Lahja Nashuuta

Empathy, which is the ability to understand the personal experience of the patient without necessarily bonding with them, constitutes an important communication skill for a health professional. This is one human attribute that Hileni Samuel, a senior registered nurse and healthcare practitioner at the Windhoek Central Hospital has successfully cultivated.  

She is the sole diabetic and wound care management specialist in the entire State and a walking encyclopaedia on non-communicable diseases.  

Born and bred in Katutura, Samuel joined the public service in 1992 as an assistant nurse at the Katutura State Hospital, where she spent half a decade in the public healthcare system before resigning to further her studies.  

She attained her diploma and postgraduate degree from the University of Namibia in 2001, after which she pursued her specialisation in diabetes at the University of Stellenbosch and wound care management from the Toronto University of Canada.

With qualifications of that nature, one would expect Samuel to have opted for a role in the private sector, but thanks to her humanity the less privileged stand to gain.

Her primary dream was to be a nurse to serve those who cannot take care of themselves.

“I rose through the ranks in the profession to serve my community and the government of the republic. Besides, the government is the majority employer, and serves the public,” she said.

On the job

Seemingly a woman with many hats, Samuel is not only a diabetes and wound care specialist but also a nursing administrator of the Ministry of Health and Social Services attached to the Windhoek Central Hospital.  She manages the day-to-day operations of nurses at the Windhoek Central Hospital to ensure they provide quality healthcare while following standards and regulations.   

She is also responsible for staffing and other nursing services such as in-service training, allocating resources and conducting employee counselling.  

“I am a master nurse trainer on non-communicable diseases for the ministry.  I assist the head office with training and creating awareness on non-communicable diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancers and so on,” she revealed.

But a step away from the files and paper staplers, she assumes a completely different role again. Whilst nursing administrators rarely interact with patients, being the sole diabetes specialist, Samuel avails herself for consultations, ward visits and patient screening as well as to attend to other wound care and diabetes cases that might require her expertise.   

“For instance, if a patient is having an issue with a wound that is not healing properly, I will be required to screen the patient and guide the nurse on what medication to prescribe. We also conduct outreach programmes to the regions, where we offer training to nurses and health workers on non-communicable diseases prevention and treatment,” she revealed.

Challenges

Admittedly, being the only wound care and diabetes specialist in the State comes with its fair share of challenges. Samuel attends to cases as well as administrative work.

 “It is a challenge when you are the only specialist because you might not attend to everybody on time,” She admits, attributing the shortage of staff as one of the challenges that most of hospitals are faced with. However, she expressed hope that the government will recruit more nurses as the funds arise.

Rewards

Samuel maintained that although nursing can be a challenging field to be in, it is also one of the most rewarding career paths. What is most satisfying about her job, she said, is knowing that she is planting knowledge needed by the State to address diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.

“I initially chose a nursing career just out of high school as I wanted to work in the field of medicine. After many years and many advanced degrees, I still love being of help to people at all stages of life. I am very proud of my nursing profession, and I love the fact that nurses are still the most trusted profession to the public: a responsibility we should never take for granted,” she said. 

With regard to her administrative roles, Samuel highlighted human resources retention as one of the fulfilling government achievements she is proud of.

“Having staff glued to public service is an indication that the public healthcare is taking care of the employees and at par with the private health sector.

“The government is trying its best to deliver healthcare services to all corners of the country and that is what we as the nation should be proud of, despite the need for specialists and a second look at the remuneration packages to make them market related,” she maintained.

Expertise

Samuel is optimistic that her expertise in diabetes and wound care management is beneficial to the Ministry of Health and Social Services.

“Besides the managerial and nursing administration roles, my expertise in diabetes and wound care management is beneficial at the clinical wards as currently I am the only subject expert in the State.  I used my skill not only to educate nurses but also patients and other healthcare professionals as well as delivering direct care,” she said proudly.

Providing such skills helps in reducing patients’ length of stay in the hospital, reducing inpatient harm and complications, and improving patient satisfaction.

“Perhaps it is also worth noting that I do awareness creation on non-communicable diseases in my spare time.”

“For instance, some Saturdays, I go out to the community, and offer free screening of diabetes. We are dedicated to passing the message to sensitive people on the seriousness of those non-communicable diseases,” she added, maintaining that she is trying to meet the government halfway when it comes to awareness creation.

Memorable moment

Samuel is happy that during the highs of Covid-19, the State did not retrench staff which is an indication that the government is a caring government, and it is there for the people.

“What we achieved as a nation taught us the lesson that the government is here for us as public servants and as a nation. I am very grateful that I am associated with and a product of public services. Even though there are challenges, here and there, the focus will not be on the negative side but on positivity,” she said.

Misconception

The nurse maintained that misconceptions about government work will always be there because people are hard to please.  She said while constructive criticism is needed to help persons grow their skills, it could be more valuable if it offers solutions and recommendations. 

“We have been criticised for all sorts of things, but we also need to be appreciated and acknowledged for what we are doing at the hospital.  People who are criticising the public health sector are the same people who flocked to the government health institution during Covid-19, and they were all equally assisted,” she said.

She is yet to determine when she will leave the public service, as she is enjoying her work, and she is satisfied. “There is no specific timeline on how long exactly I would like to serve the public and one never knows when God will present an opportunity that will allow me to leave the public service,” she said.

On her wish list, she had this to say: “I would like to continue ploughing back my expertise to my government and transfer my skills to advance the government’s healthcare goals, aspirations, and programmes at all levels.  At an individual level, I wish to open my own diabetes and wound care clinic in future,” she concluded.