What is it like to be saddled in debt before your work even begins? How would you feel if your employer refused to let you quit your job? What if they even confiscated your phone and passport against your will?
Today, over 1 million low-wage migrant workers are employed in various sectors in Singapore. Foreign domestic workers (FDWs) occupy a unique niche in this system, living in with their employers and looking after the basic needs of Singaporean families. However, they are increasingly recognised to be a vulnerable group, navigating a system and society which may create challenges in defending their rights and welfare.
Join Jaya, a Research and Advocacy Manager from the Humanitarian Organisation for Migrant Economics (HOME), as she explores the unique interface that FDWs straddle in society, and shares what we can do to create a more empathetic and caring society for our FDWs.
Importantly, she also provides insight into the unseen healthcare needs of FDWs, and what healthcare professionals can do to create a truly safe space for those in danger of abuse.
To find out more about HOME, visit
Official Website: https://www.home.org.sg/
Instagram: @home.migrants.sg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.migrants.sg/
0.26 - What is HOME?
1.48 - Key issues FDWs face
4.57 - Saddled in debt bfore even starting work
7.08 - Neither foreign, nor truly domestic
9.08 - Analysing new measures to protect FDWs
13.14 - The heinous abuse of FDWs
16.12 - How can healthcare professionals truly create a safe space for FDWs?
20.18 - What are the healthcare needs of FDWs?
25.42 - The future for FDWs in Singapore
26.23 - What keeps Jaya going
27.22 - find out more about HOME
In this episode, we explore Dr. Ben Kuan’s journey—from his early days as a medical volunteer to becoming a key advocate for low-wage migrant workers' healthcare. As a family physician, CEO, and passionate public health champion, Dr. Ben Kuan shares his insights on leading through crises, and the future of sustainable healthcare for vulnerable communities. What is Third Spacing? By healthcare students/workers, across disciplines and schools, we speak to clinicians, academics, and members of civil society who expand what we think about care delivery. Why we create podcasts? Scaling honest conversations for change, centring human experiences, starting with healthcare. Email us at thirdspacingpodcast@gmail.comFollow our Instagram @thirdspacing
On 26 May 2012, Dr Kumaran Rasappan became the first Singaporean physician to summit Mount Everest. What comes next? In this episode, we continue exploring Dr Kumaran’s insights into medical care in Singapore and abroad, how his love for mountaineering brought him to provide care for the communities in Nepal, and the recent launch of his book No Mountain Too High.
00:00: Finding Balance in Life
03:11: Perils of Mountaineering
06:36: Empathizing with Patients
08:30: Volunteering Overseas
13:21: Setting up Project Aasha
19:31: No Mountain Too High
24:13: What’s next?
On 26 May 2012, Dr Kumaran Rasappan became the first Singaporean physician to summit Mount Everest. The culmination of years of planning, preparation, uncertainty brought him to the top of the world – physically and metaphorically. What comes next?
In this episode, we catch up with Dr Kumaran on how life at normal altitude has been like after reaching the highest peak in the world. He shares with us how he came to climb Everest, his perspective on success and failure, and how his interest in mountaineering enriches his vocation in medicine.
00:00: Introduction
01:34: Getting into Mountaineering
8:47: Climbing Everest
14:03: Struggles and Supports
16:14: What is success?
18:50: After Everest
The Philippines is one of the world’s largest exporters of migrant labour, with a significant number of its citizens employed in healthcare as nurses. Asst Professor Yasmin Ortiga from the Singapore Management University is a sociologist who aims to answer why and what impact this has.
Taking a historical view, Asst Professor Ortiga traces this phenomenon back to the Philippine's US colonial past when nursing was established as a key profession. Over time, the national government used the export of labour as an economic development strategy. Yet, this has led to a troubling brain drain and a weakened healthcare infrastructure.
Asst Professor Ortiga’s work centres human experiences in this large scale phenomenon, beyond just the measurable outcomes. Solutions hence must extend beyond financial incentives, and instead undertake a humane approach to labour migration, addressing the broader needs of healthcare workers.
Timestamps:
1.35 Historical context behind the migration of Filipino nurses
3.21 Healthcare in the Philippines
5.00 How the pandemic affected the Philippines healthcare system
6.55 Individual perspective on the migration of Filipino nurses
11.02 Systemic perspective on the migration of Filipino nurses
12.58 Perception of Filipino nurses by Singaporeans
14.55 Filipino nurses vs domestic workers
17.35 Expectations of migrant Filipino healthcare workers
24.32 Filipino nurses who stay in the Philippines
26.50 Filipino nurses who leave Singapore to other countries
28.20 How Singapore retains its Filipino nurses and what we can do better
31.38 Impact on families in the Philippines due to migration
33.55 Yasmin and Joson’s personal experiences
37.48 What we don’t know about Filipino migrants
38.58 Parallels between Filipino migrants and Singaporean migrants
40.53 Balancing individual and systemic concerns of migration in healthcare
Victoria Wondersnatch is a drag queen who is also a clinician-scientist. In this episode, we discuss her journey in combining these two paths. In our episode, Wondersnatch shared how their journey started with watching YouTube make-up tutorials, performing in modest gatherings, and now starring in and writing regularly sold out larger-than-life spectacles with Drag Qabaret.
