IMU’s Nursing Faculty members comprise of a group of lecturers who are well-qualified and experienced in various specialties. This month we are honoured to feature our lecturer, Madam Tan Swee Geek. Madam Tan obtained her Masters in Nursing from University of Malaya. She also has Post Basics in Midwifery, Paediatric and Renal Nursing with distinctions. Madam Tan Swee Geek has 38 years of working experience in Ministry of Health, Malaysia. Her last position was as Matron in General Hospital Kuala Lumpur. With her passion of educating more millennials, she joined as a Nursing Educator three years ago. During her service, Madam Tan Swee Geek had a good track record of 16 years with notable achievements as an excellent Nurse Manager (Sister) / Nurse Administrator (Matron) at busy healthcare settings. She has extensive experience and trained as Lean Health Care Champion. She collaborated with the Lean Health Care team, Hospital Kuala Lumpur in achieving innovations such as Bed Management, Specimen Labels System and Outpatient Appointment System in medical wards. Other than teaching, she is also involved in research supervision of undergraduate students and presented papers at National and international levels. Her most recent international exposure was a poster paper presentation in British Medical Journal (BMJ) Conference at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on August 2017. Nursing profession was always Madam Tan’s choice. Her passion grew deeper because her nursing journey has taken her through a few unforgettable moments.
“It is a blessing in disguise indeed. The experience I gathered has not only benefited me in my career, but for my family as well. It made me a stronger person to cope with the demand as a professional nurse, a mother, a wife and a daughter until today.”
In the earlier days in nursing advancement, the first step was to complete the Midwifery Post Basic Course. This course not only enhanced her knowledge in obstetrics nursing, it also contributed to care of female patients in terms of women’s health and management of a hospital system. It was a real advantage for her during her tenure as Sister and Matron where she could manage the nursing management in the hospital holistically. Paediatric nursing was her passion as she worked in the Paediatric Institute for 13 years until she received her promotion and posted to Ampang Hospital. During her service in the Paediatric Institute, she was blessed to work in the Paediatric Nephrology ward where she was hand-picked by the Paediatric Nephrologist to pursue her second post basic in Nephrology Nursing. 
Two years later, together with two other colleagues, she started the first Paediatric CAPD and Haemodialysis unit in Malaysia headed by Dr Lim Yam Ngo who was the Head of Paediatric Nephrology Unit in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. During her service in Paediatric Nephrology, she conducted countless haemodialysis service for neonates to children in Hospital Kuala Lumpur as well as Paediatric patients with post Heart surgery acute renal failure in National Heart Centre. She championed training nurses in peritoneal dialysis, haemodialysis and transplantation in the Paediatric Institute. There were numerous success stories of end stage renal failure patients who successfully went through cadaveric and living donor transplant and are still thriving to adulthood during her service. During her tenure, she was awarded Excellent Service Award several times when she was a staff nurse, once as a sister and twice as a matron. Madam Tan sees millennials as Nursing’s future. “It is very interesting to be with the millennials. It is challenging and I do take it as another milestone for nursing in this new era. There is no doubt that we need to upgrade our standards and have better qualifications to be at par with international entities. However, compassion and passion for caring should not be compromised.” By holding to her principle of “Do the right thing and never regret”, apart from her busy schedule as a lecturer and supervisor, Madam Tan remains active in IMU Cares community service in TiRatana Welfare Home. We applaud her for her determination to strive for excellence
Interviewed by Yee Bit Lian Edited by Dr Lim Swee Geok
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