Wake Up, Nurses

Praise be to Allah (God), the Teacher, the Unique, Majesty of the heavens, the Exalted, the Glorious, Glory be to Him, the Eternal Being Who created the Universe and all the creatures within, and the only Being Who contained the infinity and the eternity. We serve no other god besides Thee and regard idolatry as an abominable injustice.

Give us the strength to be truthful, honest, modest, merciful and objective.
Give us the fortitude to admit our mistakes, to amend our ways and to forgive the wrongs of others.
Give us the wisdom to comfort and counsel all towards peace and harmony.
Give us the understanding that ours is a profession sacred that deals with your most precious gifts of life and intellect.
Therefore, make us worthy of this favoured station with honor, dignity and piety so that we may devote our lives in serving mankind, poor or rich, literate or illiterate, Muslim or non-Muslim, black or white with patience and tolerance with virtue and reverence, with knowledge and vigilance, with Thy love in our hearts and compassion for Thy servants, Thy most precious creation.
Hereby we take this oath in Thy name, the Creator of all the Heavens and the earth and follow Thy counsel as Thou has revealed to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh).

"Whoever killeth a human being, not in liew of another human being nor because of mischief on earth, it is as if he hath killed all mankind. And if he saveth a human life, he hath saved the life of all mankind." (Qur'an V/35)

Lately, I've been feeling really frustrated and disappointed at seeing the very worst of my own profession with my own eyes. Frustrated because I can do nothing about it and disappointed because it is my own profession, the profession I have defended and talked so proudly of and here it is, the very proof that what everyone's been saying is true.

I will not bad mouth people here on my blog and I know it will do me no good, so I will say here, the things that I will and will not do as a nurse. I feel very strongly for this and I hope that, when I qualify and practice as a nurse for years to come, I will still be aspired to be the best and not lack little by little as time passes by.

I will not

Depend on others to do my duties. I will ask for help if needed but I will make sure the job is done and done right.

Be responsible for bed sores on my patients. I will do my best to prevent them from arising on bedridden patients or those with limited mobility and for patients who already have bed sores, I will do my best to heal them and prevent further infections.

Gossip or talk ill of my patients or their relatives. Everyone has a good and bad side and we can't really say, can we, that we won't act the very same if we were in their shoes?

Meet my needs first before my patients. This includes hanging around talking and eating and just plain lepaking while my patients have so many needs to be attended to.

Raise my voice or threaten my patients or their relatives. Seriously lah, tak malu ke? If the situation is really that bad, what's keeping you from just walking away and coming back after everything's cooled down?

Call out to a colleague by screaming and shouting for him/her unless it's in an emergency situation. Yes, I do believe in Nightingale's theory about the environment. Besides, I myself can't stand all that noise so why should the patient?

Be fussy over small things like documentations and stupid ward curtains or call bells. Yes, the organization and tidiness of a ward is important. But only after all the patients' matters are settled and they are comfortable. Please don't bother me about petty things like these when I have other important things to do. Prioritize, people.

Take the sterility of a procedure for granted. Take all the shortcuts you want. I understand now, the pressure of time and a heavy workload that falls on a nurse. But that is no excuse to put innocent people at risk. Remember the first rule : Do no harm.

I will strive to

Keep a professional manner. Always say please and thank you. Be there when the doctors make their rounds and don't be afraid to say anything about the patient that they don't already know. If you know the patient has a complaint but is not confident to say so, voice it out for the patient. Be the patient's advocate.

Collaborate with my colleagues and other members of the healthcare team. That is the best way to earn respect. Show your interest and people will show interest in you.

Share my knowledge and correct any misconceptions I have. It is through our own ego that we do not update ourselves on the latest practice and by turning a blind eye, we are really abetting to a malpractice.

Keep my patience. Nursing is most challenging for me because I am such an impatient person. The people who know me best know how temperamental I can be. But I have to remember that I can't and I won't lose my temper on the job. Do it when you get home. Scream in a pillow, rant at your boyfriend. But in the ward, take a deep breath, pull a straight face and do what you have to.

Not be influenced by others who hate being being a nurse. I chose this profession and I love being a nurse so you can do what you want and I can do what I want. They may not be the same things but do I look like I care?

Have a reason and rationale for everything that I do and not just being a hand-maiden who carries out orders blindly. If you're not sure, ask. Real fools are afraid of looking like one. If it really is a stupid question, then we'll all have a good laugh, won't we?

Read up on my patient's disease and treatments so that I'll actually know what the doctors, physiotherapists, pharmacists, and dietitians are talking about.

Keep my spirits up. Really, what I'm dreading the most right now is that when I am in the real working world, I will turn into the kind of nurse I hate right now. I really really really don't want that to happen. I've heard the saying that if your intentions are pure, insyaallah, your heart will stay pure. I believe in this but yet, this fear is still in me. On the bright side, at least this fear will keep me on my toes and keep me from slacking. But I really hope the working world will not be too harsh on me.

I will have my good days and bad, as will everybody, but I hope I can still practice all this that I have written and not just forget about it when my first pay rolls in and I realize that a nurse's pay is peanuts compared to the amount of work we do.

I also believe that if a person stays in a position for too long, he/she is bound to slack off. And that is why I intend to stay as a staff nurse for a maximum of 4 years, and I will not get married and have children while working as a staff nurse. I know I will just crack under all that pressure. No, I will move on to my masters as soon as possible, be an academician who also collaborates with the service side or vice versa. I really want to be a top matron who does ward rounds and overlooks nursing care while going in to teach nursing students 2 or 3 times a week.

I will be different and I will exert change. Please God, grant me this wish and give me the strength to reach the top. Amin.