A REGISTERED nurse at Life Mount Edgecombe Hospital says he was born to be a nurse and feels fulfilled knowing that he plays an instrumental role in helping people get their health back.

For the past six years, Avikar Rupnarain, has been based at the Accident and Emergency unit at Mt Edgecombe Hospital. Collectively he has ten years experience in the nursing field, as he trained for four years prior to qualifying.

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“I was inspired to become a nurse when I was a patient at a young age and admitted to hospital.  The care and compassion shown to me by the nurses left me with a lasting impression,” he  told Northglen News on International Nurse’s Day, today (12 May).

Rupnarain’s typical day is filled with numerous tasks. At the start of each shift, every nurse is assigned specific duties followed by a detailed handover process from the previous shift.

“Every patient is unique and therefore a thorough assessment is conducted on each patient.  At the start of a patient’s journey in the Accident and Emergency unit, a patient is triaged.  This assessment is a prioritising tool, which helps us to determine the level of treatment required as well as the urgency, which is based on international guidelines,” he said.

A doctor manages each shift and the nurses are responsible for carrying out their orders such as establishing intravenous lines, administering treatment, reporting abnormalities; obtaining diagnostic results and admitting patients to specific wards based on the level of care required.

“Every day is almost completely different and is dependent on the types of patients that present to our unit.  Irrespective of this, as nurses we are still responsible for providing the best care to our patients and to make life better,” added Rupnarain.

He said many people don’t understand that nursing is not only a profession, but a calling and a service to humanity.

“This means that nurses are driven with empathy and care to do their jobs effectively.  A nurse is the person that spends the most time through the patient’s journey up to recovery,” he said.

Rupnarain said it is not only the fact that a nurse plays a major part in the healing process of the patient but he or she becomes the patient’s advocate, care-giver, comfort and strength.

“During this pandemic, nurses had to put their personal fears aside and be strong, resilient and caring in order to continue providing the best patient care. Nurses should be acknowledged for being selfless and always putting the needs of others before their own,” he said.

“For me, nursing is a calling and I have found my purpose in life.  I believe that I was born to be a nurse.  This profession stimulates me intellectually and resonates deeply with my value system.  I am presented with daily opportunities to be a critical thinker and go the extra mile for people in need,” added Rupnarain.