Ms. Sindhu Nair

“The quality of nursing defines the quality of a hospital”, Ms. Nair begins as I sit down to talk to her about her life as a nurse, as a manager, and most importantly as a woman in this very demanding profession she has chosen as a career. She explains to me how she is extremely passionate about patient safety and has been continuously striving towards improving safety norms in the hospital and takes pride in the fact that she has a team that helps her through everything.

I ask her about the pandemic and her experience as a frontline worker in this unprecedented situation and she tells me how it was through teamwork that they got through the pandemic. She recalls – “We never knew what was going to hit us. I still remember the day when we were sitting with hands held.” She describes how while navigating these troubled waters, her team focused on keeping people happy. Spending sleepless nights helping people in quarantine and working without leave, her team strived to provide the best care possible to their patients. They also faced stigma from people who treated them as they were infected. Even after facing such difficulties, she tells me with a smile on her face, “When people say that we took good care of them through all this, I believe it is all worth it.”

Telling me about a great learning from her career in the nursing industry, she says that women need to support and empathize with each other. She says that times have changed and with it has also changed the working woman’s responsibilities. “In one of my injection rooms, my nursing staff are giving 225 injections per day. I am 100% sure 20 years back it was not the case. I have to understand that the girl’s hands are aching and I need to give her a break. Things have changed and only if I can improve the life of my own people, can they work towards improving the lives of their patients.”

When asked about her advice to young professionals trying to make a career in nursing, she gives an on the ground insight which I would not have expected. “Develop your own coping mechanisms,” she says. She emphasizes the need for women to accept support from various sources and be ready with their second line, be it their spouse, their family or even the maid.

A strong believer of the fact that women can only thrive when we support each other, she talks about how she supports and advises young recruits on how to take care of their personal lives and plan because only then can they manage their professional lives and bring their best to the work environment.