2 months ago
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An 82-year-old retired United Kingdom-trained nurse, Mercy Umoh, has said that the Nigerian government and health practitioners have a critical role to play in stemming the tide of mass movement of doctors and nurses from Nigeria to overseas for greener pastures.
Umoh who stressed this in an interview with our correspondent in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, on Saturday, noted that the nursing profession is a calling in which anyone who decides to take it up must have sympathy, empathy, humility and persevering spirit to excel.
She encouraged Nigerian nurses to remain selfless in service delivery and handle patients as if they were their family members and friends, advising them against joining the bandwagon of journey to overseas.
The award-winning nurse admitted that as much as nurses should offer selfless service; they still have their lives to live, therefore, the government should provide an enabling environment and better working conditions for them to put in their best.
She noted that apart from the need to increase their wages and other entitlements, the government should constantly train nurses to be in tune with international best practices.
She said, “The government has to do more on training of nurses. If they choose to be nurse; they should be encouraged to be a good nurse. With the way the country is going now, it’s not easy to be a good nurse. Nursing is not a job that you can do anyhow, you have to think about what you are going into and do it better. I was trained in England and practiced for a while, about 12 years before relocating back to Nigeria to serve my people.
“When you say you go to greener pasture, it’s somebody that built that pasture, it’s somebody that will improve this situation, if you leave, who do you think will do it for you? I pray that much as I would want the government to improve the conditions and train the nurses constantly, those that took up this profession should remember why they took it up; that will help them to persevere and get better conditions. You have to put manure and water to have a greener pasture, we have to join hands to build our country.
“I have been visiting few schools, telling the younger ones that a good nurse should have empathy, and never use a foul language. You can’t tell a woman who is in labour, “while you were with the man, were you not enjoying it? This is very wrong! A nurse should be prayerful too, it worked for me when I was in active service and it’s still working. She/he should be teachable and ready to learn from their seniors in the profession.
“Nurses are young, they have their expectations and they should not be ignored, government should do something that will encourage them. Little facilities they should have, should be there, if they have a problem, they should be looked after and their problems solved. We enjoyed some of these things during our time and the present government should do same to these ones.”
The octogenarian also advocated for the establishment of caregiving homes for the elderly in the country saying that apart from the job such would create, it would offer older people the opportunity to be cared and catered for as well as have constant access to medical services.
She said, “From my experiences, home is important, especially when you have a paralyzed person while you are working outside the area, it will give you a little relief, if government will be able to create a home for the elderly, one it will create employment, two you will know that somebody you love but couldn’t care for is cared for on your behalf.”
