Retired Nurse, Merlene Johnson, is a ‘Special Person’

Aug 15, 2021 News, Special Person

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With over 30 years of selfless service to Guyana’s health care sector…

“Over the years as I go about my daily life, people would stop and thank me for the care I extended to either them or a relative or even to show me a child that I delivered. Many times, I don’t remember the person they are talking about but I am thankful I left an impression. Seeing my patients happy and leaving the health facility feeling better has motivated me in keeping my job as a nurse for 30 years.”

By Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – A knack for helping people in distress, especially those who are sick, is what drew Merlene Johnson to the vocation of nursing; a career she had for more than three decades of her life until she retired on August 1, last.

In today’s ‘Special Person’ feature, Kaieteur News will reflect on Nurse Johnson’s service to the health sector and to a larger extent the Guyanese people.
Born Merlene Eileen Klenkian to parents Leslie Stephens and Pearlie Klenkian on July 2, 1961, at the Mackenzie Hospital in Linden, this week’s ‘Special Person’ grew up in the mining town, where her aptitude as a caregiver was identified early on.
The nurse who later adopted the surname Johnson through marriage explained that “as a child, I always find myself helping those that are sick whether in our home or with relatives which led my stepdad to say ‘you will squeeze hard boil and dress sore’ meaning I will be a nurse.”
Her earliest childhood memories date back to 1968 when her family lived in a little village called ‘Yahuka’ in the Demerara River. At age eight her family moved to One Mile, Wismar, Linden, after her parents separated. The separation resulted in additional siblings.

Nurse Johnson recalled that her parents initially had two children but after they separated, “mymother married and bore two sons and also my father married and got three additional children.”
Among the family values, which were taught to her and her sibling early on, Nurse Johnson said, was “the value hard work whether it is in our academic and vocational studies; how to be our brother’s keeper; and the importance of showing love and support for each other.”
In this regard, the young Johnson attended the One Mile Primary School and Saint Aidin’s Anglican School. She was among the last set of students to write the College of Preceptors Examination (a London-based equivalent to obtaining a high school diploma in the 1960s).

EARLY START
She recalled that as the final year of school approached, she was still undecided which profession to join. As a result, she got a job with a local construction company called Guyconstruct shortly after leaving school, and she pursued Pitman courses in Shorthand, English, and Typewriting.
However, an ailment for which she had to be hospitalised, soon left the young Johnson scoping out employment opportunities elsewhere.

She explained that she had decided to rest at home for a year before returning to work. Still undecided on what she wanted to do with her life, she opted to be drafted as a hospital maid at the Wismar Hospital Complex through a recruitment programme which was run by Linmine—a privately owned bauxite company that managed the hospital at the time.
Johnson recalled, “My first job was as a maid at the Wismar Hospital. Oh, I enjoyed being among those jovial women who taught me how to clean the various wards. When I was finished with my work, I would go to help with the nurses in the emergency room and they taught me how to measure blood pressure, count the pulse and respiration, and record same.”

CERTIFIED NURSE
As her interest grew in nursing, and after a year as a maid, Johnson applied for the position of a nurse aide. She was successful and worked in that position for two and half years. By the end of the service as a nurse aide, Johnson developed a desire for the evolution of her career in the health care sector.
Consequently, in 1991 on September 2, she entered the Georgetown School of Nursing for training as a Nursing Assistant.
“I worked in this capacity for a number of years and returned to the School of Nursing in 2007 to pursue the Midwifery training,” stated Nurse Johnson.
She noted that in addition to becoming a certified nurse, she returned to study and successfully wrote the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) exams privately at age 47 years.
The nurse reflected that the success of her career as a nurse was linked to her ability to see people for who they are and her desire to help them, whether by giving information, physical care or spiritual guidance.
During her time of service, Nurse Johnson worked in various wards; Accident and emergency unit, Ophthalmology Clinic and Theatre, Maternity, Industry Health Center and even spent two years at the Mahdia District Hospital.

SELFLESS SACRIFICE
The retired health care worker noted too that throughout her career she was able to draw inspiration from her mother’s example of selflessness and sacrifice.

“I always remembered the sacrifices my mother made to ensure that she and her siblings were taken care of and her encouragement for us to stay focus to achieve our goals even after she and dad separated. In addition, I must acknowledge the contributions my stepdad made to ensure that our basic needs were supplied,” added Johnson.
The nurse noted too, the knowledge and experience she gained throughout the years of working with various ethnic and religious groups has moulded her into a people’s person, who is always willing to go the extra mile just to make patients and their relatives comfortable.
Given her dedication to patient care, Nurse Johnson has within the past 30 years, been the recipient of awards and tokens of appreciation from the Ministry of Health, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and the Industry Health Centre.
However, these are not her most treasured accolades. The nurse notes that nothing beats hearing from a patient or their relative about how her work positively impacted their lives; helped them recover and lead fruitful lives.

She explained, “Over the years as I go about my daily life, people would stop and thank me for the care I extended to either them or a relative or even to show me a child that I delivered. Many times, I don’t remember the person they are talking about but I am thankful I left an impression. Seeing my patients happy and leaving the health facility feeling better has motivated me in keeping my job as a nurse for 30 years.”
Despite, the obvious rewards that accompany the work of a nurse, there are also challenges – something that Nurse Johnson has had her fair share of.
She recalled an instance of working in the ophthalmology theatre with a number of nurses and a Chinese Ophthalmologist who wanted to help those who were visually impaired before his rotation finished.
“On that surgery day,” Nurse Johnson said that 30 cataract surgeries were successfully completed in five hours.”
The doctor had run a tight shift but by the end of the period, they were all very excited that their hard work resulted in improved vision for the patients.
Over the years, Johnson said too that staff shortages also resulted in challenges.
There were times, the nurse said, that she had to multi-task to fill the need for other types of health care workers.
She noted that her greatest challenge in this regard came when she was on duty one night at the Mahdia District Hospital with no doctor, medex, or senior nurse on board.
Johnson recalled, “A patient presented with severe abdominal pain and I had to be the one to manage him for the night. I called the plane to take him to Georgetown Public Hospital and another nurse accompanied him. I never knew how much knowledge I had until that fateful night. I am happy to say that the patient had emergency surgery and was able to return home to his family after a period of time.”
In this regard, she advises that those who aspire to be nurses must first love themselves and have a deep love for people, so caring for people will become easy. “Be patient and tolerant with others. Love what you do. Be an advocate for the patient’s well-being,” she advises.

LITTLE FAMILY
Given that she has now retired, Nurse Johnson spends a lot of time with her adoring, little family.

Moreover, since her husband, Milward Johnson, is now deceased, she spends most of her days with her daughter, Pollyanna Johnson-Lindore; grandson, Levi Lindore; and son-in-law, Leroy Lindore; and their pet dog, Everest.
The family lives on the East Coast of Demerara and fellowship at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Mrs. Johnson says, “Putting God first in our lives has helped us to love and support each other and others that we may come in contact with. We look for opportunities to help others, doing things and going places together is our joy.”
Prior to retiring, Nurse Johnson noted that balancing time between family and work was not always easy. She said, “My husband and I shared responsibilities in taking care of our home and daughter. We set aside one day in the week for the family and that is something that still happens in our home. We try to do as much together as a family. Now that my husband has died, we at times sit and talk about him and have a good laugh at some of the things he did or said.”

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