Interview with Hamidatu
Hamidatu was inspired to be a nurse since she was a young girl growing up in Sierra Leone - to help people, to save lives.
Is nursing what you thought it would be?
Hamidatu: It is pretty well just as I thought it would be. Before I became a nurse, I didn't have much idea about high blood pressure and what you can do to prevent it. The same with Diabetes or the side effects of medication. I have learned so much from nursing. As a girl growing up, I saw people dying of natural causes, and others dying of diseases. Caring, helping, understanding – that’s what I expected it to be. It is perhaps more stressful in crisis but when I am able to stabilize a patient’s blood pressure or something else... then I feel good; I feel like I am really having an impact.
What would you say is the hardest thing about being a nurse?
Hamidatu: The stress you've got with co-workers and family members of patients. Sometimes you are in the hospital looking after a patient, and you are giving the best care you can. Visiting family members sometimes talk to the nurses like they don't know what they are doing or that they are not doing a good job for their loved one. All that contributes to stress. But I know that the family is stressed as well. You accept their pain and give them the courage they need, and you just do your work.
Do you ever deal with violent patients?
Hamidatu: Sometimes, yes. You give them medication if they are agitated, and that calms them down. You may have to direct them to their rooms and keep monitoring them, to make sure they don't harm themselves or others.
How did you find out about Carecor?
Hamidatu: A friend told me about Carecor three years ago. I was working in a nursing home before that.
Did you check out any other agencies?
Hamidatu: Yes, but I get enough shifts through Carecor.
Is there anything that the public needs to understand about the nursing profession that you think they don't understand?
Hamidatu: They should encourage more people to go into nursing, even if they can't afford to. There is a lot of stress on the nurses now. The public needs to help people become a nurse. It will make the healthcare system better if there are more nurses.
Tell me what's good about Carecor?
Hamidatu: Carecor is a very reliable agency. You get your money on time, and that's the number one thing we are all looking for. You have your dignity as a human being, and Carecor treats us well.
If you had to narrow it down to one quality that makes Carecor excellent, what would that be?
Hamidatu: They are honest and reliable and treat the nurse with respect.
