SINGAPORE – Uzer Danial Sukari’s fascination with architecture began in secondary school and he was thrilled to secure a spot in Singapore Polytechnic’s diploma programme in 2014.
Architecture was the natural choice for him then, as it combined his interests in the arts, drawing and mathematics.
But after he graduated with a diploma in 2017, a national service deployment in Thailand as a public health assistant piqued his interest in healthcare.
“I realised that I enjoy helping people and found it very fulfilling,” says Danial, now 29. His responsibilities in Thailand then included triaging patients and helping to manage appointments.
Returning to Singapore in July 2019 after his posting, he began seriously considering a shift in his career path. “I saw that the skills and knowledge that I used to help soldiers were very relevant to nursing,” says Danial, an only child.
He discussed the idea with his mother, Rohaida Ishak, 57, an assistant nurse clinician. She says: “I was quite happy and encouraged him because nursing has good prospects.”
With her encouragement, Danial enrolled in a private nursing diploma course, following in the footsteps of his mother, uncle and grandfather.
After he waited a year for the course to start in 2020, the programme was cancelled just before classes began as the pandemic worsened.
Pivoting again, he applied for a nursing diploma course at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), which meant waiting another year for the next intake in 2021. “I was really upset because that was one year gone and I had to wait another year,” Danial recalls.
Determined to make the most of the interim period, he worked at the Institute of Mental Health for over a year, helping with patient and visitor health screening and triaging.
“I wanted to contribute to the pandemic response because nurses like my mother were working tirelessly,” he says.
He was assigned to a swabbing centre, working night shifts to triage incoming psychiatric inpatients. “It was an eye-opening experience. Even before starting nursing school, I was exposed to the work involved,” he says.
Finding passion and purpose
Danial describes his time at NYP as an enriching journey of personal and professional growth.
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