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From physiotherapist to SP trainer and now educator

For Ms Abegail—or Abie—Fernandez, 2024 suddenly holds a lot more potential because on 8 December 2023, the 15-year Duke-NUS veteran from the Office of Education hit a major milestone in her career: She passed the Society for Simulation in Healthcare’s Certified Simulation Healthcare Educator exam—making her a certified healthcare simulation educator. Having joined Duke-NUS as a trainer for simulated patients, or SPs, Ms Fernandez has gone through many professional transformations, culminating in her becoming a full-fledged educator.

Looking back, the manager with the Technology-Enhanced Learning and Innovation Department, observed: “Did I imagine this journey? Not in my wildest dreams.”

Together with Mr Calvin Tan, she helped train the simulated patients who would bring medical knowledge and theory to life for the School’s very first students.

“At that time, nothing was set in stone,” recalled Ms Fernandez. “It was a real journey seeing how the first batch went through their training, and then setting things more permanently.”

And just as the curriculum was firming up, Ms Fernandez’s ties to her new home were also growing stronger. Not long after moving here, she met her then husband-to-be during a Christmas gathering.

“I prepared this Filipino-style pineapple-glazed ham,” said Ms Fernandez, who inherited a passion for cooking and baking from her grandma. “He just loved the food I cooked. So he kept coming back.

“Even when no one had invited him,” she chuckled.

In the end, his persistence won her over. They married and have two daughters, now aged 10 and 12.

When asked what the secret to a happy marriage is, Ms Fernandez said: “We complement each other, and we respect each other’s differences. But it is respecting each other that is the secret to a happy marriage. Love alone won’t cut it.”

 
Unexpected opportunities

It was after her first maternity leave that Ms Fernandez’s role took on a new focus: Mr Wilson Xin, a freelance actor, had joined the team to cover her. When she came back, the two worked alongside each other, but Ms Fernandez also took on the responsibilities of course administrator for the year two practice course on professionalism and ethics. Moving to where she was needed, she transitioned out of SP training to focus on course administration.

“I stayed doing that plus some immersive simulations,” said Ms Fernandez.

As with everything, she approached her roles with full commitment. “Hardworking, passionate, dedicated” are the three attributes Ms Karen Gavia, who’s a senior executive with the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Programme and has known Ms Fernandez since 2010, picked to describe her friend. “And she always delivers the best quality work,” Ms Gavia added.

These attributes are not just Ms Fernandez’s professional values but reflect who she is. Ms Gavia said: “She always dresses in her best outfit and makes sure she is presentable to others. So we call her kikay, which is Tagalog for being interested in beauty and fashion. But above all, she’s a loving and caring friend.”

And Ms Fernandez takes joy from this: “I like treating my friends and hosting them for good food and a bottle of wine in my ‘little’ home.”

 
Learning to teach

It was when Ms Kirsty Freeman joined just before the COVID pandemic hit that Ms Fernandez’s career trajectory got another big nudge.

“Kirsty encouraged me to take on immersive simulations. It was a big challenge because I didn’t have that much of a background in the area but she saw something. And I will always take on a challenge and go the extra mile,” said Ms Fernandez. “So, she trained me, held my hand and I learned how to grow into an educator.”

It was a busy time. They had to continually reconfigure their simulations to adhere to changing safe management measures. And at the same time, Ms Fernandez embarked on a steep learning curve, attending courses, classes and conferences to master the art of teaching through simulations.

“I worked super close with Kirsty,” she said. They even authored a research paper together that described how to conduct COVID-safe simulations.

She also enrolled in the Technology-Enhanced Learning for Health Professional Education certificate offered by Duke-NUS. This complemented the knowledge she had acquired on-the-job with learning theory and the necessary vocabulary. It also deepened her understanding of how to be an effective educator.

“As an educator, I need to understand who my learners are, why they want to learn, what their need is and where they are at, at that moment,” said Ms Fernandez.

Since completing the course—and with Ms Freeman’s decision to move back to Australia in 2023— Ms Fernandez has put her experience, knowledge and qualifications to good use.

“I’m now teaching the simulation module of the certificate that Kirsty used to run,” she said.

Ms Fernandez observing fourth-year medical student working through a hybrid simulation // Credit: Duke-NUS Medical School

 
Breaking barriers

But her journey to becoming an educator was not always all plain sailing: “The journey was not always straightforward. The challenge up until now is making your colleagues recognise that you are an educator. That’s the biggest challenge. For people to recognise that you have evolved.”

Her reporting manager, Professor Fernando Bello who has had a ringside seat, said: “Abie has certainly evolved on the last three years, contributing to the rapid expansion of our immersive simulation activities, particularly over the last twelve months as she has taken on more of a leadership role.”

“She is an important member of the team with her attention to detail, a wide range of skills and expertise in simulation-based education,” added Prof Bello.

With well-respected credentials in hand and her trademark can-do attitude, Ms Fernandez is optimistic: “As the new year starts and with the CHSE mark across my name, I hope to be fully recognised as an educator. I look forward to leading and bringing the simulation-based education programme in the School to greater heights while working hand-in-hand with our clinical experts.”

And then there’s the medical students whom she continues to teach through the immersive simulation programme that spans all four years of the MD programme. When asked to pick her favourite simulation scenario, she said: “My favourite simulations are hybrid simulations. This type of simulation combines SPs and part task trainers to create scenarios with a higher fidelity of simulation and are organic examples of what our students will experience in real healthcare settings. These simulations challenge students to communicate with the patient, address their concerns and emotions, as well as perform the task necessary to provide treatment. In this way, we replicate a holistic approach to patient-centred care.”

And it is these scenarios where the translation of knowledge learnt really happens.

“I always ask my students after the simulation, what would you do differently if you got the chance to do it again?” she said. “Because a lot of times the students don’t realise what they are doing. They think they are doing the right thing. But when the patient gives feedback that they are not paying attention or are more task focused than patient centred, they are taken aback. And that is when the learning behind the books begins.”

And when she sees them grow from first years into fourth years and later into colleagues who teach alongside her, that’s the real payoff for Ms Fernandez.

“It puts more oil into my fire,” she laughed. “There is a huge change and I am part of it. It is a very good feeling to be fulfilled with what I do.”