Please tell us about yourself
Punctuality in any occasion is important to me. Cleanliness is also important meaning I am a neat person.I am very active and very quick at work. I am a perfect planner, it is important to plan whether short term or long term.I am a Christian and believe in God and his son Jesus Chris. I am interested in education, I always want more knowledge. I am interested in helping other people especially the poor.
My Family
We are few in my family. I am the only child to my parents. I am not from a rich family but we do manage to cover all that is needed in the family ie Food , Shelter, Education and transport. We all dislike alcohol and smoking in my family. We believe in working hard to succeed.
My years working in Hospice Association of Transkei
I have worked for this Hospice for 2 years. I am still employed by this Hospice.
How long have you been a nurse?
I have been a nurse for 40 years and have enjoyed these years whole heartedly.
Where have you worked before joining hospice?
I worked in Mthatha General Hospital and later in an NGO called Faith and Hope in Mthatha.
Why the change to hospice?
I discovered that people are sick in their homes in our communities and nobody was helping them. They lack knowledge about their diseases and there is nobody to teach them. I therefore joined Hospice to assist these people with knowledge and take care of them in their homes through palliative care.
What are the Challenges you are faced with?
The main challenge I am faced with is ignorance leading to delay of proper diagnosis of the disease and late investigations. Secondly poverty as most of our patients are unemployed and have no source of income. They need to be taught on how to develop themselves.
What are the rewards of being a Palliative Care Nurse?
You nurse your patients with knowledge and are able to teach families about how to care for a sick person and the ethics of palliative care. Teaching on Palliative Care Ethics helps them to know how to give their relative or family member proper nursing care, pain management and support systems.Providing quality of life to patients with life threatening diseases through counselling, psychosocial and spiritual support.To ensure that the patient is respected and dies with dignity.
Your average day in the Job?
My day starts with prayer in the morning with my staff members. From there I submit my data for the previous day’s work. From submitting I sit with my caregiver and plan which patients will I be visiting for the day. We go on to check whether they will need anything from gauze, bandages, ointments linen savers etc. We also look at paper work needed including consent forms. We pack everything we need in the vehicle and we go to visit our patients. A maximum of 4 patients are visited all situated in rural areas. The roads are bad so it takes 45 minutes to an hour to reach these patients and even more hours to reach the next patient thereafter. My day is complete when I have successfully visited all 4 patients. The patients I visit are counselled, referred, assisted with dressings and given advice on taking medication. I also very often go with a social worker who assists with the social circumstances surrounding the patients.
What do you enjoy doing outside work?
I enjoy attending church services and singing is the main hobby for my family as a result I love singing and always involved in events where singing will take place. At times I do some sewing and participate in Drama activities as I like drama.
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