Candice Wee Xin Yi is a recipient of the Healthcare Merit Award (offered by MOH Holdings) and holds a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (First Class Honours) from The University of Queensland, Australia. She is a Senior Physiotherapist at National University Hospital (NUH).
Working within a multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals, physiotherapists are trained healthcare professionals who assist patients in developing, maintaining and restoring their maximum mobility, alongside their functional abilities, thereby improving their overall quality of life. Physiotherapists will first assess the functional ability of their patients before developing a holistic treatment plan tailored to each patient’s goal.
It is in this role that Candice found her calling.
With eight years of extensive experience across a wide range of disciplines, including geriatric, musculoskeletal, orthopaedic, and neurological rehabilitation, Candice is now a Senior Physiotherapist at NUH.
“A good physiotherapist is not one who has excellent knowledge but one who treats patients sincerely, and tries their best to address patients’ needs,” she shared. “I firmly believe that if you truly care for the patients, you will naturally do your best to help them recover.”
Making the Right Choice
From a young age, Candice always found immense meaning and satisfaction in helping others. She was part of the St John’s Ambulance Brigade during her secondary school days, where she was exposed to medical terms and rescue missions. Participating in first aid competitions, volunteering at nursing homes, and serving at public events sparked her passion to contribute to Singapore’s healthcare sector.
Determined to pursue a career in healthcare, Candice explored various career options and chanced upon the diverse opportunities offered in Allied Health.
“I started to do more in-depth research about each of the Allied Health professions and eventually decided to pursue physiotherapy as it seemed like a very hands-on profession and particularly meaningful as it literally helps people get back on their feet again!” she said enthusiastically.
Candice was also glad to apply for the Healthcare Merit Award, offered by MOH Holdings. The scholarship allowed her to pursue her studies overseas, fostering independence and adaptability – qualities invaluable in navigating the steep learning curve at NUH when she embarked on her career as a physiotherapist after her graduation.
The unmasked individuals depicted in the photographs are portrayed solely for illustrative purposes in this article.
Rehabilitation With Heart
Candice now specialises in both inpatient and outpatient cardiac rehabilitation. She sees her patients after their cardiac surgery or procedure.
Whenever Candice attends to her cardiac patients, she is always on high alert as treating the heart requires precision and quick thinking. In fact, this is what drew her to decide on specialising in cardiac rehabilitation.
She vividly recalls a cardiac patient she treated during her first year of work. Witnessing her patient get out of bed after being bedbound for a prolonged period made her realise how meaningful her work was.
“The patient was around 20 years old and had just undergone a heart surgery. He had developmental issues and could not communicate verbally with us and was unable to fully express his pain and discomfort,” she elaborated. “He refused to participate in therapy initially, and we were worried his physical condition would deteriorate with prolonged bed rest.” Through persistence in building rapport with the patient to understand his non-verbal actions, Candice and her team managed to get him out of bed after two weeks. She added, “I even took him out to the hospital playground for sunshine therapy and caught him smiling!”
Describing the journey of a patient from being bedbound in the ICU to regaining their health and eventually starting to walk again, Candice acknowledges it can be a long process of weeks or months. “But it is extremely rewarding to see the unadulterated happiness on patients’ faces. You know then that you have made an impact on their quality of life,” she mused.
“A good physiotherapist is not one who has excellent knowledge but one who treats patients sincerely, and tries their best to address patients’ needs.”
Candice Wee Xin Yi
Empowering Through Education
Besides helping her patients regain their mobility, Candice also focuses on educating them about self-exercise routines postdischarge and the precautions to take note of.
To better improve patients’ understanding, Candice and her team created education videos for her patients to rewatch and revise the rehabilitation exercises they are taught. The process of creating these videos starts from scripting to the editing and production of the final video. Encouraged by the good response and benefits they have brought about, Candice’s team has been creating more videos and e-learning content for different patient conditions.
“As these videos include explanations and demonstrations, patients are able to rewind and rewatch portions of a video or slow it down for a better look at how to do the exercises. It can free up 10 to 15 minutes of a therapist’s time per patient and with this amount of time saved, my colleagues and I are able to see more patients,” she enthused
Shaping the Future of Physiotherapy
Candice plays a role in the clinical practice education of physiotherapy students from Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) in building up their confidence in clinical skills and getting them ready for the real-world clinical practice when they graduate.
As she looks ahead, Candice aspires to be a good physiotherapy educator, guiding and grooming junior physiotherapists as her seniors did for her. She is grateful for the opportunities presented to her at NUH to expand her knowledge and skills.
“There is a development plan for each individual where our reporting officer will identify areas for our professional development and relevant courses for us to undergo. NUH also sponsors us to attend conferences and courses that are applicable to the work we do,” she highlighted. “There are also opportunities, ranging from giving public talks, doing projects, and showcasing our leadership skills via event planning. This gives us exposure and allows us to learn from colleagues of other disciplines."
For aspiring scholars keen on pursuing a similar career path, Candice encourages them to be receptive to feedback as that is the best way to learn and improve.
“Learning from mistakes and receiving feedback are part and parcel of this journey. It is important to be receptive to feedback. Don’t be afraid to share thoughts or ask questions out of fear of making mistakes, there’s no better time to learn than when you’re a student. View feedback positively; endeavour to learn from them and improve from there,” she advised.
This article was first published in BrightSparks Magazine July 2024. Republished with permission from Kariera Group Singapore.