Know Your Medicines, Get it Right! (KYMGIR) @ Central CDC

On the 2nd of November 2025, NUS Pharmaceutical Society’s (NUSPS) Essential Medicines Committee hosted its annual flagship event, Know Your Medicines, Get it Right! (KYMGIR) at Toa Payoh West Community Club. This annual carnival aimed at promoting safe and effective medication use, also highlighted osteoporosis, with special emphasis on frailty and fall prevention, as its central theme.

Beyond bringing health advocacy to the community, KYMGIR served as a platform for the 80 student volunteers to stay grounded with the community, deepening both empathy and communication skills through meaningful interaction with over 110 participants be it at the medication review consultation booths by our alumni (now registered pharmacists), poster displays, health screening or carnival-style educational game booths.

Running concurrently was a carefully curated series of three multidisciplinary talks and quizzes conducted by Adjunct Professor Lau Tang Ching (Senior Consultant, Division of Rheumatology and Allergy, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital), Ms Chin Min Hui (Senior Pharmacist, Alexandra Hospital), and Ms Eriko She Shiyun (Principal Occupational Therapist, Pacific Rehab Group). The sessions focused on the role of Tai Chi in osteoporosis management, safe medication-taking practices, and evidence-based strategies for preventing falls in the home.

The Medicine Review booths, the highlight of KYMGIR, saw 14 volunteer pharmacists (most of them NUS alumni) providing participants with personalised consultations, free of charge. While participants were pleased to have their health and medication-related questions answered, the student volunteers, on the other hand, were delighted by the opportunity to practice medication history-taking and observe pharmacists in action. In total, more than 250 medications and supplements of 85 participants were reviewed. Of note, 87% of participants had BMI scores (> 23 kg/m2) associated with moderate or high risk for cardiovascular, bone and joints diseases. Using the osteoporosis self-assessment tool for Asians (OSTA), 42% and 10% were identified to be at moderate and high risk for osteoporosis. In addition, 31% were taking fall risk-increasing medications such as antihypertensives, antihyperglycaemics, anticonvulsants and medications that can cause drowsiness. Thus, KYMGIR presented a wonderful opportunity to educate participants on preventive care and optimal self-management of their heath and medications. The advice provided by pharmacists included diet and exercise strategies for weight reduction, home monitoring of blood pressure, medication side effect monitoring and management to prevent falls, and optimal calcium supplementation. Referral advice for further bone mineral density screening was also given, especially to those at high risk of osteoporosis.

The Essential Medicines Committee wishes to extend its heartfelt appreciation to all the student and alumni for making KYMGIR @ Central CDC 2025 a memorable event.

Special thanks to Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore (PSS) and Central Community Development Councils (CDC) for their partnership. We are also grateful for the generous support from Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Healthier SG office under Ministry Of Health (MOH), Silver Generation office under Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), and Health Promotion Board (HPB) with synergistic health-related booths as well as sponsors Blackmores, Guardian Singapore, Pearlie White, Ito En and Medimex for their generous contributions to the goodie bag, contributing to the event’s overall success. The turnout and enthusiastic participation have us looking forward to more collaborations in the future with the hope of expanding our health literacy outreach to more communities. Till next year!

Article by Zhang Haiyun and Clarissa Leong Zi Lin (NUSPS 24th Essential Medicines Committee)

Share this article: 
Stay connected with NUS Pharmacy!

Receive PharmConnect Newsletters & announcements by NUS Pharmacy.