(3 Mar) What does it mean to be resilient? Voices from Patients, Caregivers, and Practitioners

(3 Mar) What does it mean to be resilient? Voices from Patients, Caregivers, and Practitioners

Date: 3 March 2026

Time: 5.00pm – 8:00pm

Venue: The POD @ National Library Board, National Library Building, Level 16, 100 Victoria Street, Singapore 188064 

Theme: Resilience and Mental Wellbeing

When illness strikes, we often speak of “fighting” disease and “staying strong.” But what does resilience really mean in the hospital ward? Is it an empowering ideal or can it sometimes obscure pain, dependence, and vulnerability?

This interactive event brings together patients, caregivers, medical practitioners, humanities scholars, and medical educators to reflect on how resilience is lived, narrated, and cared for. Through short talks, creative exhibits, and digital displays by students and clinicians, audiences will encounter diverse perspectives on healing from the power and limits of battle metaphors to the practice of mindful compassion in medical education.

Join us to reimagine care beyond stoicism and strength, and to hear authentic voices that reveal what it truly means to endure, adapt, and find meaning in illness.

Programme

Dinner buffet will be provided. The menu is halal-certified and contains vegetarian-friendly dishes.

5.00pm 

Registration & Open Exhibition  

5.30pm 

Welcome  
Assoc Prof Graham Matthews, NTU School of Humanities 

5.40pm

Voices and Stories: Patient Narratives of Resilience

  • Ms Candy Gan: Journey through type 1 diabetes  

  • Ms Serene Mai: Colours in the midst of Grey Times   

  • Mr Rajendran K S: Beyond the Burden: Sketching Resilience in the Caregivers Journey   

  • Chaired by: Dr Tanya Tierney 

6.15pm

Short Break / Exhibition

6.30pm

Beyond Resilience: The Cost of Staying Strong  

  • Asst Prof Michelle Chiang: Imagination, resilience, and storytelling 

  • Assoc Prof Lim Ni Eng: The Courage to Let Go  

7.05pm

Performance: Embodying Resilience through relational exchange 

  • Ms April Thant Aung 

7.20pm

Feature Film: Ashes and Sighs

  • Assoc Prof Ian Dixon 

7.50pm

Closing & Open Reflection 

Speaker Profiles

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Assoc Prof Graham Matthews
Graham Matthews is Provost’s Chair in Medical Humanities and the Director of the Centre for Health, Culture & Society. He also serves as the Associate Chair (Research) in the School of Humanities. His research interests are in literature & medicine, and mental health narratives
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Assoc Prof Michael Stanley-Baker
Michael Stanley-Baker 徐源 is Head of History at NTU and teaches in the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. He studies the history and present of Chinese medicine and Daoism using close reading and digital humanities. He is also PI of the Polyglot Asian Medicine project and serves as IASTAM president.
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Asst Prof Michelle Chiang
Michelle is Assistant Professor of English at the School of Humanities. She is Co-Coordinator, Medical Humanities Research Cluster & Co-Lead, Medical Humanities Curriculum Workgroup at LKCMedicine. Her research examines care, uncertainty & ethical judgement through literature & philosophy.
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Assoc Prof Lim Ni Eng
Ni Eng is Associate Professor of Chinese & Linguistics at NTU. His research involves the interactional, socio-cultural and cognitive practices at work and in everyday talk. His interests are in doctor-patient interactions, such as end-of-life conversations in Advanced Care Planning
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Dr Tanya Tierney
Tanya is Assistant Dean, Clinical Communication at LKCMedicine, NTU. She teaches communication skills and medical humanities and is a taskforce member for the Office of Patient Engagement (OPEN). She is a certified teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion and has a strong interest in student wellbeing.
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Asst Prof Rachel S. Y. Chen
Rachel Chen is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies at the School of Humanities. She is the Co-coordinator of the Medical Humanities Research Cluster. Her research bridges the study of disability, social interaction, and inclusive design.
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Assoc Prof Ian Dixon
Ian Dixon is a filmmaker, writer, and academic who completed his PhD at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, and publishes internationally on film, celebrity, and performance, including the book I’m Not a Film Star: David Bowie as Actor.
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(2 Mar) Failing Forward: What the Humanities and Social Sciences Teach Us About Resilience​

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(4 & 9 Mar) Building Financial Resilience: Pensions & Financial Literacy