I am Chen Yi, worked as a registered Neuro-Nephro ward nurse in China for 10 years, before coming to Singapore to join National Kidney Foundation as a Health Care Assistant (HCA), on a work permit status. It was very stressful in the beginning as I did not have any experience in Dialysis, and Singapore was a totally foreign environment with no friends.
There were lots of times when I broke down because I missed my family and friends in China. I frequently thought of giving up and returning to China as soon as I complete my 3 years contract with NKF. However, as I gradually gained confidence after passing my probation and completing the fundamental dialysis course in NKF. I worked very hard in every task I was assigned and was promoted from HCA to Enroll Nurse, before earning formal recognition with the Singapore Nursing Board as a Registered Nurse. I am always grateful to NKF for all the training and opportunity in the development of my career path.
Nevertheless, I decided to step up, by joining Mt. Elizabeth Hospital Dialysis Centre, which operated under an Acute Care setting. I learned a lot from that experience, and also completed my Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, at the University of Queen Margret, UK. Subsequently, I was offered the opportunity to join Dr. Gordon Ku, one of the most, if not the most senior Nephrology in Singapore, when he established the Farrer Park Hospital Dialysis Centre; together with my colleague, Zong Hua, we were the pioneers of this very successful and prestigious endeavor. I was pleasantly surprised when I was offered the position of Head Nurse in the newly established Advance Dialysis Services Centre. I am grateful to ARCA management for their trust and confidence in me. Under the sponsorship of ARCA, I completed the 10-month Full-Time study at Nanyang Polytechnic, and obtained the Advanced Diploma in Nursing (Nephro-Urology), in December 2019.
To date, I have been working as a dialysis nurse for 17 years. I enjoyed my work by providing meaningful care and help to my patients, and maintaining good friendship. I truly appreciate the great team that I work with every day. We help each other and have fun together, despite the heavy workload caused by the shortage of manpower.
And now I am happy to be part of Diaverum, and look forward to opportunities for growth in the future.