10 students from IB, Integrated Programme admitted to NUS nursing programme in last 3 years
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Singapore is looking to grow its nursing workforce as it grapples with an ageing population.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – Over the past three years, 10 students from the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme and Integrated Programme (IP) were admitted to the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) nursing degree programme.
Another five students from both courses were admitted to the nursing diploma programmes at Nanyang and Ngee Ann polytechnics.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam said in Parliament on Wednesday that most students had entered the two polytechnics after completing Year 4 of their studies.
“Our institutes of higher learning will assess all applicants for nursing courses holistically, taking into account both academic performance and course fit,” she added.
This comes as Singapore is looking to grow its nursing workforce as it grapples with an ageing population.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in October 2022 that nurses, allied health professionals and support care staff were needed to operate hospitals, clinics and eldercare centres.
IB and IP students who are keen on a nursing career are encouraged to apply for a polytechnic nursing diploma course on the basis of their Year 4 grades, or the NUS nursing degree programme on the basis of their Year 6 grades, said Ms Rahayu.
She was responding to a question posed by Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang) on the number of students from both the IB and IP tracks who were admitted to nursing programmes at the local institutes of higher learning.
According to the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) website, IB students get a pass in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics analysis approaches or physics at the higher level in order to pursue a Bachelor of Science (Nursing) at NUS.
An MOH spokesman said that nursing continues to be a popular career choice among young people, and that intake at institutes of higher learning (IHLs) has grown over time.
“Currently, about 2,100 students enrol in nursing courses in our IHLs each year, equivalent to about one in 25 IHL students opting for nursing courses,” he added.
MOH Holdings and healthcare employers engage students from secondary schools and junior colleges, including those in the IB programme and IP, on career opportunities in nursing and the wider healthcare sector, and encourage promising students to take up healthcare courses at higher levels.
