Occupational Therapy Ala Singapura

To say that occupational therapy (OT) has many faces is an understatement. For one, being an occupational therapist requires one to be a very resourceful person; a person who is very flexible; and one who almost always ‘thinks outside the box’. Thus, it is only inevitable that the practice of such profession can be very much distinctive in different cultures and parts of the world. Having said this, it has been such a wonderful experience to be able to see a side of occupational therapy from an entirely new perspective: the Singaporean view.

Our short but very productive visit to Singapore included visits in 3 different settings offering OT services, and a school: Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), Institute of Mental Health (IMH), KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKWCH), and Nanyang Polytechnic, respectively.

Khoo Teck Puat Hospital

The first day was dedicated to the visit in KTPH, which is the newest public hospital in Yishun catering to people who live in north Singapore. Aside from the newer and better facilities and equipment, at first glimpse of the hospital, one would easily mistake it for a huge resort or a hotel because of its modern take in architecture; incorporating “greeneries” into its buildings, resulting into an ambiance of ‘being healthy’ and at the same time ‘being closer to nature’. This for me was one of the hospital’s most striking characteristics. The greeneries kind of give you a feeling of being ‘at peace’. And this in turn was supported by the head OT’s statement, that they “believe in making the patients feel like they are not in a hospital but in their natural habitat; more like being at their own bedroom at home, so that they are more motivated and encouraged to have a positive attitude in battling their condition.” This is very much OT-ish, when you think about it, we OTs would want our clients to engage in occupations that they value in settings that are, as much as possible, very similar to their own workplace so that participation in the sessions is promoted.

Little 'Pots' of 'Green' Gold

At Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, 'green is the new white'

It’s a resort… wait, what?

Another thing that I liked about KTPH is that patients could go directly to OT and not need any referrals from physiatrists. This is, for me, very efficient and thus would only benefit the patient since it saves precious time from being wasted. The hospital also has their own ABLE studio which caters to the needs of not just PWDs, but also those people who are somewhat limited in their participation in occupations due to some reasons beside impairments, by providing a wide variety of assistive devices and equipment that are fun, user-friendly, and would facilitate engagement in occupations. Another thing that I envy about OT practice in this hospital, beside from being multi-disciplinary, was their intensive use of environmental modifications. We can also apply this in the Philippines, but more on just adding or removing a couple of items at home. But in Singapore, they kind of are able to really modify the home so that it would support the client in the best possible way.

View from one of the rooms

At KKTPH, they believe that simulating the atmosphere one has on her own bedroom may help facilitate the client's recovery.

Garden at the top

A garden in the forest; secluded on top of one of the buildings is a garden where patients are encouraged to engage in horticulture.

The second day was very fast-paced, ala-Singapura style, having to visit 3 places in a row. The group first went to visit the huge IMH at Buangkok. There are many good things about IMH. First of all, the hospital’s facilities are strikingly beautiful and do not give a hint of being a mental institution. What I really loved about this center was their program, OcTAVE (OT: Activities, Vocation and Empowerment) that aims to support clients to get a job, be reintegrated and live independently in the community. The idea was to have partnerships with different establishments offering different job opportunities, such as carpark attendant, service crew, healthcare assistant, call centre agent, and general worker, among many others. It’s really beautiful that vocational rehabilitation is firmly established and clients are really given opportunities to return to the work force without being discriminated against. Another unique program of the institute is REACH (Response Early Intervention and Assessment in Community Mental Health) in which OTs are dispersed in the community to help promote mental health and prevent psychiatric conditions, such as addiction, from occurring to adolescents as well as adults. And the last point about IMH is that we were given hearty snacks after the orientation, which of course, is a plus point, even though the group kind of got lost on our way to the main lobby.

IMH Welcomes UST

IMH welcomes University of Santo Tomas OTs

IMH Lobby

We got lost inside IMH

(Not much pictures were taken at IMH since they politely asked us not to take any for the sake of the clients.)

Next stop for the day was at KKWCH at the junction of Bukit Timah and Kampong Java Roads. The group divided into groups and took a cab from IMH to KKWCH. The hospital’s architecture of course differs from hospitals here in the Philippines, but not that entirely different. As the name implies, this hospital focuses on women and children’s health. The group got to view a short presentation about OT in KK hospital and a small view of the process that they follow. What I really liked about this hospital was their dedication to promoting health to Singaporeans; especially since OT practice in pediatric setting is just a rising trend in Singapore because the elderly heavily populates the country state. The group was only able to see few glimpses of rooms where OT services are given since therapists generally travel to satellite centers for sessions. But we got to have our second batch of snacks, which was obviously not a waste of time for us, so that would mean a plus point for this stop.

