We'd like to extend a warm welcome to Lorène Dawance, the newest addition to the Edge Healthcare team! We caught up with the chirpy Lorène, who apologised for waffling on in her interview. Good thing we like waffles.

Tell us about yourself!

My name is Lorène Annick Fred Dawance (this is literally my FULL name which I never use)-- in Belgium, at the time when I was born-- you got your Godmother's and Godfather's names as middle-names... hence the Fred!

Where did you train/study, and what do you specialise in?

I graduated from Oxford Brookes University in the UK with a Master's degree in Osteopath. I usually treat most issues from developmental issues to degenerative issues, to chronic to acute injuries. I also have an interest in women's health/pregnancy, children's development, headaches, and sports injuries. 

When and How did  you get started in this field: 
I started practising in 2015 after 4 years of study. I was actually thinking of going into Medicine, but ended up seeing an Osteopath myself for my headaches. I had never even heard of the word, but I trusted my mum's advice and went to see one (maybe this sparked my interest in treating headaches too as my Osteo back then helped me a lot). I got really interested in how you can help the body heal naturally and holistically using manual therapy instead of medication. The human body is fascinating!

I've worked as an Osteopath for over 4 years now. Gosh memorable moments... so many! They mostly involve my lovely and hilarious patients and that would be breaking patient-confidentiality! To be honest, every day you can get someone feeling better or help them improve their daily life is amazing, and that's probably the reason why most osteos, physios, etc are doing what they are doing :)

The most memorable moments though, are probably the ones where you make a tiny change, which for the patient, is huge. For example, seeing the relief in someone who after years and years finally got referred to the right doctor in the hospital, and was then able to get proper treatment she needed, or the immense joy of a chef who lost the ability to move his hands and fingers finally being able to move his thumb so he could hold a spoon. 

What is it like starting a new job in the middle of the circuit breaker?

It's definitely odd and took some adjusting (still getting used to it to be honest). Being a bit rusty from not practicing during CB and then suddenly being in a new environment where you have to scan QR codes at every doorway, wear a mask (it gets real hot!) and gloves to treat patients was a bit of a shock on the first day. Also I've never seen the CBD so quiet, it's quite strange.

But it's also been really nice to be able to talk to people (patients) outside of my household!

Why Edge?

Well it was time for a change, as clearly i'm a Millennial and 4 years working in one company was getting too long! I'd heard only good things about Edge and had met Aman a few times who was always just so chilled and easy-going. Even my 'interview' was more of a friendly chat was over a few beers, so I knew straight away these are the bosses I want to work for! I hadn't met the others at Edge until just recently and they're all amazing and so down to earth. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone at Level after all these 'Phases'.

We're looking forward to meeting you too Lorène! If you're in need of some pain relief after being cooped up at home, you can find Lorene and her colleagues just next door at Edge Healthcare! Simply email reception@edgehealthcare.com.sg and they'll sort you (and your pain) out!