School of Health Sciences The School
Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s (NP) School of Health Sciences is in the business of inspiring and transforming students into caring healthcare professionals with a passion to touch lives.
Besides top-notch facilities, there are ample opportunities for students to gain practical exposure and hone their skills. They emerge as highly competent and IT-savvy professionals.
The Course
The School offers the following full-time programmes:
• Diploma in Health Sciences (Nursing) (HSN)
• Diploma in Optometry (OPT)
Training Facilities
The School is equipped with a $1.4 million Patient Simulation Centre containing two intensive care units, two emergency rooms, four high-fidelity manikins, an operating theatre, a gerontology unit, and a neonatal intensive care unit. Various scenarios can be simulated at the centre so that the students can practise their nursing skills using the very equipment they will be handling in an actual setting.
There are also anatomy and physiology laboratories, and a microbiology laboratory equipped with molecular diagnostic equipment and culture facilities.
Ngee Ann’s Health Sciences (Nursing) students were the first in Asia to use PDAs to support their training programme. Packed with useful details such as drugs, diseases, laboratory and diagnostic tests, the PDAs contain common translations to help the students communicate better with their patients.
The PDAs are also used as electronic logbooks for the students, thanks to the built-in lists of basic to advanced nursing skills that the students need to master during their course of study. The electronic logbooks are constantly updated to record the students’ achievements when an acceptable level of competency is achieved.
During their clinical attachments, students are also pre-tested with the PDAs before performing various tasks, for example, inserting a nasogastric tube through the nose to the stomach for feeding purposes. They take pre-loaded quizzes on the PDAs and are marked instantly. This is to ensure that they are sufficiently knowledgeable before performing their nursing skills on the patients.
The School is also planning to set up an Optometry Business Centre housing 10 adjoining consultation rooms to support Optometry students’ clinical practice. When the Optometry Business Centre is ready in 2010, members of the public can get their eyes checked and diagnosed by the students at an affordable cost under the guidance of experienced and qualified optometrists.
Strong Internship Programmes and Industry Links
Health Sciences (Nursing) students undergo a total of 45 weeks of clinical attachment at major healthcare establishments throughout their three-year course.
Both staff and students in the Health Sciences (Nursing) programme are engaged in research projects in collaboration with healthcare institutions such as the National University Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, SingHealth Polyclinics, Ang Mo Kio Thye Hua Kwan Hospital and Renci Hospital.
Optometry students undergo a rigorous 15-week internship programme at ophthalmology clinics, optometry retail practices, and eyecare product manufacturers. They are also given the opportunity to apply their skills in an eye-screening community programme for preschoolers.