Some patients – worrying about their health – may feel anxious and uneasy in the hospital. A caring nurse will help soothe these feelings and even alleviate any physical pain the patients may have.
For 24-year-old registered nurse Keshvaran S/O Karnaneedi, his goal is to make his patients in his care as comfortable as possible, even if it goes beyond his core responsibilities.
“Whenever I am done with my duties, I will always take some time to interact with my patients, to understand them better,” he says. “They usually enjoy my company and when my patients are happy, I am happy too.”
Formerly a trainee nurse in an oncology ward, Mr Keshvaran says there is a misconception that all cancer patients are weak and have ailing health.
“However, from my experience, they are among some of the most fun, positive and open-minded patients I’ve ever met,” he says.
“I do not merely interact with the patients to understand them better. Some of them tend to be lonely and do not have visitors. Connecting with them is a way for me to alleviate their loneliness and give them my attention, care and moral support,” he adds.
Mr Keshvaran is currently serving National Service (NS) at Singapore Civil Defence Force as an emergency medical technician while studying part-time at Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS). He is taking the top-up bachelor’s degree programme in nursing awarded by Edinburgh Napier University, UK.
“The nursing programme at MDIS has helped me to build up my leadership qualities, shape my critical thinking skills and provide solutions to my patients and even my colleagues,” he says.
Mr Keshvaran wants to become a full-time nurse after completing NS and plans to further his studies to focus on a speciality which he will decide down the road.
For now, he is bent on giving his utmost care to the people who most need it. “Whenever I end my shift, my patients or their loved ones ask me whether I am working the next day. When I tell them that I will return and they respond with a smile, I know that my efforts have been worthwhile,” Mr Keshvaran says.
