Nurses share challenges, pleasures of being in the profession

There are unending challenges, including staff shortages, poor resources, overflowing queues, faced by nurses across the country.

Sunday is International Nurses Day, and Sowetan spoke to three nurses from different hospitals who shared the challenges and pleasures of being in the profession.

The three women come from different walks of life and hold different positions in their work places.

But they all agree that nursing is more than just a profession – it is a calling.

Khumbudzo Tshipani, 38

Tshipani is a paediatric team leader at the Bheki Mlangeni Hospital in Jabulani, Soweto. She says her love for nursing started when she was a young girl growing up in Venda.

I was particularly drawn to children so much that I would be the one taking my friend's child to clinic for immunisation even before I was a professional nurse. After graduating, it was only a blessing that I was assigned to a paediatric ward at Bheki Mlangeni in 2016.

When you nurse a child, you become their mother, they become your child, so losing a child can be very challenging. Being a nurse means you have to improvise a lot. When phones are not working at the hospital, I use my own phone to make phone calls for my patients.

No challenges will ever stop me from doing everything for my patients. I love seeing my patients and their parents smile. Nothing is as satisfying as seeing a child recover and reunite with their family. Do not become a nurse if you do not have the calling for it.

You cannot take anyone to become a nurse. You must have love for the community because people do not visit hospitals alone, they come with their families. My plans are to continue my studies in child care to get more knowledge.

But nurses are not appreciated enough, we're often at the receiving end of blame when communities are not happy. We get blamed for long queues when we actually are not entirely in control of that, we get blamed for any delay that might happen within the system ... people do not realise that there are other role players.

I do not see myself doing anything else but this. It is my passion.

Maureen Rooi, 50

Rooi is a medical unit operational manager at the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg

She says she always felt frustrated when her sibling was sick and always tried to assist her mom with caring for her.

But I think what really convinced me to become a nurse was aunt Destiny, a nurse in my street, in Galvendale, Port Elizabeth [Eastern Cape], who looked so beautiful and tall wearing her white dress, cap and blue cape.

I started my nursing career in 1992 as an auxiliary nurse and I have never looked back since. Seeing patients at their most vulnerable, totally dependent on you as the nurse – whether in an ICU or a general ward – seeing the worry on the families' faces, can be sad.

That moment when you're standing next to the bed and asking yourself what else can be done. Problems such as staff shortage have always been a challenge. You find 32 patients with only five nurses on duty. We are overstretched to get to all patients in a 12-hour shift.

But this does not deter us. Being in this role where I can teach nurses, creating awareness on how to care holistically for a patient and their loved ones, is very fulfilling. What also warms my heart is when your patient moves over to the next level of care and you know you did your best pulling them through that critical phase. The "thank you" you get from a patient or their relatives [means a lot].

Nursing is a caring profession. This is one of the qualities that is needed in nursing. I am a very caring nurse who is passionate about quality patient care. I belief if you do your best everyday the results will be rewarding, meaning your patient will be comfortable, happy and the loved ones will be less worried. 

My advise to anyone who wants to become a nurse; make sure it's a calling, a second instinct, otherwise you will not serve with a smile.

Thandi Zulu, 60

Zulu is a manager for nursing services at George Mukhari Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa, north-west of Pretoria.

She describes nursing as a noble profession.

Making my patients happy makes me happy. Part of my duties is to ensure that nurses provide quality patient care for mother and child. But I also pull up my sleeves when I am needed. I started my nursing career in 1992. Growing up in Ga-Rankuwa, my dad wanted me to be a teacher but I insisted on being a nurse.

While I love teaching, I realised I could merge the two disciplines under nursing, so I did nursing education. I have been in this profession for more than 30 years and of course we have challenges, but which job doesn't?

We have a shortage of staff and equipment, influx of patients that goes beyond the capacity of the hospital. [There's a] burden of disease, this is when a lot of patients are sick at once and come [to the hospital].

Sometimes there are limited resources to cater for those patients, this is when we arrange with other hospitals, but still ensure that a patient is attended to so as to make sure that we provide quality care with the resources that we do have.

When patients are not happy about the care that is rendered and they complain about services, I strive to make sure my nurses improve. Sometimes patients and their families are under stress, its part of our job to help them calm down and communicate processes.

This job is demanding but it gives you so much pleasure. If you do not have the calling to become a nurse, you will not enjoy it. You have to serve with a smile even under stressful situations. Try your best and give your best.

sibiyan@sowetan.co.za