Celebrate women who loved nursing
FIFTY years ago close to 60 Indian teenage girls left their homes and families to study nursing at RK Khan Hospital and ended up becoming matriarchs in the communities they went on to serve.
They cared for the sick, elderly and children with the highest standard of healthcare and support and now 50 years later, they will gather for their inaugural reunion.
About 80 retired nurses and their peers, and those still employed at RK Khan Hospital, are looking forward to catching up at the anniversary bash about their heydays at the hospital.
Among those attending is Sheila Govender, 69, of Durban North, who said studying and working alongside a group of young dedicated women held many memories.
“Being new to the profession back then, we were certainly taken out of our comfort zones. We met people every day and helped those who were unwell and provided support to their families. The environment taught us to love, show support, have empathy and give emotional help,” said Govender.
She said she opted to study nursing after her school circulated application letters encouraging young women to enter the field.
Within a few weeks of applying, she received notification that she had been accepted.
This was a tremendous achievement for a young Indian teenage girl, who had grown up during apartheid.
“There were over 450 Indian candidates, and I was selected to be part of the first batch of 24 trainee nurses. We had created history and even appeared in the newspapers,” she said.
Govender, who was born in Bellair, said her parents were accepting of her decision to study nursing and would often visit, taking her home-cooked meals.
The mother of four and grandmother of seven, who has a BA degree in nursing science, said their three-andhalf-year training started in February 1968.
They attended classes at Clairwood Hospital and simultaneously worked in the hospital earning a salary of R48 per month.
“We stayed at our respective homes during the first three months of our studies, but we had to move to RK Khan Hospital’s wards when we started our residence. It was naturally a difficult time for many of us. We had to leave the homes we were raised in and our families, and head off to unknown territory.
“Thankfully our chief matron, Mrs Naude, and college principal, Mrs Botha, become motherly figures. They trained and nurtured us, which was a relief for the nurses and our families.”
She said basic training included learning to give patients baths and checking on their vital signs – their heart rate, blood pressure and urine tests.
“There were no stethoscopes or machines back then. We learnt the old fashion way. For example, we used beakers, test tubes and Bunsen burners to conduct urine tests, and if you held the beaker too long over the burner, it would burst in your hand.”
After qualifying as a registered nurse in 1971, she went on to study midwifery in Cape Town but returned home two months later as she was homesick.
Midwifery
“When I returned, I stayed at home until I got married in 1974. My now late husband, Dr Vis Govender, opened his own surgery and I assisted him while raising our children. After 19 years I decided to study midwifery, which I completed in a year and thereafter went to back to work with Vis. In 1997 I took on the role as matron at Mount Edgecombe Private Hospital and took early retirement in 2004.”
Her good friend and former colleague, Vanitha Naidoo, 65, of Phoenix, who was also part of the first batch of nurses, added that besides studying anatomy, hygiene, environmental health and physiology over the years, they also learnt discipline.
“We followed the rules, and our supervisors were strict. The discipline instilled in us aided us throughout our careers,” said the mother of three and grandmother of two.
Being a nurse, she said, had its challenges.
“Language was a barrier as many of the patients spoke isiZulu, but we developed our communication and understanding skills.”
Naidoo, who was raised in Somtseu Road, Durban, said leaving home was difficult, but she had managed to make lifelong friends.
“We were more than classmates. We had become a family, and we still keep in touch, even if it’s just a phone call.”
Naidoo worked at RK Khan Hospital for 18 years and completed a specialised course in advanced midwifery in 1984.
She went on to work as a matron at Victoria Hospital but after two years decided to return to the public sector and retired from Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in 2016.
Leela Moodley, 71, of Tinley Manor Beach, part of the second batch of trainee nurses who joined in May 1968, added that another challenge was not having a social life.
“We were not allowed to go out often, so during our free time we would take out the tape-recorder, put on music and dance in our residence lounge with each other,” she said laughing.
“One of the housekeeper’s brothers was a dance teacher, and we had to ask for permission for him to teach us ballroom dancing every evening. That was an exciting time for us.”
The mother of two said the group was allowed to visit their homes once a month over a weekend.
Moodley worked at the Stanger Provincial Hospital from 1987, and later at the KwaDukuza Clinic, as a clinical nurse until her retirement in 2012.
Jaya Naicker, 70, of Verulam, added that their passion for the job drove them to better themselves and provide a topnotch service to patients.
“You must have a passion to help others if you are contemplating entering this noble profession,” said Naicker, who retired from the Verulam Regional Hospice in 2014 where
International Nurses Day will be commemorated on May 12. It aims to acknowledge the hard work and contribution nurses provide in society. NADIA KHAN takes a walk down memory lane with four retired nurses, of the RK Khan College of Nursing (class of 1968), who are gearing to celebrate their 50th anniversary and reunion at the Enchanted Gardens on Saturday.
she now volunteers.
They said their training ground, RK Khan Hospital, had drastically changed over the years.
Govender said: “When the hospital opened its doors in 1969, it was clean, neat and everything was organised. You could literally eat off the floor, so it is sad to see the state it is in now. The paint on the walls is peeling, and there is seemingly a lack of cleanliness. It is a sight for sore eyes. It’s heartbreaking.”
The group agreed that today’s generation of nurses are working under immense pressure. Due to staff shortages, they are over worked and underpaid, and many are demotivated.
Added Naicker: “The Department of Health must do everything to change this and improve conditions for those eager to join the profession.”