Humility and passion earn her an award
Mogane has been working as an auxiliary nurse at Mediclinic Nelspruit for three years. Before that, she was a domestic worker at Plaaswerf Kleuterskool for 15 years.
MBOMBELA – She was a domestic worker for 15 years before she started nursing and now her humility, reliability and passion for her job earned Sr Theodorah Mogane the prestigious Mediclinic Nelspruit Nurse of the Year Award.
Tuesday marked the commemoration of Florence Nightingale’s birthday, which is now International Nurse’s Day. The Mediclinic group in South Africa celebrates this event by hosting its excellence awards ceremony on May 12 every year.
“I was overwhelmed when they called my name,” she said. Mogane has been working as an auxiliary nurse at Mediclinic Nelspruit for three years. Before that, she was a domestic worker at Plaaswerf Kleuterskool for 15 years.
“I was the eldest of six children and from a young age, I wanted to be a nurse. However, when the time came for me to go study, there was no money. My younger siblings studied to become teachers but I said if I cannot become a nurse, I will become a domestic worker. I did not want to teach.”
Her uncle, Mr John Shongwe, became worried because she was 30 years old, unmarried and employed as a domestic worker even though she performed well at school. He then paid for her studies and in 2010, she became a qualified auxiliary nurse.
“I am so proud of you,” he told her over the phone on Tuesday. “You must continue to do the good work and to care for the patients the way you do.”
Since Mogane started working at Mediclinic Nelspruit she has not stopped impressing her colleagues.
Robyn Baard, the hospital’s patient-experience manager, sings her praises. “She is quiet and extremely humble and she is committed to getting the job done. She works with pride and compassion and motivates her colleagues to do the same. The moment her name was announced as the winner, her colleagues stood up and gave her a standing ovation.”
Mogane said if there was one thing she would change about the nursing industry today, it would be to ensure that only those who were committed to nursing were appointed. “So many people are only in it for the money, but when they have to clean up a mess, they run away. You need to really care about the job and, most importantly, about the patients.”
