Nurses Moseley, Krammer and Dhanpat are our ‘Frontline Workers’ of the Week

May 17, 2020 News

---

By Sharmain Grainger

From time immemorial, nurses have been recognised as integral part of any health care facility. Their nurturing ability is often the feature that separates them from the rest of the health care professionals who are no less important since it is usually a team effort that helps to make a patient whole again. To some, what nurses do is a menial work, but after benefiting from the skills they wield, it would quickly become clear that these are no ordinary beings, especially when those with added midwifery skills are factored in.

Nursing, back in the day too, was a feminine exclusive profession, but men, increasingly over the years, have gravitated to the gracious role as well.
The outstanding contributions of them all, during the past week, were aptly celebrated as part of International Nurses Day (May 12) and this newspaper played a role in helping to highlight a number of them. But many will agree that a single day to recognise the importance of this arm of health care professionals is simply not enough, not during this COVID-19 period, when their already colossal role has considerably morphed, literally, into a life and death situation, for them too, and on a daily basis. This is owing to the fact that the coronavirus disease has been characterized as a contagion that is easily transmittable; no one is immune. Scientists are still trying to understand the intricacies of this disease that has hit the world hard.
Nurses are often the ones to first attend to patients, to assess their conditions, before they gain the in attention of other levels of professionals. Nurses too are usually the ones who keep monitoring patients to provide updates of their condition and are therefore more hands-on when it comes to their care. Essentially, they are likely the first and last to deliver care to patients.
Nursing, moreover, is a profession that demands that an individual, who chooses it, embodies a desire to care for another without prejudice, regardless of who they are.

There have been many reports of some not fitting the bill over the years but those certainly would not qualify, or even bother to volunteer their services at a demanding and non-prejudicial time as this.
To be on the frontlines during COVID-19, requires nurses with hearts of gold whose disposition would allow them to fully embrace a stressful regimen but yet remain composed enough to deliver quality care always.
Today, we highlight three of these professionals who have volunteered to remain on the frontlines even in the face of one of the most daunting public health crises Guyana, and the world, have ever seen.
NURSE KENROY MOSELEY
Among the males who have gravitated to the profession of nursing is Kenroy Anthony Moseley. He interestingly entered the world on a day when women are celebrated, March 8, back in 1978 perhaps with the intent of breaking tradition.
He is the second of three children born to his parents Keith and Ann Moseley.
Indeed, he has turned out to be a force to be reckoned with in choosing to step up to the plate as a nurse.
This gentleman, who hails from Mackenzie, Linden in Region 10, trained to become a nurse at the Charles Rosa School of Nursing after he completed his schooling at Regma Primary and Mackenzie High, all located in the mining town.

