26 July 2022
The President’s Award for Nurses started in 2000, and has since recognised 90 recipients, including the latest, for sustained outstanding performance and contributions to patient care delivery, education, research and administration.
President's Award for Nurses 2022
Nirmala Bte Karmaroon, Deputy Director of Nursing, Nursing Service
Nirmala has built her career for 40 years at TTSH and is a veteran in strategic manpower planning, staff development and talent management. With considerable years in critical care of Neurology ICU, she has since transitioned from a nurse to her current administrative role.
During the surge in COVID-19 cases, she was integral in manpower planning, ensuring that quality of patient care was maintained alongside a balance in nurses’ work-lives and organisational outcomes. She displayed agility and adaptability to crisis operations, and her leadership strengthened the hospital’s outbreak response with minimal impact on routine business, staff wellbeing and patient safety.
She spearheads the learning and development of enrolled nurses, healthcare assistants, and nurse clinicians. She was instrumental in bringing the “kampong spirit” in TTSH where nurses accepted and embraced cross-departmental deployment especially during the COVID-19 pandemic – easing workload and covering for one another during times of great uncertainty.