At a time when the behaviour of nurses is coming under scrutiny, managing training consultant Wendy Nobie is advising them to be kind to their patients.
Nobie, the featured speaker at the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) Community Health Nurses Conference at the Conference Room, San Fernando Hill, urged nurses to be kind to their patients.
“It’s not what you say but how you say it. When you sick the last thing you want to see is a guff-up face,” said Nobie. “Words have a way of staying with your patients.”
Nobie, who has 30 years of experience in the healthcare system, said it was distressing to hear nurses abusing patients.
“Once I was having lunch in my office in Siparia and someone came to see me, and the nurse outside my office asking her, ‘Your belly big again? What you come here for again?’ If you have to talk to people like that, leave the work!”
Nobie’s words were greeted with loud applause from those gathered. She encouraged them to seek counselling for their personal problems to ensure it did not affect their work lives.
“No one wants their dignity and self-worth dragged from them in exchange for their health. When you say ugly things to patients it stays with them. We have to fix ourselves first. How can you give a patient what you don’t have?”
Also addressing the nurses was SWRHA chief executive officer Anil Gosine. He praised the nurses for their dedication, reminding them that they were the first line of response that patients coming into the SWRHA encountered.
“This initial interaction by nurses remains a major influencing factor, as you are ideally positioned within the healthcare system to inspire and empower the persons you interact with on a daily basis, creating positive, life-changing healthcare outcomes,” he said.
Nurses were treated to a series of short lectures on midwifery and menopause.