home care nurses

Intl Nurses Day: Spotlight on Home Care Nurses

Nurses are an integral part of our recovery process but they are often overlooked for their efforts and care when we are at our lowest. They are humans too with families and a life filled with hopes and dreams – and one of them is to care for those who are unwell.

Conversations with a Home Care Nurse

Meet Nani – one of our sweetest customer experience coordinator in Jaga-Me. She is one of the voices behind the phone when you call into our hotline. For Intl Nurses Day 2019, she will be sharing her insights and experience working in the nursing industry for the last 20 years.

What is your day like working as a home care nurse?

Challenging! But when I see my patients smile, I gain a sense of satisfaction and happiness. I think many of us (nurses) often put others as a priority before ourselves. I feel like this is my responsibility as a nurse and even though being a nurse is challenging, it is also extremely rewarding.

What are some responsibilities that nurses do that you wish others will appreciate you more for it?

Many people have the stereotypical idea of nurses as helpers or just an assistant to the doctors. We are so much more than that. We are always on the ground to provide medical care and advice, we take care of our patients’ daily needs such as toileting and bathing. You know we are a literal information desk for patients or family members? Haha. We are everything.

As nurses or medical professionals in general, we are always meeting patients and their families from different walks of life. And we are interacting with them at a period when they are at their lowest. We have to care for the patient and give them the assurance they need at an extremely trying time in their life. As nurses, we need to be more empathetic and conscious of their emotional well-being as well.

As Home Care Nurses, we are more than just rendering medical services. We have to teach and empower caregivers on how to care for their loved ones when we are not there for them. We are also here to listen to them and give them a shoulder to cry on if they are burnt out and stressed out. We are like a sponge – we absorb everything.

I wish that more patients and their caregivers treat nurses with respect because we are not their maids or helpers. We are not responsible for doing household chores, we are here to provide medical care. We deserve respect and care too!

Was there any incident that a patient has mistreated you or was rude to you?

Yes! Many nurses actually receive verbal and physical abuse from some patients. Once a patient threw a water container at me. He was frustrated that the nurses did not attend to him promptly and unfortunately, I was the unlucky one walking past.

So how did you approach the situation?

Obviously, I was extremely angry. But I kept my cool and tried my best to understand why he was upset because retaliating does not get you anywhere. One of my advice to my fellow nurses is to stay calm in any kind of situation.

Many people have this stereotypical image of a nurse as you mentioned earlier on but what does a “nurse” mean to you?

The word “nurse” means compassion, selflessness and bringing a person back to health. A nurse means so much more than what it seems on the surface. In fact, every nurse is unique in their own ways. We have own strengths and interests in our line of work. We have nurses who are doers and nurses who thrive in research or nursing education. Nurses are enriched with information and knowledge as well. So we are here to care for you in times of need and to empower you with knowledge on how to care for yourself or your loved one as well.

Read how some families make aging at home work.

At Jaga-Me, we believe that healthcare should be a social good – it is a basic human need, and should be available to as many people as possible. We aim to deliver the highest quality care through innovation and a commitment to building meaningful relationships.

Save travelling and long wait times at the hospitals. Get specialised medical treatments:
– Urinary Catheterisation
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Jaga-Me: Your Trusted Medical Home Care Professional

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