From parliament to hospital: Ong Ye Kung tries being a pharmacist for a day

Imagine walking to the pharmacy to collect your medicine and seeing a government minister behind the counter. 

That's what some patients experienced after Health Minister Ong Ye Kung took over the reins of the pharmacy at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for a day. 

In a TikTok video uploaded on Friday (Sept 22), Ong shared how he had tried his hands at switching careers for World Pharmacists Day, which falls on Sept 25. 

At the start of the 54-second video, a patient expressed his shock after Ong handed him his medication. 

"Eh, sir!" the surprised man said in response. 

@ongyekung 🥼💊 Stepped behind the #pharmacy counter and into the shoes of a #pharmacist ♬ original sound - Ye Kung Ong

In the following clips, Ong was guided by SGH Senior Clinical Pharmacist Vivian Tan as he spent his day going about his duties. 

One of his tasks included checking patient's allergies, medical history and appropriateness of the prescribed medicines. 

He also tried his hand at packing various medications by manually measuring out capsules. 

Apart from getting the right medicine to the right patient, a pharmacist's duty involves checking if the medication is not expired in the first place, which Ong diligently did. 

"In many of our pharmacies, all this [medicine] picking is automated. But here, I'm trying to experience being a pharmacist, so I'm doing it manually," he said while he took down a yellow container full of pills. 

That isn't all — a pharmacist has to properly instruct a patient on how to consume their medicine, so Ong counselled patients on their medication usage. 

After walking a day in their shoes, Ong emphasised how alongside doctors and nurses, a pharmacist's role is crucial. 

"A pharmacist's job is a really important part of an entire hospital's operation," he said. 

"In fact, [their] job goes well beyond this dispensary."

Vivian chimed in to add pharmacists do more than just handle medicine. 

"So we do other kinds of things such as working in multidisciplinary teams in managing our patients holistically and comprehensively," she elaborated. 

In the comments, several netizens praised Ong for trying to other understand what it's like to work someone else's job. 

Some also looked forward to Ong tackling another profession, and even provided some suggestions. 

ALSO READ: Bottoms up? The drink Ong Ye Kung chugged at Sembawang kopitiam isn't beer

melissateo@asiaone.com 

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