We are shining the International Nurses’ Day spotlight on our colleague Tamilselvi Mohanlal.
Tamilselvi works in the TB department at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust as a Specialist TB Nurse.
She worked in cardiothoracic ITU for 11 years, surgical specialities for 13 years and general medicine for three years before moving to her role as a TB specialist.
Her current role entails the investigation, diagnosis and treatment of suspected TB active and latent referrals. She co-ordinates the care and support for patients on treatment for TB and also provides support, advice, education and training to other services and the public.
When asked what she enjoys most about being a nurse Tamilselvi said:
“I am very proud of what I do in my role. As a nurse I always treat people with compassion, show empathy, understand their needs and walk the extra mile with them. I think it’s important to take the time to actively listen to the needs of others and also be supportive by offering help to them when they need it.
“I think it’s so important to be open, honest and transparent as a nurse even when things go wrong. You just need to always have a positive approach and be open to improvement and focusing on positive outcomes. We do this by listening to feedback from staff and patients and their families. There’s always room to provide the best patient care so sharing new ideas and good practice is always good to do in our role.
“I also love supporting my colleagues and working collaboratively.”
When asked what the hardest thing about being a nurse is, the 54 year old said:
“The hardest thing for me is seeing the patients I took care of die and breaking the bad news to the family. This has recently been made worse due to the Covid-19 pandemic with no visitors being allowed and it has been heartbreaking.
“I still remember when one of my patients said to me ‘sister don’t lose me’ and it still affects me to this day.”
Tamilselva has encountered challenges throughout her career and personal life too which she states that:
“During lock down in March last year we were all redeployed to Covid wards and it was frightening. I was thinking to myself how I am going to wear full PPE throughout the whole 12 and half hour shift! Even though this was super challenging, at the end of May I was reflecting on how happy I felt to have helped out during the pandemic and caring for the community. I wholeheartedly gave treatment, personal care and fed patients and helped to call their family members so that they could speak to loved ones.
“I have also overcome many challenges throughout my personal life. The role itself has impacted my personal life due to the very long shifts and not taking my breaks sometimes. I have also experienced a lack of respect and value from other people in healthcare in the past but all my experiences have made me into the nurse I am today.”
And as the last word on International Nurses Day the mother-of-two added:
“We as nurses are all Covid-19 battle frontline warriors. Be proud of what you have done and thank you for the sacrifice you take every day risking your own health to keep our community and people healthy. Thank you again and please stay safe and be healthy.”