Si Rowena Hansen ay halos 15 taon nang nars. Nagsimula siya sa industriya ng aged care at bilang enrolled nurse, nagdesisyon siyang kumuha ng bachelor's degree at nagtrabaho sa ospital ng ilang taon. Kumuha din siya ng kanyang master's certificate sa intensive care ngunit bumalik sa kanyang unang pasyon na aged care.
Wala sa kanyang plano ang maging nars ngunit nabago ang lahata nang magsimula siyang magboluntaryo sa komunidad.
“I actually didn’t thought much of it. But, when I came to Australia at 17, I didn’t know anyone so I started volunteering around the community. I went to some nursing homes and volunteered my time just to get to know the place and get to know more people around me then I fell in love with nursing at that time so I decided to pursue it as a career.”
Sabi niya, nagbigay ng layunin sa kanyang buhay ang pag-aalaga.
“It feels really good if you provide your care to everyone and if you provide a service that everyone appreciates. It’s just that moment of looking after someone at their most vulnerable time, I just find that very rewarding. If you know the term caritas love [charity love], then your love towards your patient will really flourish. If you know how it feels to give, you know how rewarding it is.”
Sa Kasalukuyan, si Ms Hansen ay isang clinical specialist manager sa isang aged care. Trabaho niya ang mag-hand over, hawak din niya ang isang 92-bed facility at may 3 support registered nurses sa ilalim niya, mga staff member kabilang ang PCA at kitchen staff. Pinakamahalaga sa lahat, tinutugunan niya ang pangangailangan ng mga residente.
“I go around and check who is sick or who needs urgent attention. Kind of like triaging on who would need immediate care, whose family needs attention. I look at their care plan if it’s up to date and check medications for the residents if it is still needed and within reasonable dosing.”
Filipina nurse Rowena Hansen is a clinical specialist manager at an aged care facility. Source: Rowena Hansen
Hamon ng isang Pinoy nurse
Pinalaking mahabagin, sinabi ni Ms Hansen naging hamon sa kanya ang unang limang taon ng trabaho, ngunit sa mga dumaang taon, natutunan niyang pangasiwaan ang kanyang mga emosyon lalo na kapag pumanaw ang isang pasyente.
“The first five years of being a nurse I was emotional but as the years go by you actually learn how to have barriers and not to be too affected especially when they [patient] pass away. I guess being a nurse when you care so much and worry about your patient, sometimes you take it home with you. That’s actually one thing that most nurses have tried to deal with, try not to take all the worry back home. I think if the situation doesn’t affect you anymore that is when you have to question if it’s the right career for you."
Dagdag ni Ms Hansen may mga insidente dati kung saan nakaranas ang mga nars ng berbal na pang-aabuso mula sa isang miyembro ng pamilya na nahirapang tanggapin ang kondisyon ng mahal sa buhay. Ngunit nakatulong sa kanila ang mga inilagay na pagsasanay upang pakitunguhan ang sitwasyon.
"Sometimes you get visitors who would talk down to you but it all goes down to giving them the facts and really assessing the situation. If you see that the other person is not willing to communicate in a peaceful manner that's when you have to put a pause or a stop from the conversation and maybe go back to it at a later time when they’re a little bit collected."
Higit sa papel ng isang nars
Kilala ang mga Pilipinong nars dahil sa kanilang likas na maalagang katangian, dahil dito, sila ay tanyag sa buong mundo.
“I’m happy to say that most of the Filipino nurses I met will look after them [patients] like they are our own family member. "
"We have the warmth, we treat our residents or patients as a family, we don’t treat them as a member. We actually go beyond the role. To say ‘nothing is too much’ actually reflects what a Filipino nurse is.”
Nagbigay siya ng isang halimbawa kung saan ay nagboluntaryo sila ng mga kasamahan niyang nars na bumili ng regalo para sa isang residente na hindi na binisita ng kanyang mga pamilya.
“This resident has no family member visiting and no one is buying him anything. A few of us, Filipino nurses purchased a few things for that resident because we treated that resident like our own family.”
Nagsusuot din ang masayahing si Ms Hansen ng mga makulay na damit at headdress sa mga espesyal na okasyon upang pasayahin ang mga residente ng pasilidad.
Naniniwala siyang mahalaga na sa isang pasilidad ay aktibong sumasali ang mga residente sa mga nakakaaliw na mga aktibidad upanag mapanatili ang isang positibong palibot.
"In an aged care facility we also make sure that their everyday life is full of colour because sometimes when you are in a facility you are stuck on the same general activities. We had a resident who was turning 90 years old, we organised a surprise birthday party for that resident without asking the facility to organise it."
Rowena Hansen with her residents. Source: Rowena Hansen
Paghikayat sa ibang mga nars
Binigyang diin din ni Ms Hansen ang kahalagahan ng paghikayat ng mga kasamahang nahihirapan sa lugar trabaho.
“I encourage them to dig deeper and not to take everything personally. They have to distinguish why the behaviour is happening and most of the time, it’s because of guilt as most of them are unable to look after their loved one and sometimes they have expectations that cannot be realistically met at a certain time."
Di lamang isang trabaho ang pagiging nars
Para kay Ms Hansen, ang pagiging nars ay higit pa sa propesyon, ito ay isang bagay na talagang nais niyang gawin.
“You really have to love it otherwise you’re not gonna last as a nurse. I have seen that with other people who did nursing for the sake of being called an RN. Nursing is also customer service, you deal with families and you also deal with the complex personalities of your patients."
