There is no doubt that nurses are well trained to perform many roles and if given the opportunity they can comfortably perform those roles that obnoxious policies presently deny them from performing.

 

It is clear that only an illiterate (though educated) with no knowledge of what operates in other professions that try to undermine the importance and unique roles of nursing/nurses in the health sector. Nurses are indeed great and I give kudos to them.

Now to the above topic of discussion which is according to: The Lancet, Volume 330, issue 8559 pages 612-613, 12 September 1987 (courtesy: google search @ www.google.com).

 

The research article revealed that the nurses in Zaire performed emergency obstetric surgery and the outcome was very commendable. In rural north-western Zaire nurses at Karawa and Wasolo hospitals were trained to do caesarean sections, laparotomies and supracervical hysterectomies .In Karawa 278 of 321 caesarean sections were done by nurse-surgeons in 18months. In Wasolo all 32 caesarean sections in 13months were done by the nurse-surgeons. The report concluded that obstetric operations could safely be performed by specially trained nurses in rural areas of developing countries and the high mortality rate in such areas could thus be reduced.

 

In Nigeria, nurses in various specialties such as general nursing, psychiatry, midwifery, anaesthesia, ophthalmic, accident and emergency, intensive care etc are performing greatly in their chosen specialties. Contrary to the impression being created about nurses, the fact remains that others are receiving accolades for jobs performed by nurses, for instance the nurse-anaesthetists attend to about 80% of surgical patients in some hospitals but who takes the glory for the job done? Even when nurse-anaesthetists are paired with others on call-duty, the nurse should be rest assured that she will work alone because the other will not come. Too busy to comply with call duty! Go to the Primary Health Centres; the nurses are all-in-all.

 

It has been established that many doctors at one time or the other have employed nurses especially the male nurses to consult for them in their private hospitals until recently when nurses are been discouraged by their nurse leaders from accepting such functions again, as it amounts to cheap labour.

 

A closer look at the course curriculum of undergraduates of our universities shows that nursing, medicine, pharmacy and physiotherapy students attend same classes at 100L, 200L, before concentration on core clinical courses in different departments. It is evident that nurses are well trained in all medical and surgical conditions as well as pharmacology. What a nurse does in any health facility is only limited by the policy of such health institution. For instance if you want a nurse to wait endlessly to get intravenous fluid put in place instead of allowing the nurse to carry-out the venipuncture, good for your hospital! If there is haemorrhage as a result of deep laceration and you want the nurse to wait endlessly rather than allowing the nurse to suture and prevent further blood loss, good for your hospital! But let it be known that the nurse is a big asset that is grossly under-utilized due to selfish reasons. What is happening globally now is roles expansion for nurses. 

 

Every profession requires the services of consultants; nurse-consultants are needed to ensure that nurses are rendering care based on current best evidences. This is indeed in the best interest of the patients. To insist that a PhD holder or a professor in his/her chosen profession cannot service as consultant in that field is absurd/appalling! Such an act is capable of ridiculing our educational system. 

 

Healthcare team is a cyclical structure with the patient at the centre, it is neither horizontal nor vertical. Every profession is important and the need to work collectively in the best interest of the patients cannot be over-emphasized. 

Many consumers of healthcare are well informed about their health issues and ready to take actions, no health professional can assume custody of knowledge any longer.

BY Nurse Olurotimi Awojide