Nurses are the backbone of a health care system. Believe me it is. Nurses, they are special, they are unique. To be a good nurse you may go to a university and learn the basics. However to become a great nurse you need to know this
and this 
International nurses day is approaching. As you can see from the poster it is the 12th of May each year. It is the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing. The theme for this year is “Positive Practice Environments : Quality Workplaces = Quality Patient Care”. I wonder if any of the things listed around the circle in the poster is available to Maldivian nurses. Do we even hear about Maldivian nurses at all. We see no respect, no safe working environment, inadequate supplies, resources , pay, education, support and equipment.
The work nurses do is special. They are worthy of respect (as every human being is). The general public treats them like dirt, not to mention how they are treated by the doctors. That is another story anyway ;). There seems to be a Maldives Nursing Council. What they does, what goes around no one knows. Not even the nurses themselves.
Minivannews reported in 2005 that,
Maldives Nursing Council : Publishes a web-site on careers in general / speciality nursing or community. Poses as the professional regulatory body, but has been denied permission to print even an in-house journal in Maldives.
When the good old ( oops.. sorry) Husna was managing the nursing students in Maldives, we thought that something fruitful might emerge from those. Nothing changed. Nurses still face discrimination in the workplace. Every single day this is happening in our hospitals. Nurses are being belittled to the point where i have seen many cry. This is not the way we should embrace the services of this special breed of people. Inorder to change this, maldivian nurses need to raise their voice. I know there are a few who does, but it seems no one is listening. So they should shout. The reasons why the majority does not raise their vioce is something that almost every one knows.
The International Council of Nurses says that Nursing Associations should be there to,
Make a difference in improving the work environment of nurses. At the national level, professional associations and regulatory bodies function as advocates for nurses and patients alike. As advocates, nursing associations : campain for legislation and regulatioms that put in place needed protections for members of the profession and strive “to assure a professional nurturing environment with appropriate resources, and a health care system that incorporates the expertise of all providers in a decision-making process centred on the patient”. Their aim is supplemented by the development of relevant policies that address key health and safety concerns (e.g. adequate staffing levels, adverse event reporting and “whistle blower” rotection) and support for positive work environments.
Any way. The video clips below are for all the nurses (and those who are contemplating to become one). As we all celebrate nurses day one thing is certain.
IF ALL NURSES SAY NO… OTHERS WILL HAVE TO SAY YES. That is definitive.
Indeed they deserve respect. Nurses will always be respected in my family. They have been a very special in our lives. The support given on the gloomy days when Yafaau was in the nursery, the following month we stayed in the PW1 and the many many times we had been in the Paed. Ward had gave us a lot of hope and trust in them. And we will keep on helping Yafaau, side-by-side with them and not leave everything up to them as that will be difficult for them as well as us. A biigg thanks goes to all the nurses everywhere.