“I think they are taking nursing back to what it should be — bringing back the human aspect, the holistic aspect of caring for patients.”
Lesego Lebeta is a fourth-year student nurse in the North West province, and if her enthusiasm is anything to go by, the nursing profession will be in good hands in the future. Interestingly, she chose nursing as her career because she had what she characterises as “a bad experience at a local clinic”.
Seeing nursing done badly was a trigger to make her choose the profession. “These things either humble you or make you aggressive. In my case, it made me want to change things!”
Lesego has a clear-eyed view of her profession, however. “Currently, I’ve noticed, it’s difficult to recruit young people because of how the profession is viewed.”
Too many people have had similar experiences to hers. In part, she puts this down to what she calls the “poverty profile” of the country.
“Sometimes, because of the carrot (a job) that is put in front of you, you might just go into the profession. You don’t realise until you’re in it what it entails.”
Nursing is still very much a calling, she believes, and you should not be a nurse if you don’t love it. In addition, the practical experience she’s gained has shown her just how difficult the circumstances under which nurses work can be.
“It’s very hard to give quality care with inadequate facilities. I’ve also found out how frustrating it can be to try and change people’s minds about what to do with their health!”
Part of the nurse’s role, of course, is health education, and Lesego has bumped up against the tough job of teaching people who are set in their ways how to change their habits to improve their health.
But Lesego is confident that she and her cadre of nurses in training can be victorious even in difficult circumstances. “The lectures and training are very good — we are getting everything we need to become the best nurses we can be.”