As the director of nursing at St Andrew’s Community Hospital, Alison Sim, 60, has had to exercise a huge amount of wisdom in making decisions concerning the COVID-19 situation.

In reducing the likelihood of exposure by carrying out staff segregation and reducing the deployment of staff, she constantly asked herself: “How do we strike a fine balance, such that we are putting our faith in action yet not being too indifferent or careless? How do we still maintain the standard of care?”

To reduce contact with too many people, she also has had to reduce her visits to three wards per day, compared to the usual 10, leading her to wonder: “How do I still make my presence felt so that the nurses feel I am still there to support and guide them?”

Understanding the stressors

Such are the pressures that nurses in leadership like herself face on a daily basis. Yet, Sim knows that she has an army behind her who fully understands her struggles and is ever ready to cover her in prayer – all she needs to do is send a message.

This army is the Singapore Nurses Christian Fellowship (SNCF), a group that has banded together for 60 years to lend spiritual and practical support to countless nurses.

Sim, the vice-president of SNCF, is in a WhatsApp chat group comprising nurses from the fellowship who work in the eastern part of Singapore.

“The beauty of SNCF is that all members are trained nurses, so they know the stressors that you go through. If you run into a problem, you can bring it up in the chat group and ask for prayer, and people will respond and reply in encouragement. They are also eager to offer practical help in they can,” Sim told Salt&Light.

Sim (in pink), with staff from Bethesda Care Services at Medical Social Worker Week. Sim has had to exercise a huge amount of wisdom in decisions concerning the COVID-19 situation. Photo courtesy of Alison Sim.

She added that the messages being sent in recent times have urged nurses to remain calm and trust in the Lord.

“We have been reminded that there is no need for panic. The Lord is sovereign in every sense. Despite the evolving changes, evolving demands and new discoveries, we have to choose to fall back on our foundation in the Lord. That is our anchor.”

Meeting to pray

Helping nurses relate their faith to their profession is one of the goals of SNCF, which had its humble beginnings in 1958.

Back then, Christian nurses gathered in small groups of different denominations – Anglican, Brethren, Methodists and so on – in Outram Road General Hospital (now Singapore General Hospital) to share in fellowship.

It was soon realised that a combined witness would be more effective, so steps were taken to form an inter-denominational group working under a central committee.

In October 1960, SNCF was birthed with the motto “One in Christ”, headed by their first president, Eileen J Kuhn, a missionary nurse from the United States.

Apart from helping nurses see how their faith and profession intersect, the fellowship also aims to help them grow spiritually, encourage them in their Christian witness and foster in them a missionary spirit.

SNCF, which currently has about 200 members, does this by conducting professional seminars and workshops, spiritual retreats and social and community projects.

But most important are their monthly prayer meetings, which are held in several locations all over the island.

Tan Wee King, the president of the fellowship, said: “Meeting to pray is imperative to strengthen the faith of Christian nurses (Hebrews 10:25), who then would be able to provide better service undergirded by God’s love.

“They often keep giving, giving and giving, but they also need to ‘top-up’ spiritually. You can’t give from an empty account.”

SNCF nurses during one of their month prayer meetings. Meeting to pray is imperative to strength the faith of Christian nurses, said SNCF president, Tan Wee King. Photo courtesy of SNCF.

Tan said that there are various struggles that nurses in Singapore face, including ethical dilemmas that they have to face daily.

They also work in increasingly fast-moving and technologically-advanced healthcare institutions and communities that expect more and more of them.

“While they can continually learn and update themselves professionally … they face a multitude of demands and pressures of the existential kind for which only God can provide solutions for,” she said.

That’s why it is important for them to dig deep into God’s Word, which provides “precious gems” of guidance and assurance in such circumstances, she added.

Learning empathy

Xia Xiangbing, 36, who has been a member of SNCF for more than 16 years and currently sits on its executive committee, said he has benefited much from being part of the fellowship.

When he arrived in Singapore from China in 2004 under a nursing scholarship, members of SNCF were quick to extend to him a warm embrace of friendship.

“They treated me well. They brought me to the Singapore Zoo and other places of interest in Singapore and helped me adapt smoothly to my studies and life here. They also shared the Gospel with me,” he said.

As a psychiatric nurse, Xia, now a Singapore citizen, deals with people with various mental health issues, including psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression and addiction. He faces challenges from these clients, who often do not understand their condition or the need for medication, he said.

Having to deal with these issues is frustrating, but he has learnt how to display empathy and unconditional love through studying God’s Word and listening to the sharing of other SNCF members.

“When I encounter challenges at work, I remind myself that the client is acutely ill, or the family has caregiver stress. If I am in their situation, I would be desperate too. I remember God’s love for me, and how I should accept others as how God has accepted me even though I am a sinner,” he said.

Sharing encouragement

As an oncology nurse, Beatrice Foo, 50, has struggled with helping critically ill patients and their loved ones, especially those who did not know Christ, cope with end-of-life issues.

She also has had to deal with difficult patients, heavy workloads and a sense of social isolation at times.

But through SNCF-organised workshops, she has learnt how to care for her patients spiritually, something she said is not covered in-depth in general nursing training.

Likewise, she has benefited from Christian nursing conferences, which cover healthcare topics from spiritual and multicultural perspectives, and has been encouraged to hear reports on how God has been ministering to the world through nurses and other medical workers.

Even in times she could not attend the fellowship’s events, simply receiving articles and resources relating to the faith at work was enough to spur her on and remind her that she is not alone in her struggles.

“Despite challenges in work or service, I can take heart and rejoice in my sovereign and faithful Lord who strengthens me and puts a song in my heart to cheer me on as I carry out His assignment.”

SNCF’s 2020 executive committee, including president Tan Wee King (first row, third from left), vice-president Alison Sim (second row, fourth from left) Xia Xiang Bing (second row, first from right) and Beatrice Foo (second row, fourth from right). Photo courtesy of SNCF.

As the nursing landscape continues to evolve, SCNF is in need of God’s grace and wisdom to search out novel ways of connecting and engaging with younger nurses who face different challenges, Tan said.

She hopes the fellowship can continue to exist as “a wellspring of God’s love”, nurturing these nurses’ spiritual health and equipping them to be effective witnesses for Him wherever they are placed.