JERMAINE ANG (HONG ZHUOMIN)
My group (Natashea, Nicholas, Javier and I) was attached to SingHealth Polyclinics, under Dr Peter Moey, who is the current director of Pasir Ris Polyclinic. We were tasked to find out more about Eunos, Still Road Polyclinic and Jamiyah Children’s Home.
This wiki page will contain more about what we learnt in the past month (from 6th to 31st January 2020, excluding weekends) for WOW! 2020.
Background Information of the Tasks Assigned
1. Find out some historical information on Eunos.
We needed to find out more about who Eunos was named after and how this person impacted the community.
2. Find relevant information about the community in Eunos.
This will allow us to better understand the context of the community that Still Road Polyclinic once served.
3. Find information on Still Road Polyclinic (primarily) and JCH (secondarily).
Not much information of it can be found online as it was closed down many years ago. Hence, we needed to research on it and find information from libraries and archives, along with interviewing people who used to go there. The new Eunos polyclinic will be built one the same place as Still Road Polyclinic too.
Additionally, we had to find out about Jamiyah Children’s Home, as it took over Still Road Polyclinic after the clinic closed down.
4. Find out about life in the Polyclinic at the time of Still Road Polyclinic.
This can aid us in learning more about Still Road Polyclinic and the way it operated. It will also give us additional information that cannot be found online.
My group and I decided to make two posters and a 3D model of Still Road Clinic to showcase our learning. The posters were about the history of Still Road Polyclinic and the community in Eunos.
Record of the Activities Done
Summary
My group had to travel to different places to find information on Still Road Polyclinic and conduct interviews with people who used to go there. As we couldn’t really find anything online, we decided to go to National Library (Lee Kong Chian Reference Library) and National Archives Singapore to look through old pictures and newspaper articles on Still Road Polyclinic.
As the polyclinics are limited in space, Dr Moey asked us to work from home. We had to create a timeline indicating when and what we were going to do throughout the entire attachment, along with having to update him each week on the status of the project and whether we are adhering to the timeline.
Below is a brief timeline of what we did.
Timeline
6th January: Meet with Dr Moey
We went to Pasir Ris Polyclinic to meet our external mentor (Dr Peter Moey), listened to a presentation on the upcoming Eunos polyclinic, interviewed a senior nurse (Nurse Ng) and created our timeline.
8th January: Interview with Nurses
Dr Moey organized an interview session between my group and three people who had worked at Still Road Polyclinic before it closed down – Nurse Leong Yuet Yim, Nurse Nur Nida Melissa Chia PL and ex-nurse Azizah.
We learnt about their experiences in Still Road Polyclinic, and even managed to get a few photos and a sketch of the layout of the clinic.
10th January: Exploring the Area
We walked around the Eunos Area and observed our surroundings.
There are two areas that are different from each other – one was full of HDB flats while the other was dotted with private property.
22nd January
Started on posters (online, using Canva).
16th January: Head to Lee Kong Chian Reference Library
We gathered information on Still Road Polyclinic and Jamiyah Children’s Home and accessed the National Archives from the computers in the library to find more information.
It was a worthwhile trip as we managed to find some photos on the computers, allowing us to briefly know how the building looked like in the past.
20th January:
We started planning on the layout and design of the 3D model. We couldn’t find any pictures of the interior of the clinic, so we had to improvise.
We also discussed about the poster and neatly compiled our information into our google document.
23rd January
We finished the first poster.
27th January: Building the 3D model
We started building the model of Still Road Polyclinic (The base is A3 sized and it is 4 cm high).
Materials used:
- Cardboard
- Newspapers
- Masking Tape
- Paint
- Lego (for interior furnishing)
29th to 31st January: Final Days
We finished the model and the second poster between the days.
We also had to prepare a presentation about what we did.
Some challenges faced:
It was hard to design the model as we did not have enough information or pictures to figure out how the building actually looked like for both interior and some parts of its exterior appearance (right side of the building where the Maternal and Child Health clinic is). Instead, we only had the exterior and the layout.
We weren’t able to get much information for Jamiyah’s Children Home, as they didn’t reply our email.
Record of Work Done
We made two posters and a 3D model, which displays the information we gathered.
Poster 1
Poster 2
Top View of 3D Model
View of 3D Model from the Top-left
Content Knowledge Learnt
1.
Through this experience, I learnt more about how technology really impacts lives and brings about much convenience. In the past, all the staff and patients will have to enter the polyclinic through sampans if it floods (due to heavy rains). Now, they no longer need to worry about the place flooding, and they do not need to air dry any items which are soaked due to the floods anymore. Mercury thermometers were once used, and these had to be disinfected after each use, and they each had to own a pair of gloves and mask which was reused. Everything has become more convenient now.
2.
I also learnt that society really changes over time, with new things being implemented and the past slowly fading away. When we interviewed the nurses, I realized that they really treasured their memories of the old Still Road Polyclinic, and it made me sad to know that one day these things will be forgotten. Patients have also become increasingly impatient and their respect for nurses and doctors has decreased, as compared to patients in the past, who would willingly give up their seats for nurses on public transport and listen to them respectfully.
3.
Finally, I learnt that no matter how difficult it is to find information, all of us need to set a goal in mind so that we can complete our work. We spent hours searching for content related to Still Road OPD and MCH, and Jamiyah Children’s Home. In the end, we successfully compiled a lot of information and came up with two posters and a 3D model.
Interesting Aspects of My Learning
1.
One of the interesting aspects I learnt is how polyclinics adapt to changes in society and ensure maximum comfort of patients. Dr Moey gave us a presentation showing how the upcoming Eunos Polyclinic will be built to accommodate patients who are on wheelchairs or use mobility aids. In response to the growing number of tech-savvy individuals in society, services offered at the Polyclinic will be gradually digitalised. It is really thoughtful and amazing as these things take months of planning.
2.
Another interesting aspect is the fact that nurses will never hesitate to help someone out, no matter how bad their day is. All of the nurses we met were really nice, even though they had a job to attend to afterwards. From my observation, the nurses looked like a very close knit ‘family’ - they kept joking with each other and their interactions were very friendly. They wanted to share all of their stories with us, even though we had not met them before. The interview was not as awkward as I thought. In fact, it was very smooth.
One Takeaway for Life
One takeaway for life is to really appreciate and remember how the past is. When we grow older, things will change, and places where we once spent our lives in will be torn down and replaced by something new. After this attachment, I learnt how our surroundings are constantly changing, and all we can preserve are memories. They are all very valuable, so the only way for the future generations to remember them is to make them aware of the past.