20-year-old student nurse authors a book that attempts to change the misconceptions of nursing in Malawi

The book auspiciously launched on Saturday

* She has a passion for God and spreading the Gospel through writing and teaching God’s word

By Duncan Mlanjira

Thandizo Auspicious Mlenga, a 20-year-old 3rd year nursing student at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS) — formerly know as Kamuzu College of Nursing — has authored a book that attempts to reveal the true identity of the profession.

The book — ‘As I Care; Re-discovering the Place of God in Nursing’ — was officially launched on Saturday, March 5 at KUHeS Kameza Campus in Blantyre.

Auspicious, who hails from Kalazi Village in Dowa District, says she has a passion of spreading God’s the gospel through writing and teaching God’s word.

Though she is just a student nurse, Auspicious says she aspires to change the misconceptions that people hold on nurses in Malawi.

She started writing the book in July 2021 drawing for the “inspiration after I observed that the the wrong identity that nurses have”.

“Nurses have been misrepresented so much in Malawi,” she said. “They are known as cruel people, sexually immoral or rude. So the book came as an attempt to reveal the true identity of nursing — to the nurses themselves and even the society at large.”

Going forward, Auspicious she wishes to be “an advocate for nurses — making sure they realize the responsibility they hold and help people receive the best treatment in the hospitals.

She went to study Adult Health nursing at KUHeS having passed her Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) at Answer Private Academy.

She is just a bold personality in having that aspiration to put her thoughts on nursing in the perspective of religion.

The medical industry faces a lot of challenges ranging from inadequate staff in public hospitals, long hours of work shifts, lack of drugs, drug pilferage, low pay, lack of essential equipment and many other challenges.

In their Pastoral Letter that was read on Sunday, March 6, in the celebration of Lent, Catholic Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi also highlighted these challenges.

It commemorated the 30th anniversary of ‘Living Our Faith’ Pastoral Letter that was read on March 8, 1992 Pastoral Letter in which the Bishops criticised former President late Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s one party state under Malawi Congress Party (MCP) that eventually culminated into the country in a multi-party democracy.

Under ‘New Ills in our Country’, the current Bishops reminded the nation that the 1992 Pastoral Letter addressed the state of the health services in the country and they acknowledged the success of the Primary Health Care that the Government had initiated then.

The Bishops took cognizance that the 1992 document also recognized the part that the Church was playing in supporting government efforts in health care.

But at the same time, they drew the attention of the nation to the “severe difficulties faced in areas such as overcrowding, shortage of medical personnel, inadequate care given to the sick, inequality in medical treatment and the unfortunate situation of drug theft in health facilities and at central stores”.

“We find ourselves in a similar defective situation today. Our health care system is almost on its knees. Most of our health facilities are in a dilapidated condition. The doctor-patient ratio is well below the expected standards.

“Our health centres, clinics and hospitals are running without adequate personnel and without sufficient medicines. Stealing of drugs and medicines has become more rather than less widespread. Institutions which are meant to restore hope and health frequently let people down leaving them helpless, sad and in despair.

“We cannot make any meaningful progress as a nation if we continue to neglect this very important and vital sector. Instead of continued overdependence on referral hospitals abroad where only a few rich and politically connected people can access specialist services, deliberate efforts should be made to develop a health care system in this country which will address the needs of all Malawians regardless of their status in society.”

And just as Auspicious attempts and aspires in her book to change the misconceptions that people hold on nurses in Malawi, the Bishops said in their Pastoral Letter that “there is also need to motivate health service providers to instil in them passion for their vocation and professionalism in their work”.

“Mishandling and abuse of patients by health care providers must also be urgently addressed.”

In 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared in ‘Year of the Nurse and Midwife’ with a call that health professionals deserve a standing and thunderous ovation.

In his report, a Middle East journalist, Dr Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui wrote that even before the dreaded CoVID-19 went on a rampage and claimed lots of life to date, “the world acknowledged the commitment and diligence displayed by the nurses and the midwives all over the world”.

“Now, with their zeal and passion to save human lives, the health professionals command our respect all the more. Many doctors, nurses and other health professionals have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

“Nurses and midwives are making the world a healthier place to live in; they are the unsung heroes of the CoVID19 response — nobody can predict the end time of CoVID-19.

Mohiuddin Siddiqui noted that the global nursing force consists of 28 million out of which 19 million are professional nurses.

“The world still needs 9 million more nurses and midwives if it is to achieve universal health coverage by 2030” and he quoted Abdallah bin Ahmed Al Rubaeiy — president of Oman Nursing Association — as saying he strongly felt that nurse shortages must be overcome in hospitals worldwide.

Al Rubaeiy pleaded for more professional incentives to attract the youth to the noble profession and he has appreciated strong legislative measures from some of the governments for the security of nurses and other health professionals in the light of attacks and violence by the general public — who ignorantly blame the health professionals for the spread of CoVID-19 in their areas.

At the peak of the CoVID-19 — when the main focus on helping in the fight against the spread of the disease was on pooling resources together to procure essential medical supplies, a Blantyre couple Della and Aj Kulemeka joined the private citizens intervention with a difference.

They called on wellwishers, individuals and companies to donate  towards an initiative they dubbed ‘Feed the Frontline Healthcare Workers Fund’ — saying these professionals were working tirelessly everyday fighting CoVID-19.

On they appeal that was posted on social media, Facebook, they said: “Our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers — you name them — are being looked after by frontline healthcare workers.

“They rarely eat. Let us say ‘thank you in a special way by providing a meal per day,” they said while they had already rolled out the feeding programme at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.

Della had said: “The smiles I have seen during deliveries have absolutely been a key driver of this initiative. We are so happy to see more individual initiatives popping up that are doing their part in lending a hand to the frontline workers. Together we can fight CoVID-19.”

Several medical personnel lost their lives due to the pandemic which they contracted in their line of duty.

In her book, Auspicious says nurses as wrongly perceived as cruel people, sexually immoral or rude and her book has come to attempt at exposing the true passion that they have for the profession — targeting the nurses themselves and the society at large.