KK Women's and Children's Hospital

KK's address at SG

Group Photo with the OTs in KKWCH

A quick photo with the Singaporean OTs at KKWCH, lah!

The last, but definitely not the least, stop was at Nanyang Polytechnic at Ang Mo Kio Avenue. We were kind of really hyped about this last visit since it’s the only educational institution that we are going to visit. So meaning to say, it’s an entirely different thing, because for the past visits, we were looking at different OT practice settings. But now, we’re going to look at how different OTs are produced, ala-Singapura style. The campus itself already gave us that ‘wow’ effect. It was huge, modernized, and very preppy. The façade of the main lobby kind of gives you the feeling that you’re in a mall. The campus was divided into buildings, each housing different schools. The group kind of had a difficult time in trying to find the office for school of health sciences. An OT professor got to show us a short video presentation about the institution and we were toured around the area for OT students. The classrooms were spacious, not entirely different from ours, but what I noticed was they have natural lighting since they have wide glass windows with no blinds or tint. What was striking was how different the professors conduct their lecture sessions. During the visit, we get to have a short glimpse of a class having their lecture about, I think, the art of sleep. The students were wearing shorts, and they weren’t seated in standard classroom chairs. Instead, they were seated in beds and they were in different positions as they listen to their professor up front. It was really different from our conventional lecture sessions. Their computer laboratory looked very conducive for studying; it was full of natural lighting since the lab also has wide glass windows without tint or blinds, and people can actually see each other, as compared to our computer lab filled with large cubicles.

Feeling like University Girls at Nanyang Polytechnic

OT Mini-Garden

I actually envy NYP OT students since they have their own OT garden where students are encouraged to grow their own plants all for the sake of having the students develop a sense of 'nurturing or caring for others' which would somehow translate to their genuine care for clients when they start practicing OT. They also have a very spacious campus library, which was kind of different from ours, since students can actually eat while they study, or they aren’t entirely required to stay quiet as they do. On the contrary, they are encouraged to study in pairs or groups so that they are able to gain different insights on a certain topic and not just get caged in their own. Also, aside from the fact that they weren’t wearing uniform, they don’t address their professors as Ma’am or Sir. On the other hand, the professors themselves encourage the students to develop a sense of professionalism even though they call each other through their first names. The OT professor emphasized that they don’t want to instill to the students that they “are their professors, they are only students, and that they should just listen to us.”

Photo with the NYP Instructor

My least favorite site we visited was at KK hospital, but not because it was a worthless visit. It was also a totally enriching experience, but since we kind of arrived late, we actually spent the shortest visit there, and there were not much to tour around since they conduct services mostly in their satellite centers. Nonetheless, I was really inspired with their devotion to their practice in pediatric setting, resulting to a success in one of their community-based programs, which would be escalated to the national level. I actually had goose bumps as they told us the story of their program’s success. The program aims to train other people in screening for children at school who might need OT services. At the same time, the people that they train are also trained on how to teach other people what they have learned. It was a huge project, and it was really nice that they set up such.

My most favorite visit would have to be at NYP. It was an entirely different process of honing OTs. After the tour, I was even able to actually envision myself studying in that institution or living in Singapore for that matter. For me, if I would be given another life to live in this world, studying in NYP wouldn’t be bad at all. But of course, right now, I don’t regret having to study in UST; I love my own, and I’m a proud Thomasian OT at that.

All in all, it was a really great opportunity to see a different side of the OT story. OT management really must be culturally relevant so that the needs of the clients are better addressed. Thus for me, it is not really shocking to see a whole new world of OT in Singapore. After all, the OT that we saw in Singapore was the same profession anywhere else in the world. It would just differ on what are the things or the values that matter to the people that we give our services to. The visits were more of ‘enlightening’ or ‘enriching’ in the sense that we were able to see how OTs work in different spheres and in different parts of the world. It actually gave me ideas and made me want to put up my own clinic, or if God permits, my own hospital in the future. It showed me how noble this profession really is; from helping clients return to their optimal functionality to preventing disengagement from occupations secondary to disability. It made me realize the future profession, to which I am heading as I write this paper. And I daresay, every peso spent, every bead of sweat given off and every step taken during walks in SG, were all well worth it.