Rate My Professor Joelle Lien Li Yap

Ms Joelle Lien Li Yap is a Curtin Singapore Tutor in the Curtin School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University. She joined Curtin Singapore as a sessional tutor in 2015 and teaches nursing programs there. Her nursing career originated in the Accident and Emergency department at Singapore General Hospital over two decades ago. This early experience, combined with her involvement in humanitarian aid and disaster relief projects in Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal, and Japan, fostered her strong interest in disaster nursing. She highlights the critical role of training, education, and teaching in preparing nurses for such challenges.

Since April 2022, Joelle has been a PhD candidate in the Curtin School of Nursing, investigating 'Resilience in nurses who respond to natural disasters: A narrative inquiry.' Supervised by Associate Professor Janie Brown, Dr Pam Nichols, and Dr Adrian Tan, her research employs narrative inquiry methodology to explore resilience among registered nurses in disaster responses. Key milestones include presenting her research proposal (M1) in person at the Bentley campus in Perth, attending thesis writing workshops and boot camps, and delivering a seminar at the Global Campuses Brown Bag Seminar. In 2025, she presented an e-poster titled 'The resilience of nurses who respond to natural disasters: Findings from an integrative literature review'—the initial phase of her PhD—at the Society for Emergency Medicine Singapore Annual Scientific Meeting (SEMS ASM 2025), co-authored with her supervisors. This work synthesized findings from 18 studies using Whittemore and Knafl’s approach. Her poster also ranked in the top 10 at the 6th SingHealth Nursing Conference. Currently, she recruits participants—registered nurses with disaster response experience—for interviews via e-posters, QR codes, and name cards. Joelle further contributes by sharing practical tips for 3-minute research presentations.