CREMONA – May 12 is International Nurses Day. Established in 1820, it pays homage to this professional figure, often silent but essential for providing care and assistance both in hospital and family settings. As stated by Alberto Silla, head of the Health Professions Assistance Department (DAPS).
Abroad they envy the preparation of our professionals: in Italy, the course of study offers generalist training with transversal skills that can be used in all situations, from healthcare facilities to home care and nursing homes”.
Our nurses achieve specialisations unimaginable until a few years ago: from the implantology of intravascular devices to home care for the management of cancer patients or patients with serious pathologies, in connection with the health and socio-cultural structures of the area. This goes hand in hand with the functions that allow work to be carried out in highly critical departments, such as first aid and intensive care.
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Distinctive skills, which necessarily must be possessed today by a professional nurse. «Despite this – continues Silla – one still pays the price of cultural backwardness within the company, which is little aware of the professional and operational complexity of this figure. With the difficulty of obtaining career progression and formal and substantial recognition comparable to that of other medical-health professions “.
This year the National Federation of Nursing Professions Orders (FNOPI) has chosen to focus on three topics dear to those who carry out this profession: birth assistance, communication between operators and patients, emergency intervention, and management of the purpose of life. To enhance the profession of the many operators who work in the hospitals of Cremona and Oglio Po, we asked eight of them to tell about their path and experience at the service of others, making a choice that everyone would make again without hesitation.
MICHELA
” Being a family nurse means entering people’s homes on tiptoe .”
Michela Sbolli has been a nurse since 2008. The choice dates back to sixteen years earlier when the father is involved in an accident. “When I went to see him – he says – I mainly met nurses, for me they had saved him”. Hence the desire to undertake the same path, which begins in the psychiatry ward. Today she is a family and community nurse: “It is a change of course concerning work in the hospital, you learn to understand if you can manage complex situations independently, in contact with the family and often with multiple pathological patients”. Taking charge of her extends to the social aspect: Being a family nurse means entering people’s homes on tiptoe. Listening is fundamental as well as taking charge of what the person experiences, to avoid having to go back to the hospital or suffer from loneliness “.
JOHN
” I am proud of what I do: the best thing is when the patient says thank you “.
Giovanni Astuto is a nurse specializing in PICC implants (central venous catheter with peripheral insertion). «I take care of safeguarding the patient’s venous heritage – he explains – when it is necessary to find long-term venous access to administer nutrition or therapies. For three years I have dedicated myself full time: in addition to working in the various departments, I intervene to solve or avoid any problems ». The satisfactions are not lacking: «It is nice to receive gratitude from patients and other operators, often my figure acts where there are no other possibilities, it all depends on your procedure. I am proud of what I do: what saddens me is the little social and economic recognition for nurses, often linked to a somewhat backward idea of the profession “.
VERENA
” The donation makes the difference: after death, a person can become the cure for someone else .”
Verena Bolchi has been a nurse since 2002. For fifteen years he worked in resuscitation, subsequently, he served at the nursery school of the Cremona hospital and today he works in neonatal pathology. “Initially I wanted to be a physiotherapist – she says – but one year of nursing was enough to understand that I had found my way”. In 2018 she obtained a coordination master’s focused on organ donation, which she is currently in charge of within the Organ and Tissue Donation and Collection Coordination. In the donation, there is not a single operator, but a network of nurses and doctors who work together to make it happen. I am a link in this chain. Managing the moment of the end of life is not easy, “but through the gift, there is the awareness that with death everything does not end there: a person can become the cure for someone else in need”.
MARGHERITA PIZZA
” I am not a nurse,” I am “a nurse: since I started this path I have rediscovered myself “,
I would make the same choice every day, I strongly believe in the profession of the nurse». Margherita Rossi is a CIO nurse, who deals with the control and prevention of hospital infections. I feel the profession on me, like a suit: now I am involved in the surveillance of healthcare-related infections, working on protocols and procedures that allow to improve the quality of care and prevent potential complications. It is a multifaceted job, based on multidisciplinarity and collaboration: it requires the help of every single professional. Training is combined with experience, essential for making decisions and operating independently. The nurse is a bit of a victim of history: despite the skills maturing, this figure is not always recognized for what it is worth. It is up to us to make ourselves known and recognized, training is the weapon we have.
ANNA
” For those who need assistance we are a point of reference: it is important to know how to listen “.
Anna Guerra has been a nurse since 1992. “Thirty years – she comments – doesn’t seem real to me!” She is the daughter of a nurse, she grew up attending the wards of Oglio Po, where she works today, and is part of the Picc Team. I take care of the surgical patient in pre and postoperative care and the implants for vascular access. Contact with patients is fundamental for me: in addition to surveillance in the most delicate moments, listening is one of the fundamental aspects, as is empathy “. After many years of work, Anna has witnessed numerous changes in the profession: On the one hand, technological evolution makes our work easier, on the other, the organization has become more complex. But I have no second thoughts about choosing this profession: I know I made the right choice, and I would do it again.
IRINA
” In my work, I speak from the heart: knowing how to read data and images is essential for getting to know the patient “.
Irina Jitariu is a Sonographer, a health technician specializing in the use of ultrasound inside the echocardiography laboratory. After the specialization achieved both in Italy and in Romania – your country of origin – you started working at the Asst of Cremona. We can say that” I speak from the heart “, through the probe: I am satisfied with the path I have taken, I have learned a lot. Often the pace of work is intense, but I find it positive to discover something new every day. It is continuous research ». The relationship with patients is an important point: They are mainly elderly people, often with complex and difficult to manage pathologies. Knowing how to take a correct medical history is essential to be able to read the data that tell about the health of their heart. I have always dedicated myself to people: I am very empathetic, this is my strength. I love helping others, this gives me satisfaction.
ANGELA
” Patients who rely on us nurses develop esteem and trust in what we do “.
Angela Sammartino has been a nurse for 35 years at Asst in Cremona. “I started with graduate school, maybe even earlier: a nurse who believes in what he does is a full-time nurse, he never leaves.” After their first experience in general medicine, she dedicated herself to patients suffering from diabetic foot syndrome, gaining interest in the treatment of skin lesions. Today I am in charge of assessing the risk of developing these problems in all clinical-care situations and setting up an appropriate prevention plan both during the hospital stay and at home. the patient still has a brief idea about the specialist nurse but those who have had direct experience of care have gained esteem and trust in this professional figure. The patient must know that he can rely on us safely.