Pauline Ang helps those with foot problems to stand firmly on the ground.

She talks elderly folks into putting on their shoes while they talk to her about their troubles.

Podiatrist Pauline Ang, 24, takes care of her patients' feet at Alexandra Hospital's Diabetes Centre. She cleans her patients' wounds, makes moulds of their feet for insoles and teaches patients about foot care. She often lends them a listening ear as well.

"Some of the patients are quite poor. They will tell you their problems and stories of their lives. You learn to listen and to be more sympathetic. And the most challenging part of the job is convincing patients, especially the elderly, to change their habits. They have mindsets and some refuse to put on shoes because they think that the weather is too hot. They will wear slippers everywhere, even when they go out," she said.

It is part of her job to make her patients, most of whom are diabetics who are losing sensation in their feet, understand that they can help reduce the risk of injury and infection by wearing shoes. Sometimes, they do not even realize that they have wounded their feet, until it is too late and infection has taken over. Some cases result in amputation.

"Singlish also helps. I like the interaction with patients. This job is for people who like people. It's not for getting rich!" she declared.

Her other patients include army recruits and children with flat feet and other problems.

Apart from seeing about 14 walk-in patients a day at the Diabetes Centre, she also sees patients in the hospital's wards and gives talks to doctors, nurses and patients.

Pauline studied podiatry at the University of Salford in the United Kingdom. "After my A-levels, I asked myself what I was going to do and decided that it was either microbiology or this. Podiatry is not very well-known in Singapore. I decided to go into it because I wanted to do something new, to be something of a local pioneer," she explained.
She estimates that there are only about 15 podiatrists in Singapore. "Podiatry is recession-proof! It is a professional skill and you are guaranteed a job," she said.