Malaysia Healthcare Chronicles

A Hundred Unsung Heroes: Rajeshri Kannan – Clinical Instructor, Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur

“No one day is same, we need to be able to learn quickly, multitask and overcome any challenge patiently.”

Every day when I would go home from work, my son would start asking me a million questions – Mummy, why are you doing this? Why can’t you stay home like the rest of us? It was difficult for him to understand, why his mother is out there, doing something completely different than her regular role.

By profession, I’m a clinical instructor, training the nursing staff in hospitals how to manage patients and basics about hospital management. But when the pandemic started to pick up steam, I was posted to the COVID-19 swab centre. I would be stationed there every day for five hours, dressed in full PPE performing swab tests for patients who were coming in. For those five hours, our movement was completely restricted as we prepared the swab tests and managed the testing centre.

Of course, there was some nervous energy in the beginning, but a few days into the COVID-19 duty, I was able to learn the ropes and also share the learnings with other nurses. This is the nature of the job. No one day is same, we need to be able to learn quickly, multitask and overcome any challenge patiently.

Eventually, I was also able to build confidence in my son, explain to him why my duty is important. I would come home and talk to him about my day, share my experiences with him, explain to him about the SOPs until he was convinced that I was doing okay. Today, I can say proudly that I’m a nurse who was given this wonderful opportunity to serve the country in a time of real crisis. I think my son is proud of me too!


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