Working shift of female nurses on the line of life and death

I am nurse Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung. In August 2015, I officially became a part of the Department of Surgical Resuscitation and Organ Transplantation, Central Military Hospital 108. More than a decade of attachment, this place has become my second home, where I started my journey of "keeping hope".

Ở Khoa Hồi sức, tôi sẽ thực hiện nhiệm vụ “chăm sóc toàn diện“. Vì bệnh nhân không có người thân bên cạnh, điều dưỡng chúng tôi trở thành gia đình của họ. Từ việc vệ sinh cá nhân, thay từng tấm áo đến hỗ trợ bác sĩ trong các thủ thuật phức tạp, đôi bàn tay điều dưỡng đều phải vẹn tròn trách nhiệm.

In the Intensive Care Unit, I will perform the task of "comprehensive care". Because patients do not have relatives by their side, we nurses have become their families. From personal hygiene, changing each piece of clothing to supporting doctors in complex procedures, the nurse's hands must fulfill their responsibilities.

Many people asked me about the "fate" with the profession. Perhaps because my relatives also experienced moments of life and death in the hospital bed. Therefore, I chose the nursing profession for a very simple reason: to take care of patients with all my family love, just like the way I once longed for someone to take care of my family.

Each patient here is a separate battle, usually requiring 1-2 nurses to closely follow, sometimes 3-4 people have to coordinate care. In today's shift, accompanying me is female nurse Giang Thi Hang - a colleague who has been persistently attached to the profession for nearly 10 years.

Just leaving the bed of a ventilator patient, nurse Hang and I continued the special care session for a patient after a kidney transplant. For organ transplant patients, " sterility" is a life-or-death rule. This protective suit is our indispensable companion.

After surgery and returning to consciousness, what organ transplant patients face is not only pain but also feeling of loneliness. In addition to medical expertise, we are always by their side to provide spiritual support, becoming a psychological support to help them be more steadfast on the journey of life.

In the Intensive Care Unit, the sound of life is sometimes just regular "tit-tit" sounds. We train ourselves to be sensitive to each breath, each monitor alarm or the smallest changes on the electric syringe.

Every day, we stand at the most fragile boundary to strive to regain life for patients from the hands of death.

My joy is not far away, it is the patient's smile as she gradually wakes up, or the moment a organ transplant can take the first steps after surgery. Those steps, although trembling, are proof of a life that has just been reborn.

Guồng quay công việc tại Khoa hồi sức chưa bao giờ có dấu hiệu dừng lại. Bệnh nhân mới nối tiếp bệnh nhân cũ, những ca cấp cứu xuyên đêm khiến chúng tôi luôn trong trạng thái “sẵn sàng” cao độ nhất.

The work cycle at the Intensive Care Unit has never shown signs of stopping. New patients following old patients, emergency cases overnight keep us always in the highest "readiness" state.

There are times when pressure rushes in like the recent Tet holiday, when seriously ill patients continuously flock in. At those times, we only know to quietly put aside our private feelings, strain ourselves with the doctors to keep the pulse of the department never interrupted.

Nursing is not simply care but also accuracy. To make each medical operation proficient and skillful, I always remind myself to constantly improve my knowledge every day.

I believe that a kind gesture, a gentle touch of the hand also has the power to soothe the physical pain that patients are experiencing.

Stepping out of the hospital room, the work of nurses like us continues alongside the medical records. All work must be done with absolute concentration.

Pressure and fatigue are inevitable, but we always train ourselves with a cool head and a warm heart. Because we understand that behind the hospital bed is not just a patient, but also hope and belief from loved ones waiting out there.

For me, being a nurse, just "loving the profession" is not enough. This profession needs a steel spirit, a steadfast will and a sustainable health. People call us "brides of hundred families" but seeing patients being discharged from the hospital early, reunited with their families, that is the biggest motivation for me to continue walking on this path.