Although he admitted he was coerced by his mother and Mr. Hilary Christopher, presently the Principal Tutor of the Charles Rosa School of Nursing, Nurse Moseley today fully embodies what a quality nurse should be. He shared recently “It’s a profession that allows you to meet and care for people from every corner of this country. There’s no discrimination against one’s ethnicity, religion or cultural background. While demanding, and at times taxing, it is also very rewarding and satisfying to provide the best care you can to patients.”
He has been a registered nurse for over 15 years now and revealed that the profession is one that has evolved considerably over the years allowing the opportunity “to expand on your career path within the health sector by pursuing Medicine, your degree, your masters or any other area within the profession you so choose to pursue.” He is in fact currently pursuing a degree in Emergency Nursing as he functions out of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC’)s Emergency Department. His advanced training was made possible through collaboration between the University of Vanderbilt and the University of Guyana.
“While over the years it has been challenging to grow financially in this profession, I know that in the near future nursing in Guyana will be more diverse than it is right now, and its standards will continue to improve significantly,” said Nurse Moseley.
Currently he is part of the frontliner team in the GPHC Emergency Room Department, where, according to him, “we do screening on persons with COVID-like symptoms and treating same in an isolated area until the relevant testing can be done”.
Given his years of experience as a registered nurse and years working in the Emergency Room too, he is especially suitable to aid the COVID-19 response. “By nature, I’m not judgmental and this translates in my caring well for patients coming to the ER during this time, while at the same time taking all the necessary precautions for COVID,” he shared.
Additionally, working in the ER, especially at this time, requires patience and understanding, and Nurse Moseley believes that he is very capable of giving this to his patients. “At the same time the situation has not robbed me of my sense of humour which helps me, my colleagues and the patients we treat,” he intimated.
A typical shift could be eight hours by day and 12-hour nightly for Nurse Moseley. “You get in to work, take over the unit – patients, equipment and anything else that the previous shift deem as important for you to know; ensure that the department is properly sanitized, especially now with the COVID-19 pandemic, ensure there’s adequate supplies to work with and start your patient interactions in the form of whatever care is needed and assisting your colleagues too when assistance is needed,” he explained.
Some shifts are more difficult than others for this father of three, who currently calls a building in Industry, East Coast Demerara home. “It’s tiring sometimes when I get home from work,” he said. His schedule weighs even more on his psyche since he is unable to spend much time these days with his wife and children by virtue of him being on the COVID-19 team at the GPHC. “I’ve been forced to leave my children with their mother to protect them given the nature of my work,” he said.
Nevertheless, he continues to take pride in his profession, pointing out that among his greatest achievements as a nurse is not only helping to save lives but helping to mentor student nurses whenever possible.
Added to this, Nurse Moseley believes that “there are lessons learnt each time there’s a disaster or an emergency or health crisis…right now one of the lessons learnt, not just for Guyana but the world at large, is how prepared we are when these things happen and how to be better prepared in the future.”
NURSE VERONA KRAMMER
For 16 years now, Nurse Verona Krammer has dedicated her life to the field of nursing in Guyana without once considering the possibility of heading to perceived greener pastures. She premises her patriotism on the notion that “there is no place like home”.
Over the years she’d offered her services in most departments of the GPHC which she believes has helped to increase her knowledge of patient care. As a member of the COVID-19 team too she serves as a screening nurse which means that she is tasked with screening visitors, as well as staffers, as they enter the hospital in order to determine whether they have symptoms synonymous with the disease. This is essential, she explained, so that persons can be swiftly directed for further management and care should they present with signs and symptoms of the disease.
“I love what I do,” she said of her profession as she pointed out the importance of herself and colleagues at the various levels “working in unity” if they are to truly make a difference in the fight against COVID-19.
She has had years of experience working as part of an efficient team in the quest to help preserve the lives of patients. For instance, she spoke of working at the hospital’s Diabetic Foot Centre, which, she disclosed, is a clinic where patients with diabetic foot ulcers are cared for. “We check patients’ vital signs, random blood sugar levels, and patient education on foot care and family involvement in care plan,” is a must, she shared. This level of health care is important, she explained, “because we work to prevent amputation”.
Being a registered nurse for this former Kamarang, Upper Mazaruni resident is especially easy since she’d long recognized just how much “life is precious”. But it was her parents Darriel and Evelyn Krammer, both teachers, who’d steered her to the nursing profession, she confided.
The elder of two girls born to her parent’s on September 3, 1982, Nurse Krammer, now a resident of the West Bank Demerara Parfait Harmonie community, revealed “I’d initially wanted to become a journalist”.
She attended the Kamarang Nursery and Primary Schools and completed her secondary education at Tutorial High. But after being swayed from her first love, mostly by her mother, Nurse Krammer said that she applied and was accepted to train to become a nurse at the Georgetown School of Nursing, a profession that became a part of her existence in the year 2004.
Although her profession is very important and she will also do her best to help save lives, this mother of two boys, 11 and five, stressed that having a family has helped her to appreciate even more the importance of what she does. She sees being able “to see someone you care for being restored to health” as one of her greatest achievement as well as her ability to provide health promotion, counselling and education to those she serves.
NURSE TARUNI DHANPAT
Nurse Taruni Dhanpat, though barely a fledgling nurse, has been striving to give of her best to the profession as well despite the prevailing COVID-19 risks.
Currently a registered nurse caring for patients on the Male Surgical Two-COVID-19 ward at the GPHC, she believes that she is especially suited for this role since she loves helping others, a trait her parents, Bishan Dhanpat and Gaymattie Sukho-Stevens taught her well. “Knowing that you can impact the lives of so many different people for the better during their stay in hospital,” is what helps Nurse Dhanpat remain committed to the nursing profession.
Born on December 16, 1997, she remembers growing up in No.2 Village, East Canje, Berbice. The second of four sisters, she remembered the family moving to a few residences over the years owing to her father’s Senior Assistant Field Manager position at a Guyana Sugar Corporation Estate.
Although she describes her parents as “very protective”, she noted that they were nonetheless supportive when she decided to follow her dream to become a nurse.
This former student of both the Berbice High and West Demerara Secondary Schools confided recently, “To be honest in my childhood days I always admired nurses all decked out in their white uniforms…it represented purity to me, and the thought of saving lives or impacting someone’s life by caring for them, I saw as a blessing.”
Recognising, from a tender age that nursing was a noble profession, Nurse Dhanpat said “it was one of the reasons why I chose to be a registered nurse. This career path was my first choice.”
She started her training for this forte at the New Amsterdam School of Nursing in September of 2015 but later transferred to Georgetown School of Nursing in 2016.
She is a registered nurse for one year, five months now.
Speaking of her work in this capacity, she explained that “from time to time, you would be in-charge of the ward, setting allocations so your fellow colleagues can carry out their specific tasks before the shift is up.”
“As the Nurse-In-charge, apart from doing report, you can multi-task… sharing STAT (immediate) medications, being on rounds, and ordering for drugs,” she explained.
Usually, too, before her shift ends and she heads to her Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara home, she is also tasked with ensuring that “patients’ vital signs are checked and nurses notes are completed, medications and fluids are administered as prescribed by doctors and that patients are fed and tidied.”
Stressing the importance of the role she plays, she intimated “people’s lives are in your hands everyday you go to work and as a nurse you have to do everything in your power to help preserve those lives.”
This has never been more crucial, especially since it is important for her to simultaneously safeguard herself from an especially fierce infection the likes of COVID-19.
But she is not daunted. Rather she believes she is capable and passionate enough to remain on the frontline since she embraces the conviction that “life is too short and tomorrow is not promised” and therefore “there is no time like the present to do what must be done” to stop COVID-19 in its tracks.
For serving our nation well with unadulterated enthusiasm, today we at Kaieteur News say hats off to all frontline workers, especially Nurses Kenroy Moseley, Veron Krammer and Taruni Dhanpat.

“There are lessons learnt each time there’s a disaster or an emergency or health crisis…right now one of the lessons learnt, not just for Guyana but the world at large, is how prepared we are when these things happen and how to be better prepared in the future.”

---

---