2018; Volume 19, No 4, April
IAHPC Membership Matters
Stories about how your membership can make a world of difference.
Teresa Ng Ruey Pyng, an Assistant Director of Nursing at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), Singapore, has been named winner of the IAHPC Lifetime Member Award. Ms. Ng, who joined the IAHPC in 2012, will receive a $2,000 USD Traveling Scholarship, designed to provide support to palliative care workers to attend a congress, conference, seminar, or other educational activity.
Lifetime Membership Award Winner Appreciates IAHPC’s ‘Vast Resources’
I am a registered nurse specializing in oncology, and have been working at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, since 2004. Having to care for patients with cancer naturally led me to develop an interest in palliative care. It was also timely when I was appointed a committee member of the hospital’s Bereavement Support Committee, where I played a role in developing the policy and procedure documents as well as workflows for implementation. That really sparked my interest in palliative care, and I wanted to learn more!
The IAHPC, with its vast resources on evidence-based articles, has personally benefited me. It has enabled me to stay abreast with updated, evidence-based educational information; it also serves as a useful platform to stay engaged with a network of like-minded health care professionals who are passionate about palliative care.
Currently, I am with the KK Breast Department, caring for patients with breast cancer and metastatic diseases from diagnosis to supportive and palliative care. I am actively involved in the nursing care and the management of these patients. In addition to the clinical development of nursing staff in breast care, I am also involved in nursing research and nursing clinical trials in the department.
Apart from my clinical and research duties, I conduct the Women Oncology Nursing Course, which comprises gynecology and breast oncology modules. This is to ensure that the nurses are competent to render first level treatment to their patients in their respective specialties.
As the key coordinator for the KK Alpine Blossoms Breast Cancer Support Group, I conduct the ‘Blossom Buddy Workshop’ regularly. Buddies, who are breast cancer survivors and volunteers, attend a two-half-day training program and then can be assigned to a newly diagnosed breast cancer patient. With active interaction, engagement, and by sharing their own experiences, buddies support the new patient in coping with her personal diagnosis on the road of recovery.
On a personal note, my husband is a lecturer at a Polytechnic in Singapore, and we have a son who is a second year medical student at the National University of Singapore.
I am not yet sure which event I will attend, thanks to the Traveling Scholarship, but the 23rd Hospice New Zealand Palliative Care Conference in September New Zealand looks interesting. It focuses on innovative clinical developments, best practices, education, and research. Importantly, it will also provide a wonderful opportunity to hear from top international and New Zealand-based speakers to widen my knowledge.
How do you become eligible? The Lifetime Membership Award is awarded randomly to one IAHPC member each year. You are eligible if you join the IAHPC, and keep renewing! Our members have let us know that signing up has benefitted them in myriad ways. Join now to see for yourself!
Annual Institutional Award Winner To Be Chosen in May
This is the second year that the IAHPC will bestow the Annual Institutions Award, which donates $2,000 USD to an institution that has joined as a lifetime member. The winner is randomly selected.
Last year, the recipient was HOSPICE Casa Sperantei, which reported that, ‘[The award] enabled us to nominate one of our team members...to participate in the remarkable World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care held in Madrid in 2017.’
The recipient for 2018 will be determined in May, and announced in the June newsletter. The institution determines who in their group can use the traveling scholarship.
Our members are a crucial part of our ‘global hospice family.’ Please take full advantage of the benefits membership offers by visiting the membership section of our website. And to those who are not yet members, please consider joining!
New and Renewing Members' List
Read the list of individuals who joined/renewed their membership with IAHPC during the past month.
Membership renewals
| Name | Country |
|---|---|
| Claudia Burla | Brazil |
| Juliano Ferreira Arcuri | Brazil |
| Dinesh Goswami | India |
| Deepa Muthaiya | India |
| Priti Sanghavi | India |
| Aanchal Satija | India |
| Amanpreet Kaur | India |
| Dingle Spence | Jamaica |
| Stella Kathambi | Kenya |
| Rex Robert Chinzu | Malawi |
| Robert Chen | Malaysia |
| Bishnu Maya Adhikari Sapkota | Nepal |
| Olaitan Soyammwo | Nigeria |
| Olanrewaju Onigbogi | Nigeria |
| Luis Hurtado | Peru |
| Djhoanna G. Aguirre-Pedro | Philippines |
| Associacao Portuguesa De Cuidados Paliativos | Portugal |
| Christian Ntizimira | Rwanda |
| Sorin Buga | USA |
New members
| Name | Country |
|---|---|
| Maria Cuervo | Colombia |
| Bruna Moreira de Souza Proenca | Brazil |
| Kenfack Jiofack Fulbert | Cameroon |
| Savita Butola | India |
| Rana Obeidat | Jordan |
| Tayreez Mushani | Kenya |
| Jane Ndungu | Kenya |
| Rose Ngene | Kenya |
| Festus Mwendia | Kenya |
| Josphat Gitonga | Kenya |
| James Odero | Kenya |
| Mildred Navalayo Munyasia | Kenya |
| Lydia Githinji | Kenya |
| Lucy Kinuthia | Kenya |
| Anastasia Ndiritu | Kenya |
| Ndi Moyo Palliative Care Trust | Malawi |
| NSABIMANA Theoneste | Rwanda |
| The George Washington University's Institute for Spirituality and Health (GWish) | USA |
| Jennifer Ellis | USA |
| Denise Stahl | USA |
See the full list of IAHPC members