Returning to Her Profession After Years Away

In 2000, Priya had moved to Mauritius shortly after marriage, because of her husband’s job. The birth of first her son, and then her daughter three years later, kept her fully occupied, with little energy to consider anything else.

 

It was only when her son turned eight that Priya and her husband decided it was time to return to give their children a better education, even though her future back in Singapore was uncertain.

 

Moving Back Home

“Frankly, I was worried about coming back alone. I knew I definitely needed a job to manage our living expenses. But having been away for 10 years, I didn’t know if I was still relevant and employable,” Priya recounted of her early fears.

 

All Priya could count on then was her training and prior experience as a nurse. To improve her chances, she wrote to most of the hospitals in Singapore while preparing for their return.

A Turn for the Better

 

Time for Change

Having spent the earlier part of her working years taking on administrative duties in the travel industry, Wendy Tan came to a point where she started questioning if she could have a more fulfilling career and calling in life.

The 28 year-old recalled facing stacks of paper work each day and doing “profit-oriented” tasks, which ultimately left her feeling drained out and uninspired. “At the end of the day I wondered what have I actually achieved.”

Her desire for job-fulfillment had her re-visiting a childhood ambition. Wendy had always thought highly of nurses and their duties, and even considered injections, removing stitches or drawing blood as ‘cool’ tasks!

A Second Calling in Nursing

From Housewife to Nursing

It was not until a minor accident that landed Julie Yeo in hospital where she first realized the importance of nursing. This set her thinking about how nurses play a vital role in ensuring that patients receive the best care, and she began to consider going back to the workforce and to look at nursing as a second career.

When she later chanced upon an ITE advertisement for nursing students, she decided to enroll on the encouragement of her husband. Julie was then 38 years of age and had been a homemaker for over ten years.