International Nurses Day: Nurse clubs common sense and skill to save man’s life, shares inspiring story

Nurses bring a smile on the face of millions of patients undergoing treatments at hospitals. As they blend their kindness, compassion, skills and care for the patients, healing just gets faster. While nursing professionals are key part of the overall healthcare system, their contributions are at times go unrecognised. There have been umpteen stories of nurses risking their lives while serving the patients – at homes, hospitals and battlefields. Not without reason the nursing profession is considered one of the noblest. International Nurses Day is observed every year on May 12 to recognise the contribution nurses make towards the society. The day is also celebrated to honour the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. (Also read: Anxiety, depression and burnout rampant in Indian nurses during COVID-19: Study)

On the occasion of International Nurses Day, we spoke to Kavita, a young nurse working at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh in the Cardiac Critical Care Unit, who saved life of a man lying unconscious on the road with her presence of mind and prompt action.

How Kavita’s intuition and quick action helped save her a life

One day on her way to work, Kavita noticed a small crowd gathering around a man from a distance. As she approached closer to the scene on her cycle rickshaw, she saw a young man in his mid-30s was giving CPR to an elderly person, while the whole crowd was just standing there. She immediately got off the cycle rickshaw and asked the man who was giving CPR about what happened. The man replied that he found the elderly man unconscious and had stopped to check on him, and realised he was unresponsive. It was then that he began compressing the elderly man’s chest as he had seen doctors and nurses in hospitals perform this action.

Kavita quickly checked the elderly victim’s pulse and assessed his respiration. She could feel the man breath and he also had a pulse. Kavita’s nursing intuition told her that the man may be low on sugar judging from the dirty clothing and lean body of the elderly man. She gave the man a hard sternal rub to check if he was responsive, she heard the man moan in a low and soft tone. This was enough for Kavita to take further action, she immediately asked the crowd to move back and let some fresh air in and asked one of them to get some juice, she also asked a few by-standers to help the elderly man sit so that he could drink the juice using a straw.

Kavita noticed that the man was making good efforts to drink the juice. This was a good sign and Kavita knew that the man was out of any immediate danger, but needed advanced care. She asked the man who was earlier giving chest compressions to check the elderly man’s pockets. They found his switched off phone, a small diary and his Aadhar card. They quickly made a few calls to get the man’s family and Kavita also asked the by standers to help her shift the man to Fortis Hospital – Shalimar Bagh which was about 500 meters away.

Upon reaching the Emergency department the patient was assessed, his vitals, and ECG were slightly deranged but not life threatening. His blood sugar was normalised. If it hadn’t been for Kavita’s quick action the patient could have died due to hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar).

“When I witnessed the crowd gathering around the person in need, the thought of offering my help immediately crossed my mind. As a nurse, I am grateful to possess the skills necessary to administer first aid and assist those in need of medical attention. So, at that moment, I didn’t hesitate to act; it was an instinctive response,” Kavita told HT Digital.

A heartbreaking incident that changed the course of Kavita’s life

Kavita learnt at a very young age how time is of essence in such cases. When she was 15, she lost her mother in an unfortunate accident because she could not reach hospital on time. The heartbreaking incident encouraged her to pursue this profession so that she could bring a positive change in people’s lives.

“I lost my mother when I was 15 years old. She was involved in an accident, and unfortunately, we were unable to find assistance in transporting her from outside our home to the nearest hospital. By the time we managed to take her to the hospital, it was already too late. I know the feeling of helplessness when no one is there to lend a hand,” said the young nurse.

While Kavita started with her B.Com programme, she soon dropped out. After considering to become a Hindi lecturer at a college, Kavita finally decided to pursue nursing.

“When I reflect on my past, losing my mother at a young age due to a lack of timely medical assistance deeply affected me. Witnessing the importance of immediate help and the profound impact it can have on someone’s life ignited a passion within me to be a source of support and care for others during their most vulnerable moments. Every day as a nurse, I have the privilege of working closely with patients, building trusting relationships, and being there for them in their times of pain, fear, and uncertainty. Witnessing the progress and recovery of patients, and seeing the gratitude and relief in their eyes, brings a sense of satisfaction and purpose to my work,” says Kavita.

She however feels some key areas in the profession need improvement like nurse-patient ratio, streamlining nursing documentation i.e. reducing paperwork, and training of the new nurses joining the system.