As the world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the theme for this year’s International Nurses Day (12 May) – Nursing the World to Health – is now maybe more appropriate than ever before, as medical staff are on the forefront of this health crisis.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), nurses account for more than half of all the health workers in the world and are at the forefront of fighting epidemics and pandemics – providing high-quality and respectful treatment and care.
There is an urgent shortage of 5,9 million nurses worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries, according to the WHO.
This is also the year of the Midwife, with the theme Midwives with women: celebrate, demonstrate, mobilise, unite – our time is NOW. This day was celebrated on 5 May.
“There is an urgent shortage of 5,9 million
nurses worldwide, especially in low- and
middle-income countries.”—WHO.
Concerns Prof Magda Mulder, Head of the School of Nursing at the UFS, says the biggest fear for nurses working during the pandemic is that they will contract the virus.
“Some are concerned about their families, and that they will transmit the virus to their loved ones at home. They also fear the uncertain future, and if they will be able to cope with the increased demand on workload.
“The final-year students are concerned about passing their exams and completing their outstanding clinical hours. The COVID-19 pandemic will present the biggest challenge for the nursing and midwifery profession worldwide. It is hoped that politicians will realise the value of sustaining and training a professional and competent workforce of nurses,” says Prof Mulder.
The privilege of the midwife
Winnie Motlolometsi, Midwifery lecturer, says she did not look to become a midwife; the bug took a bite, and the sting never left.
“Taking full responsibility as an accountable and independent midwife practitioner, acknowledging that what you know (head), how you use/apply the knowledge gained (hands), having to make clinical decisions that will relatively determine whether both the mother and baby will live, and exercising these driven by passion (heart), made me realise that midwifery is an incredibly rewarding career."
“The privilege of the midwife, being the first to put her hands and physically touching God’s own creation, is incredible. Seeing the tears of joy on the faces of women you have met during the antenatal period, finally giving birth, and appreciating the role of the midwives throughout the journey, is priceless. This, I think, resonates with many passion-driven midwives out there,” says Motlolometsi.
Characteristics of being a nurse Anna-Marie Welman, who lectures first-year Nursing students, says for some, nursing is a job, a means of earning a salary.
“If this is your motivation for choosing nursing as a career, surviving a challenging day with an Alzheimer’s patient or a grieving family, might be more difficult to sustain. Resilience is a necessity – which may not be a characteristic possessed by a young person entering a nursing career, but it can be developed.
“Nursing is also a science. We teach students to think, critically analyse information, and apply individualised nursing care plans. The responsibility and accountability of caring for a nation, protecting the lives of others, and advocating for the rights of humans, cannot be done without specialised knowledge and skills,” says Welman, who was around 11 years old when she decided to become a nurse after visiting her grandfather in hospital.
Nurses cannot stay home Moliehi Mpeli, a lecturer in Nursing Ethics for the undergraduate and post-basic students, says the healthcare providers have been presented with personal protective equipment (PPEs); yet, in reality, more nurses in the front line are dying. In response to any unknown danger, it is natural for human beings to run for cover and hide.
“However, when the essence of our existence invites us to respond in a variety of ways as humans, the call of responsibility pulls every nurse to move out and say, I am a nurse and I cannot stay at home. In the absence of ethical attention to this everyday practice, our societies would not exist.”
“It is not about obligation to look after the sick, or supererogatory acts through which nurses predispose themselves and their families to the deadly virus. It is just a sense of responsibility that directs a nurse to fulfil the self-commissioned social, political, and moral roles of our existence,” she says.