Hadassah Joann Ramachandran
Nationality:
Singapore
Faculty and Department:
Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies
Year of Study:
2
Undergraduate University:
National University of Singapore
Why did you choose to do a PhD?
I believe I am at that stage in my career where I am ready to contribute new understandings to the collective knowledge base in the field of cardiovascular disease. Pursuing my PhD will allow me to ascertain innovative and best care approaches that are grounded in research and evidence to improve both patient and health services outcomes.
Why did you choose to do graduate education at NUS? If you received offers from other universities, why did you pick NUS?
The Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies under the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at NUS is my Alma Mater – I completed my undergraduate studies here with very wonderful life skills. There is no other University I trust better with my PhD journey than NUS.
How does graduate school compare to your undergraduate experience?
PhD Education is definitely a more independent journey than undergraduate learning. There is more freedom to decide how your learning takes place.
Briefly share about your research or thesis (i.e. dissertation topic for Masters by Coursework students).
My research is on cardiac rehabilitation program design and delivery to inform public policies on the adoption of digital health systems to bridge the gap between hospital settings and the community. My clinical experience working as a nurse in a Cardio-Thoracic Intensive Care Unit propelled me to understand the current gaps in secondary prevention of coronary heart disease that my patients encountered after hospital discharge. Amidst the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic, equipping individuals to self-manage their chronic conditions and operationally supporting hospitals with digital communication infrastructures, the long-term costs on patients and burdens on healthcare resources and manpower can be reduced.
What impact do you hope to have with your research?
If found effective, the I-CREST system could potentially revolutionize the landscape of secondary prevention serve as a practical alternative to traditional outpatient cardiac rehabilitation services to mitigate the demand for in-person services in Singapore, especially as we navigate the COVID-19 era and beyond. Results from both the trial, cost-effective analysis and process evaluation can offer decision-makers an in-depth understanding of how to best blend traditional services provided by healthcare professionals with technology-enabled self-care platforms to continue the provision of patient-centered care. With healthcare settings operationally ready to support patients with coronary heart disease to self-regulate their lifestyle behavior and manager their condition in their homes and communities, the potential benefits of significant economic cost-savings through improved productivity and health outcomes can be realized.
If you have won any academic prize/competition or been invited to speak at an international conference—share what it is, its significance, and how you worked towards achieving it.
I am an invited speaker to the Singapore Prevention and Cardiac Rehabilitation Symposium (SPCRS) 2021 held in Singapore from 23rd and 24th October 2021 and conducted as a digital forum. This year’s conference theme is “Cardiac Rehabilitation Emerging from Covid-19” and will feature a series of prominent international and national speakers. I will be sharing my findings on a recent systematic review and meta-analysis that I published to compare home-based cardiac tele-rehabilitation as an alternative to centre-based cardiac rehabilitation programs in patients with coronary heart disease.
Share something fun from your graduate journey at NUS.
A fun and memorable experience from my graduate journey at NUS so far was being a host and moderator for the NUS Nursing 2021 eOpen House Webinar: Ask a Nurse. Being an alumni myself, it was an immense opportunity to reconnect with my seniors during the webinar to collectively share our experiences of the local healthcare system, how we envision nursing has adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic and our hopes for nursing beyond this pandemic. Being able to have discussions with prospective students and their parents was indeed a fulfilling and memorable experience.
Briefly share a highlight from your graduate school journey.
Reaching an ‘Eureka’ moment in my PhD intervention development was definitely one of the highlights I will never forget in my graduate school journey.
Do you have any interesting personal stories to share? For example, about your journey to get into graduate school, personal hobbies/interests.
I used to train and compete in Kettlebell (Girevoy) Sport – an old Russian sport – that involves repetitive weight lifting over 10 minutes without putting the weight down. The sport requires physical endurance, strength and pacing to complete the 10-minute set with as many repetitions of the lift as possible. Similar to Kettlebell Sport, Graduate Learning requires the strength to endure tough moments, the mental tenacity to talk down our inner critic, and the steady momentum to finish our thesis. Just like Kettlebell Sport, Graduate studies is a marathon, not a sprint.
What message would you like to give to students interested in graduate studies in NUS?
“PhD at NUS – Come for the education, stay for the learning, leave with a multitude of knowledge!”
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. – Albert Schweitzer”