Rheumatology Nursing
The Division of Rheumatology provides tertiary outpatient and inpatient care to patients with autoimmune, soft tissue and metabolic bone diseases. It is one of the few centres recognised by Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology as a centre of excellence in rheumatology.
Our aspiration is to achieve disease remission, preserve function and improve quality of life for our patients by providing patient education relating to diagnosis and management (lifestyle, drug therapy) of various common and complex rheumatological conditions.
The division houses several specialised services: Outpatient Infusion Centre, One-stop Arthritis Clinic, Obstetric Rheumatology, Osteoporosis Clinic, Rheumatology Ultrasound Clinic and Allergy Clinic. Nurse-Led immunotherapeutics clinic has also been introduced since 2021.
We are one of the accredited Rheumatology training centres for the senior residency programme. Apart from clinical patient management rheumatologists also perform procedural work including joint injections and ultrasonography. The allergy service is also housed in the division where clinical management of common allergy and procedural tests takes place.
Rheumatology Care Nurse Services
Rheumatology nursing is challenging and exciting. Nurses play an integral role in the Rheumatology team. We have adopted increased responsibility e.g. leading immunotherapeutic medication monitoring clinic and providing monitoring in anti-coagulation therapy for patients with complex rheumatic diseases. Rheumatology nurses participate in disease monitoring, e.g. examining joints for disease through joint count assessment, mobility assessment, and capturing patient-reported outcomes.
Nurses in this speciality support our team of Rheumatologists to:
- Educate and empower patients with knowledge about their disease.
- Work with patient on starting immunosuppressive treatment and following up with safety monitoring in Nurse-led clinic
- Assist patients to learn to live with chronic diseases, provide essential support and counselling, sharing with patient coping strategies to enhance self-management and living more effectively
- Assess and explore patients on plans to start biologic drugs; organise and provide injection training or administer specific injections for e.g. subcutaneous biologics
- Act as a point contact for patients in the rheumatology clinic through a helpline led by nurses.
- Support our inpatient nurses in specialised therapeutic infusions with our developed guidelines.