Nameless hardships
Although not directly holding the scalpel, the nurses are still "silent heroes" who fight day and night to save the patient's life.
As a newborn nurse for 20 years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, nurse of the Neonatal Department, Hanoi Children's Hospital - understands the difficulties of the profession better than anyone else. When sick children cannot speak, all pain is confined through crying, requiring the nurse to have a sensitive heart and absolute alertness to take care of them.
Every day, we always remind ourselves to be alert and meticulous to detect abnormal signs as soon as possible. For newborns, sometimes just a few minutes late can affect their lives," Ms. Thanh confided.
The pressure comes not only from expertise but also from the intensity of work. In addition to her daily work schedule, Ms. Thanh has 8 24-hour shifts a month, sometimes more time spent with sick children than with her children. Ms. Thanh sadly said: "There are babies weighing only 700 grams, admitted to the hospital when their lives are like a thousand pounds hanging on a strand of hair. We take care of our children with boundless love, because if we don't love children, it's hard for anyone to stand firm here.
Also a nurse with many years of experience, Mr. Truong Van Quy, nurse of the Intensive Care - Poison Control Department, Hanoi Children's Hospital, said - his daily work with nurses in the department is to monitor the patient's condition, assess vitality indicators, and care for severe patients who need ventilators and oxygen. In addition, nurses also perform many other tasks such as personal hygiene, changing bandages, feeding patients by the hour, changing posture to prevent ulcers, and injecting and infusing medicine according to instructions.
At the Intensive Care Unit, machinery always surrounds severe cases, requiring nurses to strain themselves to closely monitor and be ready to handle emergency situations.
Most of them are seriously ill children, needing much care and attention. When taking care of them, we always consider them as our own children," Mr. Quy said.
Although they always try their best, there are still cases that do not achieve the desired results. Long-lasting surgeries overnight, but the condition of pediatric patients not progressing well is always a great pressure for nurses.
The simple happiness of a nurse
Despite the pressure surrounding her, the happiness of a nurse is sometimes very simple. For Ms. Thanh, it is when she sees premature babies gradually getting better, overcoming the critical condition. For Mr. Quy, happiness is the day the patient is discharged from the ventilator, the endotracheal tube is removed to return to the warm embrace of his family.
Speaking about the specific characteristics of the profession, Master Nguyen Thanh Binh, Head of Nursing Work, Hanoi Children's Hospital, said - pediatric nurses require many times more meticulousness. They must both ensure accuracy and safety in their profession and also play the role of "cooler" to reassure both patients and their parents.
Currently, about 60-70% of the nursing staff at the hospital are young people. To meet the expectations of patients, the hospital continuously organizes in-depth training programs on resuscitation, neonatal emergency, and at the same time trains communication and behavior skills.
Master Binh emphasized: "Most medical staff here are of childbearing age, and that empathy helps them love patients more, have more enthusiasm to contribute. The concern from the Board of Directors about both material and spiritual life, along with the spirit of collective solidarity, is the bond that binds nurses to stay in the profession.
