Once a nurse, always a nurse…that is the mantra of dedicated health professionals like Nurse Patricia Smith.

The Matron of the Bartica Regional Hospital (BRH) is retiring next month, but she is prepared to return to the facility as a volunteer.

“I plan to still assist at the hospital at the VIA clinic, the cancer screening clinic; I plan to still come and do some work there.”

Nurse Patricia Smith served in the local Public Health Sector for 33 years. Her official tenure in the public service comes to an end in June 2018.

Reflecting on her career, she shared that her passion for nursing developed from a tender age after she took the responsibility of caring for an elderly neighbour. As she grew, Smith felt that her purpose was to help others, particularly the ill and infirm.

The retiring matron, who loves to travel, highlighted what drives her to continue to serve others.

“Many times, you feel like quitting, you say ‘this month is going to be my last month, I am not able with this anymore,’ but when you go home and sit in your quiet moments you think: ‘I can do this, persons are depending on you out there so you can’t just up and walk out.’”

Smith enrolled at the Georgetown School of Nursing on November 11, 1987 and was a qualified nurse thereafter. As she climbed the professional ladder, she received training in Basic Life Support, Midwifery and Professional Nursing.

Working in the region she became a ward sister at BRH, then eventually a Junior Departmental Sister and is now retiring as the hospital’s Matron.

Smith admitted facing countless challenges as a health professional, particularly while working in various hinterland communities. However, she took these challenges in stride and used them as motivation to push ahead in her career.

Whilst acknowledging that pursuing a profession in the health sector has its challenges, she encourages her younger colleagues to practice patience and embrace the love for the job.

Source: DPI