Nurses as a Key Role of Medical Services for Society

Hospital of Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) held a webinar for the HR IN HOSPITAL program on Thursday, July 22, 2021. This webinar comes with the topic, NON-NURSING JOBS: THIS NOT MY JOB. Present as speakers were Prof. Kusnanto as Nursing Manager at UNAIR Hospital, Prof. Nursalam as Chair of the East Java Regional Board of the Indonesian National Nurses Association, Emil Dardak as Deputy Governor of East Java. This event was hosted by Hning Wicaksono as the Host.

Nursalam mentioned the social restrictions imposed by the government such as large-scale social restrictions, Community Activities Restrictions Enforcement, and emergency Community Activities Restrictions Enforcement. The facts on the ground show that there is always chaos in the implementation in the field. This becomes a question, whether the policy is not the right solution or the community is not compliant. While the impact on the nurses themselves are stress, negative stigma in society that nurses contain a virus, extreme fatigue, reduced rest time, and long separation from family.

Nursalam also stated that there are several obstacles related to nursing in handling positive COVID-19 patients, namely the disagreement between nurses and the patient’s family regarding further care and treatment. Another problem is whether the remuneration at the hospital where he works is following the principles of honesty and fairness. Then if there is a disagreement with colleagues or other professions in the hospital, it will also cause obstacles, especially during a pandemic emergency. The next problem that is no less complicated is related to hospital policies regarding conflicts of interest that are rife in handling community victims of COVID-19. 

Meanwhile, Pudji Djanuarto as Director of PHC Surabaya Hospital believes that the success of hospital services depends on the integration between medical, education, and research. Hospitals must understand the key roles and basic needs of nurses. In addition to having competence, every medical worker must be quick to respond to situations in the field with a quick mindset.