DeDicateD to excellence in Dermatology anD VenereologyDERMA

Vol 66 Issue No.6 • FeB-APR 2017 MCI (P) 091/09/2015

DIGEST

NSC signs Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Singapore

National Skin Centre signed a Memoran-dum of Understanding with Johnson & Johnson Singapore to collaborate to up-hold NSC’s position as a Centre of Excel-lence (CoE) in dermatology in the region. The strategic partnership to boost holistic management of dermatology conditions will focus on initiatives to upskill nurses and pharmacists in skin disease under-standing and patient education; co-develop training modules for team-based care in dermatology; and support sustainability and quality in patient care through estab-lishing partnerships with other institutions in the region to foster exchange and excel-lence in patient management. Senior management from both organi-zations were present at the memorable MOU signing ceremony on 22 March 2017 where the partnership was inked between A/Prof Tan Suat Hoon, Director of NSC and Mr Albert Lee, Managing Director of J&J Singapore. Mr Joaquin Duato, Executive Vice President and Worldwide Chairman for Pharmaceuticals at J&J was on hand to witness the event with A/Prof Chua Sze Hon, Deputy Director of NSC.

Mrs Tang Lee Foon, Head of Pharmacy

J & J executive Vice President and Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals, Mr Joaquin Duato (Centre, in grey) and the National skin Centre’s Director, A/Prof Tan suat Hoon (left of Mr Duato) together with the management teams from NsC and J&J singapore.

A/Prof Tan (second from left) and J & J singapore Managing Director, Mr Albert lee (second from right) signing the Memorandum of understanding, flanked by the Centre’s Deputy Director, A/Prof Chua sze Hon (left) and Mr Joaquin Duato (Right).

Welcoming A/Prof Steven Thng as the new Executive Director at Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS)Effective from 1 February 2017, Senior Consultant and Medical Advisor Professor Roy Chan has stepped down as the inau-gural co-Executive Director of the Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS). Under Prof Chan’s exemplary director-ship, SRIS has since its establishment in 2013, brought Singapore’s multi-disci-plinary research in skin-related field to global prominence . We thank Prof Chan for his dedication and contributions to the institute.

We would like to ex-tend a warm welcome to Senior Consultant Associate Professor Steven Thng who has been appointed the new Executive Direc-tor. A/Prof Thng will continue to expand SRIS’s strategic networks and drive its en-gagement with the industry, fostering re-search with clinical and corporate partner-ships with other institutions in Singapore.

NsC NeWs

DeRMA DIGesT • Vol 66 Issue 6 • FeB-APR 2017

Building a great community through the training of health volunteers Ms Brenda Lim, Head of Nursing

A basic skin and wound care training pro-gram was held on 26 February 2017 for a group of 24 community health volunteers at the National Skin Centre. The training program was organised by the Dermatology Nurses Chapter under the Singapore Nurs-es Association (DNC-SNA) in collaboration with Toa Payoh West - Balestier (TPWB) Citizens’ Consultative Committee. Sup-ported by the National Skin Centre Health Endowment Fund, the year-long program aims to equip community health volunteers with basic skills and knowledge in skin and wound care in order to promote skin health to the residents in their constituencies.

A total of five lectures were delivered, com-prising of interactive question and answer sessions, multiple choice questionnaires and video trainings. Hands-on practical sessions on basic wound dressing and topical application methods were also con-ducted by the nurses from DNC-SNA. Dur-ing the workshop, program facilitators Ms Brenda Lim and Mr Edmund Lee stressed the importance of one’s commitment in the volunteer program in reaching out to the target beneficiaries. The workshop ended on a high note with the volunteers eager to

Director, A/Prof Tan suat Hoon (Centre, in purple) and Head of Nursing, Ms Brenda lim (Centre, in light blue) with Nurses from DNC-sNA and community health volunteers from TPWB.

TPWB community health volunteers receiving hands-on training on basic skin and wound care, taught by DNC-sNA Nurses.

Quality Improvement LunchThe first quality improvement lunch of the year was held on 22 March. Director A/Prof Tan Suat Hoon opened the session with an update on the successful NSC-NHGP TeleDERM Collaboration which has reduced the appoint-ment waiting time for new sub-sidised referrals since its imple-mentation.

