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The Low Down on the Medicine ACP Office of Medical Humanities

In August 2018, this office was established in Medicine Academic Clinical Program (ACP) by Professor Chow Wan Cheng to educate healthcare professionals through the promotion of the humanities. The aim is to draw on the creative and intellectual strengths of diverse disciplines spanning philosophy, ethics, arts, popular culture, history, literature and religion. The humanities help us re-examine clinical care, education and research through different lenses to develop a deep and critical understanding of meaning, value and purpose. The new perspectives created have fostered close and meaningful relationships amongst doctors, patients and colleagues, enriching existing multi-disciplinary collaborations and encouraging the formation of new ones.

We have adopted a 4-pronged approach: communication, co-operation, content curation and community-building. The team has worked with existing partners such as the Residency Programs and Medical Schools to curate resources and courses. The ultimate goal is to build a community that learns and shares through experiences. We have already reached out on social media, curated a large collection of verse in our doctor-writers’ repository, raised thousands of dollars through concerts and art exhibitions for our disadvantaged patients, and supported clinical care with humanities content on inpatient iPads. There have also been collaborations with the National Gallery and Singapore Art Museum.

Join in our journey to connect sensitively with everyday healthcare experiences and reinvigorate the joy of caring by reminding ourselves of what inspired us to join this profession.

For all enquiries, kindly email us at [email protected].

#TeamMedicalHumanities ​​Dr Ong Eng Koon Director, Medical Humanities, Medicine ACP Senior Consultant, Division of Supportive and Palliative Care, NCCS Dr Ong is a palliative care physician at the Division of Supportive and Palliative Care, National Cancer Centre Singapore. He has keen interests in medical education, professionalism, empathy and burnout. He stumbled onto the Medical Humanities while looking into ways to teach empathy and decrease physician burnout and conceptualised the Humanism Aspirations as a Propellor for Professional development in Palliative medicine Education (HAPPE) project in 2017, using literature to facilitate discussions on empathy and patient-centered care for junior doctors. He has not looked back since and is always excited to develop future projects in this field with like-minded friends both old and new. ​ ​Dr Warren Fong Member, Medical Humanities, Medicine ACP Senior Consultant, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, SGH Dr Warren Fong is a Rheumatologist in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, SGH. He is also Programme Director of the Rheumatology Senior Residency Programme in SingHealth. He has a keen interest in the professional identity formation and medical professionalism. He hopes to promote the humanistic practice of medicine through the medical humanities. ​Ms Joanna Phone Ko Member, Medical Humanities, Medicine ACP Senior Staff Nurse (APN), Nursing Division, Department of Specialty Nursing, SGH Joanna is an Advanced Practice nurse in Acute Care (Medical ICU). Her experiences in managing ICU patients include both ends of the spectrum- Aggressive and urgent interventions for the critically ill, as well as supportive and palliative approaches for dying patients and their loved ones. Her latter role is where Medical Humanities comes alive and is ever relevant. Joanna actively facilitates the weekly meetings in ICU with the palliative medicine team, to provide holistic care and emotional support for patients in the medical ICU. Joanna is also an SGH Scholar, graduating with a Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing) at National University of Singapore and a Master in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Programme at University of Pennsylvania. She is passionate about training and mentoring junior staff in the MICU. ​Ms Janet Ong Kheng Hwee Member, Medical Humanities, Medicine ACP Resident Physician, Department of Internal Medicine, SGH Dr Janet Ong has been working with the Advance Care Planning Team in SGH since 2015. Prior to that she had been working with an NPO in Hong Kong coordinating their outreach projects in Asia and personnel training. Engaging with people in need has always drawn her interest. ​ Ms Phylaine Toh Senior Art Therapist, Art Therapy & Music Therapy Unit, SGH Phylaine Toh, AThR-S is a credentialed Art Therapist and Clinical Supervisor working at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). She is also an appointed core faculty member of the newly established SingHealth Duke-NUS Medical Humanities Institute (SDMHI), actively involved in areas of Health Professional Education and Narratives in Medicine. In her clinical work, Phylaine is experienced in supporting adolescents and adults living with long-standing psychiatric or physical conditions such as Eating Disorders and Complex Trauma. Phylaine is a passionate educator-advocate for using art, humanities, and creativity as therapeutic tools beyond traditional Art Therapy settings. She is dedicated to empowering healthcare professionals who share this belief with the necessary knowledge to safely incorporate innovative approaches into their clinical practice. Phylaine is currently pursuing a Certificate of Professional Accreditation in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. Through her involvement in various interprofessional and transdisciplinary initiatives, Phylaine aims to spark conversations on the intersection of arts, the humanities, medicine, and the humans involved. ​ ​Ms Stephanie Chan Senior Music Therapist, Art Therapy & Music Therapy Unit, SGH Stephanie is a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) with a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy and a Minor in Psychology from Berklee College of Music. With clinical experiences in both the United States and Singapore, she specializes in supporting individuals undergoing neuro-rehabilitation, palliative care, intensive care, and dementia. Currently at Singapore General Hospital, Stephanie employs a humanistic and innovative approach to help patients achieve their therapeutic goals.  ​ ​Ms Estelle Ng Music Therapist, Art Therapy & Music Therapy Unit, SGH Estelle Ng is board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) at Singapore General Hospital. She holds a master’s degree of Arts in Music Therapy from Chulalongkorn University. Informed by her background in Sociology and social service, she adopts a humanistic approach to clinical work where she situates self-actualisation within the sociological imagination. She is the Editor of Music Therapy Times from 2022 to 2024, the annual newsletter published by Association for Music Therapy (Singapore). She also serves as the President of Music Therapy Alumni Club (MTAC) of Chulalongkorn University. ​Assoc Prof Graham Mathews Provost's Chair, Medical Humanities, NTU Associate Professor Graham Matthews holds the position of Associate Professor in Medical Humanities at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His research in literature, science and the arts can be found in journals such as Modern Fiction Studies, Textual Practice, Configurations, Literature & History, Literature & Medicine, and English. His current research projects include an interdisciplinary and cross-sector engagement with culture and mental health stigma in Singapore, and a book-length study of medicine in mid-century British literature. ​

#TeamMedACPMH

​	Ms Nur Suhaila Binte Ishak Team Lead, Medical Humanities, Medicine ACP Senior Executive, Education, Division of Medicine and Medicine ACP
​	​ Ms Latashni D/O Gobi Nathan Communications Lead, Medical Humanities, Medicine ACP Executive, Communications, Division of Medicine and Medicine ACP
​	​ Ms Naeemah Binte Mohamed Isahak Medical Humanities, Medicine ACP Associate Executive, Communications, Division of Medicine and Medicine ACP
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