Audrey’s story: How one nurse clinician is blending care with code to drive change  

Healthcare in Singapore is constantly evolving.  

As Singapore transitions to a super aged society, patient numbers are expected to increase, and healthcare must adapt to stay relevant.  

Amid this industry transformation, Senior Nurse Clinician (SNC) from Woodlands Hospital, Audrey Kon has earned recognition for harnessing technology as a Healthcare Transformation Champion by the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU).  

From clinic to coding: A unique journey 

Kon leads a team of 15 and oversees an additional 12 staff at Woodlands Hospital’s specialist outpatient clinics for more than 10 specialities.  

Outside of nursing, she is also proficient in coding and tech. Her journey from nurse into tech and back to nursing was anything but smooth sailing.   

After earning her nursing diploma, she pursued a second diploma in mass communication, which helped her develop stronger communication skills to connect with patients and colleagues. 

Audrey experienced her biggest career shift when she stepped away from healthcare to explore software and web development.  

Seeing how technology was reshaping workplaces, she wanted to understand it better and design digital solution to real life problems. 

As part of this journey, she took part in a hackathon hosted by Open Government Products (OGP) that lead to the creation of RemediSG, a platform redirecting expiring medication from various organisations to clinics helping underserved communities.  

As the only software engineer on her team, she was instrumental in moving the product from idea to market in just four month, leading to her being featured in the speech by Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong and was on stage for the launch of Smart Nation 2.0 on October 1 last year.  

Improving everyday work with technology 

Our world and workspaces are increasingly interconnected with technology at every level, and it is in the fusion of skills in both domains where some of the greatest value can be created.  

As a SNC, Kon understands the real-world pain points and challenges of day-to-day work. Her technology knowledge and ability to write code enables her to envision solutions that address real challenges without adding unnecessary complexity.  

In practice, Audrey uses her tech know-how to build simple apps and automate tasks like scheduling, reporting, calculation of sustainability impact or printing customised patient information sheets.  

“Knowing how to build or use these tools really makes a difference, especially with the progress around AI.” 

Beyond boosting productivity, her understanding of technology - its capabilities and limitations - allows her to serve as the natural bridge between clinical staff and IT teams.  

She understands the needs of both sides, and this helps her communicate challenges faced on the ground and ideate solutions to the IT team.  

This reduces iteration time, identifies potential problems early and ensures the technology meets the needs of the team. With understanding comes a healthy dose of scepticism toward “tech- solutionism”.   

Having been around long enough to see technological solutions add or shift workload rather than reducing it, she is mindful of the drawbacks that come with new technology, warning against adding technology just for the sake of it.  

“Technology should solve a real problem, not make things more difficult. 

 “Sometimes, adding new software or collecting data more creates more work, with updates, training, and sensemaking rather than saving time,” says Kon. 

Her grounded approach reminds us that technology should be deployed to serve people and not for the sake of deploying technology itself.  

“Technology is rarely a magic bullet, no matter how much we sometimes want it to be” she says, referring to recent excitement around AI, chatbots and their expected impact on healthcare.  

“There is real potential here, but also very real limitations which need to be understood and taken into account before deploying solutions.”   

She specifically calls out the hidden costs: “Chatbots are easy to use, but because they don’t provide interface to guide the user about limitations (like being bad at math) and risks, organisations find themselves with significantly increased employee training needs.”   

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Union leadership and lifelong learning 

Now as the chairperson of the Woodlands Hospital Union committee and member of HSEU Executive Council, she is preparing to deepen her knowledge of legal challenges in 2026 to better serve her fellow members.  

The union platform has provided opportunities and training needed for her growth as a leader. 

 “The union helps us build skills to negotiate and explain why union representation matters, whether you are a worker or an employer,” she shares.  

This helps her work with management to keep workplaces fair and safe. She also appreciates the encouragement from her healthcare cluster.  

“NHG Health supports ongoing learning,” she says. “That kind of culture makes a big difference.” With strong support from both her union and employer, she demonstrates what happens when personal drive meets organisational backing. 

A simple message for her peers 

When asked what advice she would offer, she answers with a straightforward response: 

“If not now, then when?” 

She encourages others to take charge of change, learn new things, share knowledge freely and question how processes and healthcare roles can grow and adapt.  

Transformation in healthcare is more than big policy moves. It starts with people who are willing to explore, experiment, and challenge what is familiar. 

Looking ahead 

Audrey’s journey is far from over. As she builds her technological and legal knowledge, her focus remains on growing herself and lifting others. 

She stands as proof that nurses and healthcare workers can wear many hats.  

They can be caregivers, innovators, negotiators, and change-makers, bringing together compassion and technology. 

HSEU celebrates champions like her because they epitomise the values of proactivity and initiative. Change is ongoing, and with leaders like Audrey, the future is bright and full of possibility.