‘Nursing is not a profession reserved for women’
CARING for others is what gets 26-year-old Chiven Thaver’s heart racing, so it didn’t catch his family by surprise when he pursued a career in nursing.
Encouraged by his mother, Thaver rose above the perceptions associated with males in the profession, completed his studies, and has been a practising nurse for more than five years. On Friday he joined 3,2 million nursing colleagues worldwide, of which 330 000 are male, in celebrating International Nurses Day, designed to appreciate the herculean work they do.
Thaver said there was nothing more rewarding than being a nurse in spite of the rigours of the job.
“As a nurse you take on many roles when treating or caring for a patient. The needs of patients vary so you have to be able to multi-task and perform at your best, always. There is little or no room for error in this profession because we are dealing with lives.”
He said nursing was an exciting job that could “take you places and allow you to grow as a person at the same time”. But there are challenges and responsibilities, especially the long working hours.
Thaver said nursing was not his first career choice – he had wanted to be a fireman, but the long in-take process doused his ambition.
He has no regrets for choosing nursing.
He studied at the Gandhi Mandela Nursing Academy and graduated as an enrolled nurse in 2012, later working in theatre and assisting with anaesthetics.
“During my time in theatre I gained a lot of insightful and valuable information that I would not have learnt if it was not for the senior nurses and doctors who mentored me.”
His most outstanding nursing memory happened while working in an operating theatre.
“A patient was rushed in with multiple gunshot wounds, which resulted in many complications.
“The team of doctors and nurses I worked alongside never gave up and we eventually saved the patient’s life.
“For me that is one of the main reasons I love being a nurse.”
However, Thaver felt that the perception of nursing being for “ladies only” needed to change and some individuals should “really broaden their thinking”.
His advice to aspirant nurses is they must be certain in their choice because it is a job in which you put the lives of others ahead of your own.