While hospital shifts end, the quiet duty of a home caregiver continues around the clock. We celebrate the resilience of home nurses who step in to become family for those who need it most
As hospital nurses head home after an exhausting day, many home nurses are just preparing their routines for the night. For home nurses working around the clock, duty never truly stops. Dispensing medication on time, preparing the bed, checking vitals, cleaning up, and looking after patients with immense patience are the unspoken rules written into a home nurse's manual. Spending days away from their own families to treat another as their own, home nurses lead incredibly challenging lives.
Siya Gaude, a home nurse, believes understanding is the key to healing. “You have to be extremely patient and understanding of the patient’s problems and issues, as they are looking at you with the hope and expectation that you will solve their trouble,” she says. The warmth these nurses offer brings immense joy to their patients. “Sometimes the patients are happy when you simply talk to them. I usually ask about their well-being every time I go. Even on the days I go to the hospital, my patients say ‘Aamchi nurse aayli’ simply by hearing my voice,” recounts Sakshi Naik, a staff nurse with over 20 years of experience.
For these home nurses working 24-hour shifts, the job can be physically and emotionally exhausting. Patients who do not have any family to rely on become the sole responsibility of these caregivers. As children move out, their parents are frequently left behind, sometimes sick, sometimes bedridden, but almost always in need of care. Unaccustomed to losing their independence, patients can easily become frustrated.
Gaude expresses her concerns: “Sometimes these patients are lonely and have nobody to talk to, so they are already frustrated. Hence, they tend to take out their frustration on us. Although we have to understand and be empathetic, we are humans too. While the patient may not remember what they did, we do.” Carrying this emotional burden while continuing to remain firm, patient, and kind makes their work deeply challenging.
Yet another challenge is that many of these patients are elderly and largely left behind by their families. While these nurses strive to provide all the care and compassion they can, stepping in to become a patient’s family and offering the exact emotional support a relative would give is something they cannot fully replicate.
Society’s perspective on home nurses often adds to their burden. People frequently fail to acknowledge the silent sacrifices these nurses make and the selfless care they provide so the patient and their kin can breathe a little easier. Home nursing is a deeply essential profession, one that remains overlooked and underappreciated despite the countless families who depend on it for care and support.
Working as a nurse in a hospital versus working as a home nurse presents two starkly different experiences. While hospitals are fully equipped, a home nurse often has to improvise to make something as basic as a hook for an IV drip available in a patient’s room. “Hospitals have the whole setup. We have everything we need there. Going to a patient’s house and taking care of them remains a task, as there is no guarantee that all the required medical equipment will always be available on hand,” observes Naik.
Furthermore, for a nurse working in a hospital setting, responsibilities are divided among a team assigned to each ward. “As a home nurse, I have only one priority, which is my patient. Unlike the nurses at the hospital where the duty is spread and divided, my patient’s responsibility rests entirely on me," she says.
Today, on International Nurses Day, we must appreciate the selfless and often overlooked dedication of home nurses. Entering people’s lives during their most vulnerable moments, they provide essential medical care, comfort, and companionship, reminding us that behind every recovering patient is a caregiver whose compassion makes the journey a little easier.
