Chatting with strangers is second nature to Ms Cheryl Chew and caring for them is akin to slipping on a second skin.

The 22-year-old's nursing potential was spotted at an early age. One of her secondary school teachers, on discovering that she was the only student in her Secondary 4 class who had made friends with their autistic classmate, suggested that she become a nurse.

She said: 'No one else spoke to him. I spoke to him in the same way I spoke to other classmates. It's quite easy for me to talk to people somehow.'

After quitting junior college as she had lost interest in arts subjects, she enrolled in Ngee Ann Polytechnic to study nursing in 2005. Ms Chew, who was part of the polytechnic's pioneer batch of nursing students, graduated earlier this year and is preparing to start a Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of Queensland in Australia later this year.

While she learnt nursing basics like taking blood pressure and temperatures and treating certain diseases in the classroom, she had to put such theory into practice during her hospital attachments.

Her first attachment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital left an impression.

She said: 'One patient was a blind woman with dementia who kept talking to herself and yelling. I'd touch her hand to reassure her. Towards the end of my attachment, she could tell who I was even though she had problems remembering her family members' names.'

Asked what she likes about nursing, she said: 'Some patients and their families shout at you. But when they are ready to go home and their families thank you, you forget all the anger you felt earlier. The is a great sense of satisfaction.'

This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times on Aug 14, 2008.