It was a delightful Saturday (4 February 2023) morning for 54 residents and faculty from the National Healthcare Group (NHG) Psychiatry Residency Programme, and 30 students from Pathlight School, as they bonded over spotting animals, and interacting with the exhibits at the River Wonders.
The day out is part of the programme's annual community engagement efforts, and the first in-person outing since the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
“We have actually been planning and anticipating this for a while," said Associate Professor Sim Kang, Programme Director, NHG Psychiatry Residency. “In fact, we had planned to visit Pulau Ubin in early 2020 for our residency day, but we had to cancel it when Covid-19 struck."
One of the chief residents and organiser, Dr Hui Tianyi shared that the River Wonders was selected as the team “wanted a suitable location which the students would find interesting, have various exhibits to interact with, and be suitable in wet weather".
“It was a wonderful time of learning and interacting with the students from Pathlight and their teachers. We've (residents) learnt so much about the students during that short time," she said.
“The students were inquisitive, passionate, and full of wonder. They knew many facts about various animals even without having seen them beforehand. They were observant and appreciated details of each animal.
“(And) I didn't know that their art pieces were sold at the River Wonders gift shop! They are very talented!"
Chief residents Drs Aaron Tang and Darrell Ang shared that the aim of the outing was to enable residents and faculty to engage in meaningful community work, “as well as develop fellowship amongst the residents".
They hoped that the outing offered the residents and faculty an opportunity to interact with the community outside clinical settings, and give them a different perspective of the community and the challenges they face.
Echoing the same sentiments, A/Prof Sim said, “Through our annual residency day, we hope to remind our residents about the mission of Psychiatry Residency, which is to train competent and compassionate psychiatrists who can look after the mental health needs of the population."
“Thus, our arrangement to bring students (or patients in the past) with us for outings during residency day is an expression of our social responsibility towards the community that we look after. This year, we are thankful for the partnership with Pathlight School, having their teachers joined us alongside the students from The Art Project to visit the River Wonders."
“We've learnt so much from our interactions with the students, and how they overcome academic and social challenges," said Dr Hui.
“We've also gained a greater understanding from the teachers about the challenges in guiding and nurturing students with a variety of learning challenges and needs, and gained great respect for them in their work."
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