LEE, Dolly
Medical Services in Singapore,
Accession Number 002574
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 10
Total Reels
- Patricia Lee
Interviewer
- 04:44:15
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
All rights to the recordings and transcripts on this website, including the rights to copy, publish, broadcast and perform, are reserved. Written permission is required for any use. If you have any queries, please contact nas@nlb.gov.sg
Reel/Disc 1 of 10
Metadata
- 30 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:29:32
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Born in 1947, Singapore. Family Background. Reason for joining nursing. Recollections of Monk’s Hill Secondary School. National schoolgirl chess champion in 1964. Description of her hardship during her childhood days. Description of her relationship with her parents. How her mum helped supplement the family’s limited income. How she took an interest in chess. Her first job as a registration clerk at the National Registration Office. Her relationship with her siblings.
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Reel/Disc 2 of 10
Metadata
- 30 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:29:28
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
How the family spent their leisure time visiting relatives. Lessons that she learned from the hardship of life. Impressions of her mother. How she contemplated thoughts of being a nun. Her initiation into Roman Catholicism. Her decision to join nursing in 1967. How her parents used to visit her when she was at School of Nursing.
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Reel/Disc 3 of 10
Metadata
- 30 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:29:05
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Her dislike for the nurses’ uniform and shoes. Meals served at the nurses’ hostel. Visiting hours at the hostel. Description of her job satisfaction. How nursing helped her attend to her mother’s needs.
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Reel/Disc 4 of 10
Metadata
- 30 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:31:35
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Description of the learning environment at School of Nursing. Recollections of her nursing tutors. Changes in the relationship between junior and senior nurses. Recollections of the teaching methods. Challenges she faced while studyingat the School of Nursing. Description of the examination format. Recollections of graduation day. Responsibilities of a staff nurse. A chronology of her hospital postings. Description of her role as a runner in the operating theatre.
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Reel/Disc 5 of 10
Metadata
- 30 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:29:44
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Common ailments among patients in the paediatric ward. Description of her relationship with the patients. Spread of nosocomia infection at the Alexandra Hospital in the 1970s. Development of medical technology and its impact on the nurses' scope of work. Description of the gowning and scrubbing processes at the operating theatre. Desrciption of the neo-natal unit at the Alexandra Hospital.
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Reel/Disc 6 of 10
Metadata
- 30 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:28:48
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Impressions of Alexandra Hospital after the immediate withdrawal of the British. Recollections of setting up the government hospital. Difference between working in neonatal and paediatrics ward. Changing expectations of patients over the years. Description of strange encounters at Alexandra Hospital. How she met her husband at the hospital’s hostel. Description of the community at Alexandra Park. How Alexandra Hospital was a homely hospital for its staff. Her opinion on the need to recruit foreign nurses.
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Reel/Disc 7 of 10
Metadata
- 30 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:29:16
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Reason she prefers managing male patients. Differentiated between characteristics of male and female patients. Distinction of classes in the wards. Recollections of nursing her uncle who eventually died. Depressing to nurse unconscious and dying patients. Her admiration for the “amahs” (Medical Health Servants). Opined that doctors had gift of healing whilst nurses had gift of caring which complement one another. Relationship between senior and junior nurses. Role of a “runner” in the operating theatre. Spoke on the advancement of technology and its advantages in relation to nursing. Importance of adapting to change in the field of nursing. Recalled extensive use of computers to help with her work in the blood bank.
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Reel/Disc 8 of 10
Metadata
- 30 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:28:13
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Opted to work office hours at the Blood Bank to better cope with bringing up her two young children. Recalled being posted to Hepatitis B screening department. Explained on the various kinds of blood donation. Spoke on training received to operate the cell separator machine before nursing the donor. Accompanied a team of nurses and doctor to army camps in a blood transfusion bus to collect blood nationwide. Detailed on the transfusion process and treatment of donors. Cited the Spyros incident when there was a high demand for blood. Reasons for her resignation. Narrated an incident of an overdose of medication. Dangers of drips running dry due to shortage of nurses. Role played by nurses in an abortion process. How she was indoctrinated that life could only be sustained after 28 weeks. Her regrets in later years.
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Reel/Disc 9 of 10
Metadata
- 30 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:30:09
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Types of contraceptives in family planning. An abortion cost only five dollars in the earlier years. Female sterilization was more popular than male sterilization. Joined a private nursing agency upon her resignation in 1986. Description of the types of home nursing. Recollections of nursing her private patients, both the rich and the poor. Satisfaction she derived from attending to their needs. Difference between working in a hospital and home nursing. Terms and conditions working with the nursing agency.
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Reel/Disc 10 of 10
Metadata
- 30 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:18:25
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Reason some families hire private nurses to look after their loved ones in the hospital. Her changing perspective towards abortion. Benefits of stopping work to look after her children. Her advice for women married to an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. Her advice for young and aspiring nurses.
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