As the world celebrates International Nurses Day, healthcare professionals across Goa reflect on the relentless pressure, the emotional toll, and the undeniable human touch that defines their true calling
The buzzing ambulance siren, ICU, OPD, OT, blood, meds, and the unpleasant smell and sights—everything occurs in one place: the hospital. It is a world of relentless pressure and nurses handle so much in real time that most people never see. Behind every ward, every shift, and every recovery there is a nurse putting effort in for someone.
Their quiet resilience and commitment is recognised around the world on May 12, observed as International Nurses Day in honour of Florence Nightingale, the pioneer of modern nursing.
Ranjita Naik has spent 31 years in nursing, 14 of them in emergency. She never quite knew what she was walking into. "I was upset when I saw all the procedures and medicines and took a year to adjust. Now I am truly a proud nurse."
Parents once arrived at the emergency ward after an accident, their nine-month-old baby fatally injured, a parent holding the child's remains and asking her “can you insert this and save my child? You should be strong enough to let go and forget things," she says.
After a night shift, she would come home, pick up bhaji pav, and sleep on the floor for three to four hours. "That short sleep is so relaxing. Nursing isn't easy because you have to take care of yourself, your home, and your ward." Her message, after three decades: "People often underestimate what nurses do. Nurses are the backbone of healthcare."
Usha Umarye has been nursing for 30 years across coronary care, surgery, gynaec, urology, and pulmonary wards at GMC, and before that, at Breach Candy, Bombay Hospital, Hinduja, and Nanavati in Mumbai. She remembers a cancer patient who came in regularly for chemotherapy, grew close to her, and eventually passed away while on her shift. "During her last gasps, she was just staring at me and telling me to look after her family after her death."
She says she was an introvert once. Thirty years in this profession made her "much more social," which still surprises her. Now, as ward in-charge, she believes in offering a motherly feel in the ward. With years she learned: "My health is equally important to take care of others."
Milan Bhatkurse came to nursing by accident. 31 years later, she is ward in-charge of the gynae department at GMC overseeing Gynaecology casualty, the labour room, postnatal ward, and pregnant patients. When she lost her first patient, she was just 22. "I did not know what was happening. The patient had lost his life in my hands and I was heartbroken. At that age, I did not know how to console the relatives." Over time, she learnt the art of consoling.
On night duties she says, "We work against the circadian cycle. The whole world is sleeping, but we are working. That affects our health." When a woman delivers and goes home as a mother with her baby, those moments stay with me. She says taking care means "having empathetic communication with the patients.” She speaks of an important shift with all the technological advances in healthcare. "The human touch that we provide does not change. That is very surprising."
Vaibhav Naik, a male nurse and ward in-charge at the North Goa District Hospital, didn't choose the profession either but got in by chance. Moving out of his village for the first time, placed in the male medicine ward, he was scared and hesitated to work. "But when I was trained, I realised I love serving people."
Before the 108-ambulance service existed, he would take patients to the hospital in his own car. His phone, he says, is on 24x7. He wants more people to consider this path-boys and girls both. "Now you can do a PhD in nursing, you establish a strong social network." But beyond all this "one should have strong dedication and patience to talk and listen to the patients."
A new generation, the same calling
Shivani Naik began during COVID, first posted to a Primary Health Centre, then across hospitals in Goa, now at RG Hospital handling multiple cases. "We cannot let what happens in the hospital affect us," she says as she recalls feeding a patient throughout her entire night shift. After the last feeding, the patient passed away in the morning as her shift ended. To cope, she leans on watching shows and the relief of venting to friends and family. She says, "Patients don't come only for treatment. Most of the time, the most required thing is emotional support. Simple things like touching them with care can make patients feel good. It's care beyond treatment."
Preetisha Melekar, from GMC says, “Nursing taught me the reality of healthcare and the importance of emotional resilience and teamwork."
Apeksha Pednekar started in 2020. Nursing, she says, didn't come from a textbook. "A book doesn't teach you how to console, manage situations, communicate to patients and their families and be the primary source of emotional support during the hardest moments." She was an introvert. The profession changed that, slowly, through its emotional weight. After work, "I take my sukoon ki nind, sometimes hit the gym, spend time with friends and eat a good meal."
What carries all of them through across decades and departments, emergencies and night shifts are the small moments. When patients say "It didn't hurt at all when you injected," or “Thank you, sister.” Elderly patients bless them saying, "Baay tujhe bare jao" which reminds them why their work matters.
Every day, nurses save lives and make them better. Their impact is greatest when they are supported, respected, and empowered. A kind word, a moment of patience, and simple gratitude can go a long way in making them feel seen.