Now, Wondersnatch also runs her own YouTube channel where she integrates her research in dermatology and hair biology into their make-up tutorials. Makeup and hair products are used to radically transform and craft a drag queen’s appearance. ‘‘The way that you wear your hair, the way that you react when you start to lose your hair is hugely affected by the way society has told us what our hair means to us’. Wondersnatch can combine this experience with her scientific knowledge to expertly discuss gender-affirming dermatology and evidence-based approaches to skincare that center patient’s experiences
Drag Qabaret is more than a platform of self-expression, but Wondersnatch also uses this platform to support charitable causes. In their interview, Wondersnatch shares that Qabaret raised at least $100,000 of funds from their performances, and amongst other causes have been used to support filmmakers to produce films about stigma and discrimination among people who are living with HIV.
Join us as we delve into the world of Victoria Wondersnatch, where drag meets science, and every performance is a celebration of diversity and empowerment.
0:55 How did you get started doing drag?
01:35 How has the drag scene evolved over time?
02:59 Plans going forward with drag
03:55 Being a dermatologist and clinician scientist
05:32 How being in the field affects the way Victoria does drag
06:57 Using drag for advocacy
09:01 How can we push more for advocacy in the medical workspace and outside of work
11:47 Using hair as a role in gender affirming dermatology
15:47 How being in dermatology has affected the way Victoria does drag
18:00 Parting words
Dr. Tsoi Wing Foo is a renowned psychiatrist with over 60 years of experience in the field. He dedicated his career to the care of transgender people and is one of the pioneers in transgender psychiatry in Singapore. Dr. Tsoi also authored the book "Cries from Within," which explores the challenges faced by transgender people in Singapore and the available treatment options. In this episode, Dr. Tsoi discusses the challenges faced by transgender individuals, the evolution of treatment approaches, and the resistance from the medical community. Dr. Tsoi emphasizes the importance of providing proper care and support for transgender patients, including hormone therapy and gender change surgery. He also highlights the need for a shift in societal attitudes towards transgender individuals.
00:25 Introduction
01:02 Inspiration to dedicate life’s work in transgender care/psychiatry
02:02 Definition of gender dysphoria and what it means to have it
03:28 Experience of taking care of trans patients back in the 70s/80s, process of how it used to be to diagnose them
08:56 Comparison of the medical community’s view of LGBTQ community then and now
09:42 Dealing with rejection of medical community’s view of trans care
10:22 Views on the terms ‘transsexual’ and ‘transgender’, and shift in view of gender dysphoria from a sexual disorder to a gender identity disorder
12:02 Discussion on the shift of view in MTF ppl
12:41 Trans people visiting the clinic with a plan in mind
13:30 Next focal point for medical industry to focus in trans care
14:29 Is it important to being personally involved with transgendered people
16:57 Advice for medical students who want to pursue in trans care
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the interview are his own and do not reflect the views of his employer.
Dr Gerald Sng shares his perspective as a researcher of junior doctor burnout.
In our first ever video episode, Dr Sng discusses the factors contributing to high rates of burnout among junior doctors, and explores what can be done to address it. He draws insight from his research into residents and medical students in Singapore, informed by his own experiences navigating the healthcare system. Dr Sng also draws a connection between empathy and burnout, and shares how they might be two sides of the same coin.
00:07 Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:38 Dr. Sng's Journey into Burnout Research
02:15 The Connection Between Burnout and Empathy
03:33 Trends in Burnout and Its Causes
04:20 Understanding the Concept of Burnout
05:11 Pillar 1: Emotional Exhaustion
06:30 Pillar 2: Depersonalisation
07:36 Pillar 3: Personal Achievement
09:10 Burnout as a Symptom of a Larger Problem
12:39 Addressing Burnout: Systemic Changes and Individual Strategies
15:02 Shifting mindsets from individual to institutional responsibility
16:58 The modern struggles of junior doctors
19:20 What needs to change in our healthcare system?
24:10 Are you optimistic about the future for junior doctors?
27:31 The Future of Burnout Research and Advocacy
31:18 Conclusion and Farewell
[00:00:42] Hazirah’s public health background
[00:04:31] The problem with opportunistic testing
[00:09:34] The priority on efficiency in our systems and how we can make change from within these systems
[00:00:35] Introduction to Hazirah and Overview of her research on Malay issues
[00:06:13] Thoughts on public health campaigns and how their framing could influence health outcomes
[00:12:08] Why is race being seen in isolation problematic in healthcare?
[00:18:51] How can we be more culturally competent?
[00:28:27] How should healthcare workers and doctors approach the topic of race?
[00:35:41] How should we think about the reasons why people may or may not have health-seeking behaviour
[00:41:03] Final thoughts
In this episode, we interview Prof Roger Foo, a practicing cardiologist who is also the Director of the NUSmed and NUHS Cardiovascular Disease Translation Research programmes, and head of the NUHS Clinician Scientist Academy. We talk about his path to becoming a clinician scientist, how his interest in cardiology developed, exciting insights into cardiovascular research and tips for students to engage in research.
