COVID-19 has brought undesirable global attention to nurses who had to be the superheroes in scrubs and masks.
When Namibia got it’s first Covid-19 case all anxious eyes turned to these frontline workers.
Yesterday (11 May), on International Nurses Day, these workers marked the day by remembering their frontline work on Covid-19 battlefield.
Namibian Nurses Union secretary general Junias Shilunga told The Namibian yesterday that the union celebrated International Nurses Day to honour them for what they have been doing, especially last year at the height of the pandemic.
“Together with the nurses, we will be celebrating their day as they have risked their lives to help the nation that was and still is going through a pandemic,” Shilunga said.
According to Shilunga, the nurses did a lot especially last year when they risked their lives to save others.
“These are frontline workers, the ones that are needed by everyone at any stage of life. We should celebrate them and what they do for us all,” Shilunga said.
He added that they face many challenges like lack of equipment and emotional trauma.
Shilunga said that it is not only a day where nurses are celebrated but this whole week is dedicated to the heroes in scrubs and masks.
A nurse trainer at the Welwitschia Health Training Centre, Job Ndeitula told The Namibian yesterday that International Nurses Day is more than nurses being celebrated for what they do.
“It’s a day that describes what we do, what we experience and who we are as medical practitioners.
“Last year we went through a lot, especially during the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country, when the virus was way out of control, especially in Namibia,” Ndeitula said.
The pandemic reminds the entire world the importance of nurses, he said.
Ndeitula said he wants to encourage young men to join the nursing field.
“Many think nursing is for women but it is for everyone. I am one of the few male nurses, we have to encourage other men to take up this field,” Ndeitula said.
Even though being a nurse can be a handful as they witness the beginning and the end of life, Ndeitula said that the good part of being a nurse is that you get to help someone, you create a bond with the patient.
According to one of the nurses, Rachel Hangula, being a nurse is not the easiest thing but it definitely is a blessing in disguise.
Hangula further added that it is important that nurses focus on their mental health as it can play a huge role in their lives.
“You go to bed with the thought of what condition you left your patients and sometimes the burden of losing them, it’s not so easy,” Hangula said.
She said nurses are however not appreciated as much.
“I am thrilled that this day is celebrated worldwide because nurses play a vital role in society,” said Hangula.
