‘It’s so much more than medicine,’ says nurse

International Nurses’ Day is commemorated each year on 12 May to mark the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth and to celebrate the achievements of the nursing profession. This year, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, nurses are continuing to serve on the frontlines. This year’s theme is Nurses: A Voice to Lead – A vision for future healthcare. In a four part series, the Berea Mail interviews nurses local nurses to find out more about life on the frontlines.

Nomonde Magantolo’s passion for nursing began at a young age. Magantolo is a practicing nurse at a local hospital and holds a Masters degree in public health.

“My parents told me that from a young age I wanted to be a nurse. I followed that dream as I really like to help people. I also like working with people,” she said.

Care for others is a key principle in nursing for Magantolo.

“A nurse is a care-giver who looks after sick people. Nursing is not just about medication, it’s about treating the patient holistically- emotionally and spiritually as well as medicinally. You communicate with the patient and engage. For me, a nurse is person who is there for the patient, and who also advocates for the patient,” she said.

Magantolo trained to be a nurse in 1985 in the Eastern Cape at Glen Grey Hospital.

In 1989, she worked at a Santa TB Hospital in Mthatha where she nursed sick patients back to good health.

“It was interesting to see the curative rate – to see people coming in very sick and going home very well. They were staying in hospital longer, sometimes for two months. “They would gain weight because a lot of the time they would come to hospital very sick, having lost weight,” she said.

Also read: International Nurses Day: Durban nurse shares how the pandemic changed her life

In 1990, she went to Mthatha General Hospital where she worked as a theatre nurse.

“I went to theatre which is very different. In theatre you only engage with the patient for a few minutes. What I like about theatre is the immediate results you see. To see that leg fixed or the problem solved is very rewarding,” she said.

She worked as a theatre nurse for 20 years, continuing to work in theatre when she moved to Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital in Durban in 1999. Magantolo then took on a job at a Durban university in 2011 where she focused on the wellness of students.

“We focused on HIV, sexual reproductive health and other issues that related to students. Young people are coming from schools and still identifying themselves which is difficult. We are there to show them they can be who they are. The other thing that was very important to me was to make sure the student was orientated to university life, because they find they are liberated in that environment after coming from rural areas. We make sure they know we are here for them. We had a support unit,” she said

In this role, Magatolo’s work as a nurse took on a holistic approach.

“It was about wellness, emotions and balancing life in between,” she explained.

The Covid-19 pandemic presented challenges to nurses.

Also read: DUT harm-reduction programme recognised for bold response to pandemic

“It was the first time we saw such a pandemic. We had flu viruses before but they were much more controlled than Covid-19. The fear that has come with Covid-19 has been very difficult. As we learn more from the scientist, we have become better able to protect ourselves. What’s important for the nurses as frontline workers is to have the projective equipment. From my side, there was worry because of my ageCovid-19 brought a lot of stress,” she said.

Magatolo now works at a private clinic in Glenwood which she founded under her NPO, known as Asakhe Intsha yo Mzansi (Lets build up young people in South Africa). The NPO was founded in 2020. They moved into their Glenwood offices on Helen Joseph Road in February this year where they run a private clinic that supports their NPO work.

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