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Madame Bah is touched when patients can see her for the first time after sight-restoring surgery. © Laura Crow / Sightsavers

Madame Bah is touched when patients can see her for the first time after sight-restoring surgery. © Laura Crow / Sightsavers

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International Nurses Day

Did you know Saturday 12 May is International Nurses day? Nurses are vital to our eye care work, caring for patients in countries where there is often a desperate shortage of health workers.

Meet Madame Bah Nimatoluaye, a nurse from Guinea who is part of our eye care project there.

“When I was 13 went to a hospital and saw people that were sick, I wanted to become part of the solution. Working to help sick people runs in my family: I have a brother who is a surgeon and have always admired his job. Initially I wanted to be a doctor, but my plans changed when I got married. I passed the exams to get onto the course, but decided I wanted to have a family. Training to be a nurse gave me more time to look after my children.

As well as managing the other nurses, I spend three days a week look after the operating theatre. I prepare the anaesthetic that is given to people having eye surgery. I also sterilise and prepare all the surgical instruments, and am in charge of bringing people into the surgical theatre for their operations.

Within the theatre we only use two operating tables at a time. This gives me time to do all the prep for the first patient and prepare their anaesthetic, before moving onto the next patient whilst the anaesthetic gets to work on the first one. Another nurse will stay with the first patient to make sure they are looked after and not left alone. We normally operate on about 12 people a day.

The rest of the time I help with consultations in the eye care unit. On an average day I will help test the eyes of around 50 people. However my job changes from day-to-day: if there is a problem in the unit I am the first person the staff call for!

The thing I enjoy most about my work is when a sick person comes in who can’t see me. I talk to them and reassure them that the operation will go well. Then when the bandages come off they realise what I look like and that it was me they were talking to all along.”