When nurse Yok-Chin ‘Chin’ Lim applied for a job, she couldn’t image the woman who hired her would be by her side until retirement.
Chin was first interviewed by Noeline Rozanc in 1988, who became her first Nurse Unit Manager (NUM).
As a coincidence, the pair would be together at the end of Chin’s career, nearly four decades later.
When Noeline hired Chin to work at Westmead, the pair both sported perms, the uniforms had hats, and it was the norm to be referred to as ‘Miss Lim’ or ‘Miss Rozanc’.
The women first worked together in the vascular ward, and their careers would cross paths in various wards of the hospital, from high-dependency surgical to endocrine to radiation oncology.
“Noeline is like a boomerang, she’s like a forever NUM for me,” Chin said.
Over those years the women were a part of each other’s personal milestones, with Noeline was present at Chin’s naturalisation ceremony when she became Australian in 2002.
Chin recalled the international lunches the staff would have every few months.
She would make dry noodles, which became a household staple for many of the nursing staff as recipes and culture was shared.
“My eldest child would always refer to the Singapore noodle dishes as Chin noodles,” Noeline said.
Celebrating culture has always been a strong part of staff bonding and a way to share pieces of home.
Chin is retiring to spend more time with her family, in particular to spend with her elderly mother.
Reflecting on her time and a career helping people, she says she would do it all again.
“I feel happy to see patients recover, after their treatment, they’re always very appreciative and say that we did a great work for them,” Chin said.
Chin is most looking forward to waking up without the alarm clock and spending more time travelling.