It was 13 years ago, a teenager confused about a career choice, forced by her circumstances, jealous about her friends who chose their courses according to their own will and worried about her misfortune of not being able to pursue the career which she desired got into a professional course named Bsc. Nursing in a well known institution in Ernakulam. People who knew told her that she was a lucky student to get admitted there as many did not get the privilege to study there. She was indeed lucky, because the lessons she learned there, the sufferings she witnessed as well as the cases that taught her passively was enormous when compared to the theory she learned from textbooks. In fact, she has learned very little from the so- called books. The only part, that she loved in this profession was consoling and meeting the needs of people who were helpless. This is how I stepped into a profession which is widely degraded and upgraded based on a number of circumstances and criterion.
In the light of the international day for nurses, let me weigh my experiences as a student nurse and as a staff nurse in four different work environments.
My first professional experience was in Kerala, the literate but not so nurse friendly state of India. Majority of the hospital nurse manpower gaps have been filled by student nurses, who report to staff nurses, domestic workers, x-ray technicians, doctors, lecturers, nurse in-charges , PROs, clerks, pharmacists etc. The list never concludes. You do an error, get scolded by all of them. When I say this, do not think that we do not have a professional hierarchy, we do have that, framed on the walls of offices, taught by our lecturers, but not followed often. You can be assigned with jobs ranging from throwing the soiled sterile gloves of a great Indian doctor in to the respective waste bins after dressing a wound, alone pulling a defected trolley with a patient, to burning hundreds of needles used by some one else in the needle incinerator. Yes, I have done all these. Now when I look back, I wish if I could take all of them who made me do such jobs to a place, where people know to discard themselves the waste generated by them during work. Yes, I realized later that such places existed. Another thing I learned being a nursing student was, even if you are scolded for an offence you never attempted, stay quiet, do not utter a single word, for talking back makes you the ugliest criminal in the entire institution. We were not allowed to unite or to react to a Facebook post against the institution that would have made you an equal to anti-national. Despite all these, that great institute, which stood majestically at the heart of the city, polished me to a tender hearted nurse, showed me hundreds of clinical conditions which I would have missed some where else and whispered in my heart that success still needed a lot of hard work.
After graduating I started working in a hospital in Pune. The hospital was rather staff friendly. I learned to fight back for my stand and my rights there. I saw the most courageous Indian nurses there. Yet, I often got scolded by department chiefs, struggled with rigid working hours, hostel food, quarrelsome food suppliers and less pay. I anticipated completing two year contract and flying to a place where I could earn some more money. I went home after two years emaciated weighing mere 45 kilograms.
My next place of work was beyond the Arabian sea, a fairy land far away from home. I dreamt of caring for a different civilization, got enthralled by the first international flight and flew down to Saudi Arabia along with one of my college friends. The struggles went in to another phase. Even though the pay was much higher compared to the Indian average, it was never enough for the hardship we suffered there and the months we had to stay separated from our loved ones. Indian nurses got half the pay Saudi staff nurses got doing half the work we did. We got constantly yelled at by patients and their families, as the people who went to work from a different country as nurses were often treated without the dignity they deserve. This inflicted deep wounds in me and such instances made me a wounded ferocious lioness. I was forced to do many jobs, which I would not have preferred to do, pointing out the clauses of contract which I had signed and the document was in Arabic. I did not know what was written in it. But this time, when I went home, I was not malnourished as the ministry provided us with enough raw materials to cook and a good accommodation to stay.
Once again, after reaching in India I joined a central government institution in North India where my husband used to work. The hours were flexible, nurses had a voice to speak up and none followed you to pick up the errors you do. That was a place in my country where I got respect from fellow beings. It was a good bundle of nurses who worked as a team. Those were the happiest days of my professional life. I got enough holidays in between to relax from the professional stress. But Europe was always my dream destination. I tried hard for it and one day my perseverance became fruitful.
This is my last place of work in the past 13 years. Nurses are respected here along with other professionals, in fact more dignified than any other professionals. Nurses here work hard and long duty hours. But I feel better here, because I will not be forced to work out of my designated hours. I am getting equal pay with the European colleagues for same work. Unlike Gulf countries, I pay a huge sum as tax and for other expenses, yet I get much flexible working hours, enough family time, extra pay for unsocial hours and finally right and space to explain my stand in case of a difficult situation. I no longer am the subordinate of any other professional from a different discipline, but an independent professional with a proper line to report professionally. I no longer am the bearer of the rubbish some one else has generated. We work as a perfect team for the well-being of our clients.
On this international nurses day, let us lead our profession to another level. Let us not be angels with imaginary wings stuck on us which we really do not possess at all, but let us be humans with two caring hands. Let us be professionals with knowledge acquired through years of practical experience and learning. Let us be employees with a family to look after at home. Let us fight for our rights from around the globe. ''Happy nurse's day'' to all the audacious voices who lead.
