International Nurses' Day: UAE-based medics who are nursing people to health
By Saman Haziq
Published: Tue 12 May 2020, 9:00 PM
Last updated: Tue 12 May 2020, 11:08 PM
On the occasion of International Nurses' Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlighted the role of these extraordinary warriors who are fighting on the frontlines by marking the day with the theme "Nursing the World to Health".
We give you a snapshot of the invaluable contribution of three nurses who are playing a vital role in these tough times battling against the Covid-19 outbreak.
A nurse who spent 12 years away from her familyShadia Mohammad Sharaf, Egyptian, 53It was her father's illness that led Egyptian national Shadia to pick up nursing as her profession in 1991 in Saudi Arabia where she lived with her family.
"I became a nurse after seeing my family members - my aunt and my sister - take up the profession of healthcare workers. I saw them serving my father who was suffering from heart ailments and he received so much comfort from them and other hospital staff. I remember him praying for them and talking highly of them, especially of the nurses who served him with a smile. It was then I decided to become a nurse and serve people with the same conviction and devotion as I saw my dad being served."
Shadia, who started working as a nurse at Prime Hospital from 2008 till date, has been home just once in the 12 years she has spent here. "Although I have my mother, two sisters and a brother living in Saudi Arabia, I keep in touch with them through phone as I feel my presence is more required here. I love serving people and it gives me peace and happiness so it is due to my own free will that I don't take vacation very often. And more so right now during the pandemic I feel my role is to help people and comfort them as many are sick and scared and they need our care and attention more than ever."
Shadia said she loves her job and feels respected and loved at her workplace. "The UAE has made us feel like its own citizens and I consider this place my home and the people at work here as my family. This gives me the strength to discharge my duties fearlessly and readily."
'I resigned my job to volunteer as a nurse'Mary Grace, 33, the PhilippinesHailing from the Philippines, Mary Grace came to the UAE in 2010 and worked as a nurse at several clinics and hospitals until 2020 March.
On hearing about the pandemic and the requirement of nurses by the UAE Government to serve Covid-19 patients, Mary resigned from her regular job and joined as a full-time volunteer at Al Warsan isolation centre that serves Covid-19 positive patients.
"This was a national emergency and call for duty that I could not ignore. Although my colleagues at the hospital told me that I am taking a big risk by going to a Covid-19 isolation centre but I told them that life is anyways unpredictable and death is inevitable, so I might as well take precautions and do my duty. I cannot shy away from death, as it will come when it has to so why be scared. I packed my bags and moved to the Al Warsan staff accommodations and have been here ever since."
Mary added: "In order to save the world, we, nurses, and all healthcare workers have to play our part now. I feel happy taking care of Covid-19 patients as I know I am protecting them here and also protecting the rest of the world outside by not allowing these patients to mix with them until they are completely cured."
Apart from working as a nurse, Mary also spends money and effort in making and providing free personal protective equipment for all those she comes in contact with.
Besides taking care of patients physically, Mary said as a nurse her role now during the pandemic has extended. "Since we have to manage and interact with Covid-19 patients, our role is also to support them emotionally and psychologically as many of these patients are very depressed and lose hope. We are in extraordinary times of a pandemic and this is the time that each of us needs to do something extraordinary to help people around us."
'The UAE makes us feel special'Khaya Msimango, 36, South AfricanAfter having worked as a nurse in Oman for eight years, Khaya came to the UAE last year as chief nursing officer at Right Health Group clinics.
She now manages around 125 nurses and oversees the teams of nurses and works with them to perform clinical functions.
"We interact with Covid-19 positive cases or suspected cases on a daily basis but that doesn't scare us because for us, they are our patients and we need to comfort them. We look after them, stabilise them and give them all primary healthcare services before transferring them to a government facility."
Khaya, who stays alone in the UAE as her family is back in South Africa, said the role of nurses has become more important than ever now during the pandemic. "But it is the love and support showered by the government and people of the UAE that give us the strength and motivation to stay steadfast on this path to serving others," she said.
Khaya added that it is important for nurses to understand their crucial role and how they can save so many lives and help overcome this crisis if they discharge their duties the right way. "This realisation gives us the strength to stay strong," she added.
Khaya also said that the UAE has made them (nurses/healthcare workers) feel very special from the very beginning since the pandemic condition unfolded.
She added: "The appreciation and love we have received from the government as well as the people of the country really lifts our spirits high. The care, respect, love and support given to us by the UAE community keep us focused and motivated to do our duties even better. We feel honoured by all small and big gestures people of this country do for us, such as calling us heroes, clapping for us on balconies and courtyards, giving us free offers such as coffee, food , laundry etc. And it makes us feel special and part of something bigger. Thank you UAE."
saman@khaleejtimes.com