#YourStory: What makes a nurse?

More often than not, we ready many things about the nursing profession but it is not always good news.

Two nurses from the Edenvale General Hospital took time out of their busy schedules and spoke to us about why they chose nursing and what is it they love about their job.

They also spoke about the daily challenges they face, while trying to make sure the community is well taken care of.

Professional nurse Sister Adele Steyn, who works in the paediatrics department, said in 2003 she enrolled to study a BCur at the University of Johannesburg (UJ).

“After I finished my studies, I joined the Edenvale Hospital and worked as a community service Sister for two years. In 2010, I went on to specialise in paediatrics at the Baragwanath Nursing College. When I finished, I returned to the Edenvale Hospital and worked in the paediatrics department,” said Sr Steyn.

She said working as a nurse has always been her dream because she has always had a passion for helping people.

“Initially, I wanted to work as a theatre Sister, but then I realised I couldn’t handle the masks they put on in theatre. Paediatrics was the best option for me. Paediatrics is a department within a hospital that deals with the medical care of infants, children and adolescents,” she said.

Working in a public hospital comes with its challenges, but she said the pros always outweigh the cons because of the passion she has for her work.

“We face many challenges every day because there is a shortage of staff and a high turnover of patients. Shortages of equipment is another problem because you don’t always have what you need, but you try by all means to do what you need to in order to do your job,” said Sr Steyn.

She said dealing with these challenges does not deter her from doing what needs to be done to help the patients.

She also urged the public to understand the volume of people they have to attend to on a daily basis.

“We want to help everybody and we would like people to understand that we cannot just fast-track everybody, because their needs are not the same.

“It goes according to priorities. You cannot leave someone who is bleeding just because they recently arrived; you have to attend to them immediately and give them the help they need. The only thing that would ease the situation is if more people joined the nursing profession. More nurses are needed and if people can be given an opportunity and be trained, that will make a positive impact in the profession,” she said.

Sister Wendy Ntanta, a Staff Nurse, said she became a nurse by chance because she studied journalism after she finished high school. Unfortunately she was unable to finish her degree owing to certain problems.

Her sister advised her to do nursing and it was not a hard decision to make as she has an aunt who was a nurse and she always admired her.

“I’m glad I became a nurse because I love my work. Nursing is more rewarding than many of the things I’ve done before,” she said.

She joined the Edenvale Hospital in 2014.

She shared similar views with her colleague, Sr Steyn, about the challenges they face while trying to make sure they give the best service to their patients.

“There are many challenges in nursing, but you must not focus on what you don’t have and utilise what you have to help your patients.

“Nursing is rewarding as long as you love doing it and I would advise anyone who wants to do it to go for it. Another issue is that most of the public hospitals were built a long time ago and were designed to take a certain number of patients.

“The communities we cater for have a higher population now than they did when the hospitals were built, and that has an impact on the work we do. I would advise people to come to the hospital with an open mind and to not have perceptions when they come to the hospitals regarding how they are going to be treated.

“I believe if people did that they would have a positive experience in the hospital. We urge the community to understand the conditions we work in and that we do go out of our way to help each and every patient who comes here,” said Sr Ntanta.

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@buli_sonqishe

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