Following the opening address, the pro-gramme kicked off with presentations of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Projects carried out by various depart-ments. Education Officer Mr James Foong represented his team to share on how the DSC Clinic managed to tackle the issue of uneven patient load distribution on cer-tain days. Through a root cause analysis, the team proposed a range of intervention methods to closely monitor appointment bookings as well as to encourage patients

Ms Madalene Yeo, Corporate Communications Executiveto take up slots during non-peak hours. The project saw a significant 45% improve-ment in overall patient load distribution at the DSC Clinic and was awarded top prize for the 2016 CQI Project.

During the session, staff were also enlight-ened by IHiS on cyber security awareness. The sharing encompassed tips on appro-priate corporate email and internet usage as well as how to prevent cyber-attacks such as Phishing and Ransomware.

To encourage staff engagement and learn-ing, Corporate Communications Executive Ms Nathalie Ng introduced the launch of an anonymous platform for staff to ask ques-tions regarding work processes in the cen-tre. Human Resource Manager Ms Jaclyn Ong closed the session by emphasising NSC’s commitment to a safe and harass-ment free workplace, highlighting the im-portance of lodging an incident report for effective case management.

(Top left) Director A/Prof Tan presenting education officer, Mr James Foong the top prize for the 2016 CQI Project.

(Top right) Human Resource Manager, Ms Jaclyn ong presenting to NsC staff on achieving a harassment free workplace.

share their new found knowledge with their fellow residents.

“It was really heartening to see the enthu-siasm of these volunteers and the passion of the dermatology nurses from SNA-DNC. We are pleased to see that our NSC Health Endowment Fund has been put to good use to build a greater community, improving skin health of residents in Singapore.” said Associate Professor Tan Suat Hoon, direc-tor of National Skin Centre.

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DeRMA DIGesT • Vol 66 Issue 6 • FeB-APR 2017

MOH HMDP Visiting Expert –Professor Kenji Kabashima

HMDP Report: Skin and Cancer Foundation, Melbourne Australia

Ms Madalene Yeo, Corporate Communications Executive

Dr Aaron Tan Wei Min, Associate Consultant

During his week-long visit to Singapore from 3 April to 7 April, NSC had the pleas-ure to host Professor Kenji Kabashima, the Acting Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine. Prof Kabashima is a renowned expert in the skin immunology and allergy field, introducing a novel tech-nique to live imaging of the skin with the use of two-photon microscopy. This non-invasive method is helpful in understand-ing the pathogenesis of skin diseases, es-pecially in atopic dermatitis.

Prof Kabashima shared his expertise through conducting lectures on live imag-ing of the skin and the pathomechanisms of Psoriasis and Contact Dermatitis, with a presentation of interesting clinical cases. Through research discussions and his obser-vation of the clinics in NSC, Prof Kabashima was impressed with the level of cohesive-ness amongst the NSC doctors. He com-mented that the strong team spirit and willingness to assist one another was re-markable.

Professor Kenji Kabashima (Centre) with Director A/Prof Tan suat Hoon (left of Prof Kabashima), Deputy Director A/Prof Chua sze Hon (Right of Prof Kabashima) and team of NsC Doctors.

Dr Aaron Tan (left) With Dr eugene Tan (Right), a Mohs surgeons at the skin and Cancer Foundation.

I recently completed my HDMP training in Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Skin Can-cer at the Skin and Cancer Foundation, Mel-bourne Australia from 8 Jan to 23 Dec 2016 under the supervision of Dr Edward Upjohn.

The Skin and Cancer Foundation is a non-profit organisation established in 1987 and it is the centre of excellence in specialist der-matologic care in the state of Victoria. The Foundation focuses on the surveillance and management of dermatologic malignan-cies and is supported by a team of visiting dermatologists, Mohs surgeons, plastic surgeons and radiation oncologists. On top of skin cancer treatment, the centre also has busy transplant dermatology, psoriasis, photo-dermatology, and contact dermatol-ogy services. It is actively involved in teach-ing and research, housing the Australasian Psoriasis Registry and the specialist Occu-pational Dermatology Research and Educa-tion Centre (ODREC).

