On his return to Singapore he was posted to the Nursing Training Department at the Institute of Mental Health, his sponsoring hospital. He found this to be ‘… an exciting department where I had the opportunity to work with awesome people of high calibre’.
He went on to say, ‘I was then sent for emergency resuscitation training, including BCLS, AED and ACLS to take up the portfolio as the coordinator of Life Support Training Centre’.
After 2 years’ experience of teaching, he became the Assistant Director of Life Support Training Centre at the Institute of Mental Health, cum Chief Instructor of BCLS and AED.
Another of his key roles is as a Clinical Instructor. ‘We coach and supervise nursing students when they come to our hospital for attachment, as well as share knowledge with them regarding mental health nursing’.
In 2013 there was further recognition of Jia’s leadership capabilities.
‘When my nursing leaders decided to organise a nursing retreat to review some of the existing policies and plan forward directions at the management level, I was tasked to be the Chairperson of the Nursing Retreat Committee 2013. The nursing retreat was very successful, with some wonderful initiatives produced which are going to be very helpful in improving our nursing service and quality of care. After the nursing retreat, in recognition of my commitment and effort, I was selected to join the Young Leadership Programme. This programme is an initiative of the National Healthcare Group which my hospital belongs to and it aims to train and develop potential future leaders. I have learnt a lot and really grown through this programme, despite the training being really tough and intense and the workload rather heavy’.
I am now responsible for charting the future of mental health education, developing an educational framework, and leading some educational research, so my plate is pretty full.