul Rahman has received the Tan Chin Tuan Nursing Award 2020, Singapore’s highest honour for enrolled nurses. 

For Senior Enrolled Nurse (SEN) Juraidah Binte Abdul Rahman, becoming a nurse marked a defining chapter in her life.

When she was young, SEN Juraidah’s late grandmother was admitted into the intensive care unit. The nurses there fascinated her — she watched them care for their patients meticulously and passionately, sometimes even skipping their meals to attend to patients’ needs. “Each of them had a heart of gold,” she recounts. “As I cared for my ailing grandmother growing up, I knew that I too wanted to become a nurse.”

A nurse for 21 years, SEN Juraidah continues to constantly strive to expand her knowledge and skills. In 2018, she took on a new role as a Neurology specialty nurse, caring for patients with neuromuscular conditions, such as myasthenia gravis and motor neuron disease.

For disease management, many of these patients are on steroids, which weaken the immune system and have long-term effects, such as thinning bones (osteoporosis). SEN Juraidah goes the extra mile by checking each patient’s immunisation status and bone health, recommending influenza immunisation and osteoporosis management to help prevent complications, such as pneumonia or fractures.

Her strong sense of duty motivated SEN Juraidah to volunteer for deployment to foreign worker dormitories during the COVID-19 outbreak. She spent two months performing nasal swabs, screening workers for respiratory symptoms, and arranging for ambulance transfers to hospital when needed.

Receiving the prestigious Tan Chin Tuan Nursing Award in November re-affirmed her life’s calling to be a nurse. “I am honoured to receive this award. Seeing how my patients face life courageously inspires me to continue making a difference as a nurse,” says SEN Juraidah. “This award would not have been possible without fellow professionals who inspire, teach and share new things with me daily. Together, we thrive.”