Prof Kabashima lauded the Centre as “one of the best clinical outpatient institutions in the world with top-level dermatologists”. Apart from excellent clinical expertise, he also found potential in NSC to explore deeper into research, clinical trials and ba-

sic science. Prof Kabashima expressed that the recruitment of motivated scientists is one of the challenges faced in the research field and he encourages more young doc-tors to delve deeper into basic science.

At the Foundation, I worked closely with the team of Mohs surgeons and plastic surgeons, operating on various dermato-logic malignancies. Apart from the Skin and Cancer Foundation, I was also given the op-portunity to train at the Western Skin Institute (under Dr Eugene Tan) and at the The Avenue Hospital (under Dr Adam Sheridan).

Apart from Mohs micrographic surgery, I was fortunate to be able to attend multi-

disciplinary clinics of the Victorian Mela-noma Service, helmed by Dr John Kelly at the Alfred Hospital. I also ran clinics at the Peter Mac Cormack Cancer Hospital, under A/Prof Chris McCormack where we dealt with complex non-melanoma and melano-ma skin cancers.

During my stay down under, I had the privi-lege of visiting The Skin Institute in Auck-land, New Zealand, where I learnt from its medical director Dr Mark Gray, who has the unique expertise of being been triply quali-fied as a board certified pathologist, derma-tologist and Mohs surgeon.

I hope to apply my knowledge gleaned from my experience to expand the dermatologic surgery service at NSC, boosting the Mohs micrographic surgery capabilities of the centre, as well as to provide evidence based, quality care for patients with dermatologic malignancies.

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DeRMA DIGesT • Vol 66 Issue 6 • FeB-APR 2017

Editorial: Dr Coni Liu, Ms Nathalie Ng, Ms Madalene YeoAdvisors: Clinical A/Prof Tan Suat Hoon, Mrs Tang Lee Foon

This is an in-house publication for staff information only. Contents can be quoted or reproduced with permission of National Skin Centre (S) Pte Ltd.

Designed and Printed by : Ease Communications

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Held on 28 February 2017, the annual Food and Jumble Sale saw various departments setting up booths to sell food items ranging from pre-packed Chicken Rice, Mee Siam, Vegetarian Bee Hoon, Pizzas and more, to silky Beancurd Puddings, Muffins, and other sweet desserts. Jumble sale items included pre-loved clothes, toys, house-hold items and potted plants grown in the Centre itself.

The Centre’s lobby was a hive of activity as staff and patient “customers” were beck-oned by stall holders while many others were drawn to browse through interesting articles among the Jumble sale racks. The annual affair organised by NSC Recrea-tional Club aimed to raise funds for NSC community outreach projects. It was an enjoyable event for all as staff gave back to society in meaningful ways.

NSC Food and Jumble Sale 2017Ms Madalene Yeo, Corporate Communications Executive

Medical Staff Promotion

New Staff Promotion

New Staff Appointment

Dr Roland Chu Poh Cheong

From Associate Consultant to Consultant with effect from April 2017

Mr Victor Sin Wai Tuck

From Support Services Assistant Manager to Support Services Manager with effect from January 2017

Ms Ong Ling Choo Jaclyn

Human Resource Manager

Continuing Medical Education (CME) EventsDate Title Seminar for Fees

* Early bird rate of $450 applies to registrations made at least one month before the workshop.For enquiries on our seminars and forums, please call the Training Department at Tel: 6350 8476 or Fax: 62533 255. You may also register online at www.nsc.com.sg.

Certificate of Competence: Chemical PeelsNSC Public Forum: Essential Skin Knowledge for You (English & Mandarin)Eczema Support Group ForumNursing Seminar: “Crowning Glory” - Happier YOU!Certificate of Competence : Intense Pulsed LightPharmacy seminar: Dermatology within the Pharmacy - Appropriate use of Topical Steroids and Topical Acne ProductsCertificate of Competence: Dermal fillers

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$450*/$500FreeFree$5$450*/$500$5

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