Online Reporter
Fadzayi Maposah-Correspondent
There is a Shona saying which goes: Chinokanganwa idemo, asi muti haukanganwi.
Literally translated it means that it is the axe that forgets the tree it has cut, but the tree remembers the axe. The tree actually remembers how deep the cut was, and every blow.
Each day I interact with nurses and other healthcare service providers. They are not the same. They are unique human beings who touch people’s lives in different ways.
When I look at the different nurses’ uniforms, I always think of different scenarios during which I made contact with others who wore the same uniforms.
My father had malaria at some point in his life. The malaria was really bad and that was the year that I thought I would lose him. He was in hospital for close to two weeks, and the day that he was discharged, the nurses were all happy and wished him well, reflecting on the journey that they had travelled with him.
His next long stay in hospital does not have the same ending (a story for another day). The commitment and dedication to duty that I have seen from many nurses goes beyond the call of duty. It is on its own a whole calling that they have answered.
I remember very well, two nurses that took care of my father. It is not that he just had two nurses, but each time, I think of that hospital stay I remember those two nurses, one male nurse and one female in their white uniforms.
I also remember one nursing tutor in her blue uniform, who had seen me distraught and asked me who was in the ward and my father was to become ‘her father’ too.
Now I have been back at that hospital many times. Each time I walk past that ward, I remember how my father was looked after. Those three represent the others who nursed my father, whose faces have not been etched in my mind.
The male nurse has since retired, the female one is now a matron, wearing her grey uniform, while the tutor is still contributing to grooming nurses.
Just as I have some professional memories that stand out more than others, I am sure that nurses have these too.
My father’s hospital care may not be a vivid memory for the hospital staff, but as I think about it, the gong just gets louder. Professionals who work with people leave imprints on those that they interact with.
Each time, I meet them I remind them of how well they nursed my father and I always hope that they still have the same attention to detail and commitment to their work. I have been assured that they still do.
Sadly at times people tend to stop doing their best when they feel that although they are going the extra mile, others are not pulling in the same direction.
Remember the tree and the axe story, have you not heard clients tell each other to behave because the service provider on duty does not tolerate “nonsense” and how they wished if the more tolerant favourite was available?
Nurses interact with fragile people. The fragility may be different, but it still exists. Kudos to the nurses who have and will always be professional and humane!
They have a lot of work to do, which includes administering treatment and medications. They also monitor vital signs such as temperature, blood pressure. Even before the doctor attends to a patient, the nurse has a consultation with the patient and they ensure that all vital information is recorded.
They coordinate client care with other health team members and are there to provide emotional reassurance.
Some have become nurses by default. One reason some people choose the profession is because they receive a stipend during their training and the burden is no longer on parents and guardians to finance them.
Others end up in nursing when they fail to get the required academic requirements for other healthcare related opportunities, and for them nursing is still within the sector.
Others look at becoming a nurse as a way to make money, sadly. I am sure we know of many people, neighbours, relatives, friends and those from high school who had totally different careers, but when they went abroad became nurses!
It was one way to secure stay in a foreign land and perhaps their hearts never stayed with the profession they chose.
Career guidance remains critical, not just for those who become nurses, but for all professions. We sadly have people working with people who would have done better working alone with machines.
To be a nurse one needs skills such as empathy, active listening and compassion. So next time, you offer someone career guidance, think about the personal traits that the individual has and if they have potential to develop and sharpen the required skills.
The World Health Organisation states that combining clinical excellence and relational care is essential to achieving universal health and improving health outcomes.
International Nurses Day celebrated on the May 12 every year commemorates the birth of Florence Nightingale in 1820. She was the founding philosopher of modern nursing.
Nurses Day was established in 1974 by the International Council of Nurses and serves to raise awareness on the important roles nurses fulfil in health care.
Nightingale was crucial in campaigning for reform in health care and in nursing. She contributed to ensure strict hygiene standards, improved ventilation and organisation and reduced infection related mortality within hospitals. Did you know that in 1860 she established the Nightingale School of Nursing at St Thomas Hospital in London?
On nurses’ day, there are educational materials which emphasise the dedicated and innovative work performed by nurses which contributes to the improvement of patient health and advancement of healthcare.
Some countries commemorate a National Nurses week. Commemorations alone are not enough, they should be combined with always doing the very best!
