It wasn’t a job he planned for initially but it is one that gives him much satisfaction.
Qamaruzaman Syed Gani, 37, is a senior physiotherapist with National University Hospital (NUH).
Starting his career as a technician in 1997, Qamaruzaman has also dabbled in selling watches on e-bay.
Inspired by Mother
The turning point for his new healthcare career came when Qamaruzaman used to accompany his mother for her physiotherapy sessions and was impressed that she managed to recover fully from knee arthritis.
Inspired, he decided to take on the vocation and in 2009, enrolled into a professional conversion programme (PCP) run by Workforce Singapore at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).
“I had to go through three years of studies at NYP which covered both the educational and clinical aspects of the subject. We covered 1,000 hours of physical training and attachment to different hospitals as part of the course,” explained Qamaruzaman.
Currently, he is attending to the physiotheraphy needs of cardiac patients at NUH who often feel they can never revert to a normal life.
His patients range from those who have undergone cardiac surgery to those who manage their various conditions with medication. He guides them through their exercise regime to ensure they do so safely.
“At the end of the session, they look at you and thank you. They say, ‘You allowed me to return to my mobility status’. One year down the road when they come back to the clinic for their check up, they visit us and they are looking good. So we know we have done a good job in getting them back to where they were before,” said Qamaruzaman.
Added Healthcare Services Employees' Union (HSEU) President K Thanaletchimi, “Qamaruzaman’s courage, determination and resolve is indeed admirable. His is one of the many success stories of Professional Conversion Programme (PCP). For a person to succeed in Healthcare PCP programme, one has to have the passion, the commitment and conviction to succeed. In some cases, their own lives experience and circumstances will drive them to succeed. We need to showcase more of such success stories and role models to share their lives experience with many who are contemplating but have yet to decide.”
Source: NTUC This Week
