When 18-year-old Wong Su Ren graduated from the National Junior College in 2000, she was at the crossroads.

She was undecided about her future career options until an unusual job description in a pamphlet caught her attention – occupational therapy.

An occupational therapist helps patients to improve their ability to perform daily tasks and make mental and physical adjustments to adapt to the disruptions in their lifestyle.

For Su Ren, that sounded like the perfect career choice.

“I was interested in the human anatomy, and at the same time, intrigued by human behaviour and psychology as well. I thought it’d be a great combination.”

Su Ren went on to apply for the Ministry of Health’s Health Science Scholarship. It was one of the few scholarships that allowed scholars to pursue careers as occupational therapists.

In 2002, the National Healthcare Group (NHG) Health Sciences Scholarship was launched to offer scholars more options. It allows scholars to choose from disciplines such as occupational therapy, nursing, diagnostic radiography, radiation therapy and physiotherapy.

Su Ren went on to apply for the Ministry of Health’s Health Sciences Scholarship which allowed her to pursue a full time degree in Occupational Therapy overseas.

The National Healthcare Group (NHG) Health Sciences Scholarship was launched in 2002, allowing scholars to undergo a three-year programme disciplines such as occupational therapy, nursing, diagnostic radiography, radiation therapy and physiotherapy at Nanyang Polytechnic followed by a one year stint at a recognised overseas university.

Su Ren pursued her degree in occupational therapy at the University of Queensland in Australia, from which she graduated last year with first class honours.

“It was a real eye-opener and really fun as well,” she said of her overseas experience. It was not all work and no play for Su Ren. In her second year, she managed to visit other Australian cities, including Tasmania, Sydney and Cairns.

“It was the best experience ever. My scholarship enabled me to learn more about a subject I am interested in; and I enjoyed the journey that I took in terms of growing as a person.”

For Su Ren, these were just some of the perks offered by her scholarship. But, her biggest reward was to see her patients recover and perform well in life.

And this was evident from the way she enthused about the children in her ward.

Currently an occupational therapist at the National University Hospital, which is part of NHG, Su Ren specialises in children, as well as hand injuries.

"Children are interesting. You learn a lot from them because they’re not as set in their ways as we are,” she said animatedly.

“I think the main challenge of my job is that it’s not just about treating a specific illness, but seeing the child as a whole.”

This means that in addition to helping a child develop physically, Su Ren also helps them to address behavioural or emotional problems on a long-term basis.

“The more challenging children are the ones with more complicated backgrounds. It’s rewarding when you see them make even just one change in their development, because some of them have plateaued for a long time.”

She gave an example of a girl who was told that she was more suited to a special school: “She called me recently to say ‘Hey, I passed my PSLE!’ I was really, really happy, because we’d tried really hard and she was so determined.”

With such rewarding moments, it’s easy to see where Su Ren’s zest for occupational therapy comes from.

“Working with people has different challenges from working with things,” she summed up. “If you enjoy what you do and the kids realise that, they can enjoy what they do even if it may be difficult, and that brings a lot of satisfaction.”