From Today
By Esther Ng
Published 28 Feb 2011
They came in droves - teenagers with their parents and even some workers contemplating a mid-career switch - to a career fair on allied healthcare held at *Scape yesterday.
Some 450 people attended "Make Healthcare Your Career", which was organised by the Ministry of Health and healthcare organisations including the National Healthcare Group, SingHealth and National University Health System.
One of them, Ms Iffah Razak, 18, who is studying for an advance diploma in biomedical science at a private institute, told MediaCorp that her interest in healthcare was sparked when her grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer.
"I haven't decided whether I want to be a dietician, psychologist or doctor, but I found the talks useful," said Ms Iffah.
Her mother, Madam Sarina Ammiruddin, 41, who was working in the shipping industry as a management staff until she was retrenched two years ago, was supportive of her daughter's interest.
"The career lifespan in healthcare is long. With an ageing population, the employment prospects are good," she said.
Junior college student Nurdini Salim, 17, who was there to check out various career options, told MediaCorp she was interested in podiatry and dietetics.
Her mother, a part-time nurse who declined to be named, said: "I have encouraged her to try for a place in pharmacy or dentistry, but in case she can't get her preferred options, she can consider a career in allied health."
That said, she noted that "many" young nurses leave the profession. "If you want to make nursing appealing to the younger generation, you have to shorten shift duties, make the night shifts shorter or not too often. Many find it hard to start families with such work demands," she said.
Millennia Institute student Aaron Ang, 19, however, was set on becoming a physiotherapist.
"I always enjoy giving massages to family and church members and I think it will be a fulfilling job."
While he acknowledged that physiotherapists are not as well-paid as those in Australia and New Zealand, Mr Ang hopes salaries will improve by the time he graduates.
With the Sports Hub coming up, he expects there will be a demand for physiotherapists to treat athletes.
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