Ground up Humanities Initiatives in SingHealth: From Ideas To Impact

Dr Gillian's Topic: Capturing Moments: A Journey Through The Healthcare Environment

Programme Description:
“Capturing Moments” is a photography-based initiative by the EM ACP Wellness Committee that explored how the medical humanities can enhance well-being, observation, and reflection among healthcare professionals. The project began with a hands-on photography workshop, equipping participants with essential skills and encouraging mindful engagement with their surroundings.

Following the workshop, all members of the EM community were invited to submit photographs that captured meaningful moments in their daily work—highlighting empathy, resilience, and connection within the healthcare setting. Selected images were exhibited during SingHealth Duke-NUS EM ACP Week 2024, creating a space to reflect on the human side of medicine.

Learning Outcomes:
Participants will:

• Acquire fundamental photography skills and techniques.
• Demonstrate improved observational awareness in clinical environments.
• Express empathy and human connection through their photographic work.

Evaluation Metrics:

• Post-workshop reflection forms
• Submission of photo entries demonstrating key project themes
• Feedback from participants of SingHealth Duke-NUS EM ACP Week 2024 who viewed the exhibition

Target Audience:
Doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and administrative staff within the SingHealth Duke-NUS Emergency Medicine ACP

Maximum Number of Participants:
18 (limited by the capacity of the photography workshops), but all members of the EM community were invited to participate in the photography competition. A total of 51 photosgraphs were received, after a judging process, the top 20 pictures were selected for display.

Dr Joanne Ngeow's Topic: PATH : Poetry As The Healer

Programme Description: Poetry therapy, a form of expressive arts therapy, involves using poems, narratives, and other spoken or written media to promote well-being and healing. Therapists may use existing literature as part of treatment or encourage those in therapy to produce their literary works to express deep-seated emotions. Either way, they offer a safe, non-judgmental atmosphere where treatment participants can explore their written expressions and associated emotional responses. 

In partnership with John Fox, a pioneer in the field of Poetic Medicine and a certified Poetry Therapist; and the Institute for Poetic Medicine, we launched  Poetry as the Healer (PATH) Initiative in 2024 to expose and equip our staff and patients with skills to embrace poetry in their everyday lives. We hope to give participants in this program the skills to find their voices as they face life challenges. Poetry therapy works best in small groups of between 6-15 participants. We will share reflections from our events over the last 2 years and the growing community in Singapore  

Dr Michael Tan's Topic: Gestures of Care: Cultivate caring consciousness with Nurses using creative movements

Programme Description: Care encounters are complex, multifaceted exchanges shaped by both verbal and nonverbal communication. While a significant portion of human interaction is nonverbal, such forms of expression often risk being overlooked or diminished amid the fast-paced, and at times stressful, routines of caregiving.

This presentation introduces Gestures of Care—a workshop held from 14 to 28 February 2025—that explores the nuances of nonverbal communication in care through creative movement activities. The workshop invites participants to consider: What is the role of listening in caregiving? What does it truly mean to listen? Do we only listen with our ears—or can our entire body listen?

Developed by Michael Tan, Gestures of Care offers a contemplative space to slow down and reflect on one's caregiving practice. It encourages participants to re-examine their care intentions—particularly resilience and compassion—through embodied, arts-based approaches. In doing so, the workshop explores how creative modalities can support the professional and personal development of nurses and other care providers.

This initiative was made possible through a collaboration with Ms Chua Lee Kheng, Assistant Director of Nursing at the National Heart Centre Singapore, and Dr Victoria Ekstrom Sze Min, Co-Lead of Narratives in Medicine at the SingHealth Duke-NUS Medical Humanities Institute. The project was supported by the 2025 Pitch for Humanities Grant.