50 / 50 had the opportunity to speak to a male nurse Mr. Buba Jammeh of Heartlands Hospital, and this was what he stated:
50 / 50: When did you become a nurse and how did you feel like working in the midst of women?
It was a little bit challenging to work with women at the starting, this was during my training time but as time goes on they became a useful partners in terms the supporting we give to each other. When there is a gender balance( having both male and females) it make nursing very professional, and I think it’ s brilliant. I qualified in 2006, personally I don’ t feel anything different of being and man and attending women, it’ s normal to me. For some patients I think it’ s because of their cultural issue whereby some people won’ t allow men to attend women, but whenever they request for a female nurse we do respect them and ask the female to see them, but at the Intensive Care Unit, patients are usually put to sleep on a ventilator and so choices doesn’ t come to play much, so we just go according to the way we are
50 / 50: Why do you choose to be a nurse instead of othe jobs that are male dominated? I think it’ s a matter of choice, anyone who wants to be it all you need to do is to see it
50 / 50: What advice do you have for the society? My advice is that, nursing is a great job
Photography by: Habiba Khanam
and very rewarding and the best you could see in life is look after someone who had a journey from illness and become better and starts normal life, nothing is pleasant to me in life than working as a nurse and I’ m calling on anyone particularly men to come forward and join this rewarding profession, put the cultural believes aside and become professionals.
To crown it all, I think people have a different opinion about the issue of male nurse / mid wives, haven interview several people from different cultural backgrounds, shows how sensitive the topic is, regardless of the efforts male midwives / nurses could render to the society, the fact still remains that, not all culture accept them.
Written by: Sarata Jabbi
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