The story of a male nurse in the Emergency Department and his silent sacrifices

Always with the patient

At 6am, when hearing the emergency siren, Mr. Ho Van Bao and the nurses of the Emergency Department quickly received the patient from the ambulance. It was a serious patient who needed immediate emergency treatment, the whole team quickly got involved; measured vital signs, set up an IV line, assisted the doctor in placing an endotracheal tube... and followed the doctor's orders.

Only when we witnessed his work and that of his colleagues, did we understand the hardships of the nursing staff. They were like soldiers, not only quick and timely but also always ready to carry out emergency dispatch orders both inside and outside the hospital.

The Emergency Department, Vinh General Hospital, which regularly receives critically ill patients, requires doctors and nurses to be on their toes to promptly provide emergency treatment. Photo: Lam Tung

A new working day of Head Nurse Ho Van Bao usually starts like this. He is always the earliest in the department, checks and grasps the patient’s condition from the night before; then carefully reviews the medical equipment in the department to prepare for the day of receiving new patients.

Every day, the Emergency Department receives 80-100 patients, but there are only 8 nurses on duty, so Mr. Bao always assigns work scientifically to meet the huge workload. As usual, there are many patients, so he and the department's nurses are always on duty to welcome and take care of the patients.

Mr. Bao shared: For mild patients, our work is somewhat lighter. But for severe cases, nurses are the ones who directly support examination, injection, handling emergency situations, monitoring 24/24 to avoid possible dangers to handle promptly, coordinate smoothly with doctors, and follow medical orders; to the personal hygiene of patients...

Despite the nature of his work, which often involves dealing with severe and critical cases, Mr. Bao and his colleagues always have to work at full capacity. However, patients always feel his care, dedication, and enthusiasm in listening to their thoughts and feelings; accompanying them in their fight against the disease.

The job requires dedication, perseverance and sacrifice, which seems to be only suitable for female cadres, but he believes that the health and strength of men will be the strength to help him fulfill his "mission"; with a wish to "take care of patients like loved ones".

Head nurse Ho Van Bao guides and improves professional knowledge for nurses in the department. Photo: Lam Tung

The silent sacrifices

It is not an exaggeration to say that nurses are the closest and most attached to patients. They not only perform the role of care but sometimes also act as a relative, a companion to the patient in the process of fighting the disease. There are situations where patients face death, so being close to understand and share with them and their families is absolutely not an easy thing.

Mr. Bao shared that he had many times dealt with drunk, drugged, aggressive patients, and uncooperative patients' families. The work of nurses at that time was much more difficult. But because of our duty, with our professional conscience, despite the difficulties and even dangers, we overcame everything and continued our mission of saving people.

Nurses must have a great love for their profession to be able to do such wonderful things.

Directly assisting doctors in examination, treatment and closely monitoring the patient's progress, head nurse Ho Van Bao is always dedicated, devoted and willing to sacrifice. Photo: Lam Tung

Nursing work requires agility, dedication, courage and acceptance of difficulties, taking on many disadvantages. That is, most of his time is spent working in the hospital. Along with doctors, nurses often have to take shifts at night. Working overtime, he and his colleagues always have to be alert to respond to emergency situations. Not having time to rest after a long, stressful night, they continue their daily work the next morning. Then, on holidays and Tet, he and his colleagues have to sacrifice time with their families to do their duties.

But the efforts to save the patient's life just in time, witnessing the happy reunion of the patient with his family gave him great motivation to continue to work hard on the difficult path.

When asked to share stories of accompanying patients through life and death, he paused to think for a moment because there were many such cases... Most recently, a patient was brought to the hospital by his family at noon, and the doctor determined that his circulation had stopped. Although there was only a small ray of hope, Mr. Bao and his colleagues quickly took active emergency measures, placed a tube to clear the airway, established an IV line, and administered electric shock...

After more than 40 minutes, the patient had a pulse again, his vital signs were stable and he was transferred to the intensive care unit. The relatives cried tears of happiness… For him, fighting to regain the patient’s life, that great happiness erased all the fatigue and hardship.

Not only taking care of the sick, nurses are also like relatives and companions in the process of fighting the disease. Photo: Lam Tung

The silent sacrifices of that white-shirted soldier make us realize how noble the medical profession is. His contributions have been recognized with certificates of merit from the Provincial Nursing Association and the Department of Health. But for him, the sharing and sympathy of patients and their families is the most meaningful recognition; giving him and his colleagues strength to continue to sow kindness and spread love; sharing the pain with patients.

"Nursing staff Ho Van Bao is a typical example of young staff of the hospital. In fact, the needs of patients are increasing, wishing to be provided with perfect medical services. While the hospital's nursing staff is currently lacking compared to the number of patients who are receiving medical examination and treatment every day, it requires staff to work hard. To meet the requirements of the task, head nurse Ho Van Bao is always steadfast in his expertise and is willing to learn, update his knowledge and be creative in his work; he is the core of the emergency department and the examination department. He contributes to spreading the spirit of dedication and devotion to the patients; being a pioneer and a vanguard in the development movements of the unit".

Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh Phuong - Head of Nursing Department, Vinh City General Hospital shared.