A report filed by prominent journalist and writer from Srinagar, Majid Maqbool, talks about a gritty Haseena Parveen, the Florence Nightingale of Kashmir, is an award-winning nursing professional from the Kashmir Valley, who needs no introduction. Interacting with the journalist, she proudly announced “I feel so humbled when a number of patients and members of their families, drawn from distant corners of the country, come calling to express their deep gratitude to us and pray to the God for our wellbeing. This is a unique feeling which is no less than a coveted award for the services rendered to them”
The pool of financial aid being offered to the needy patients has grown over the years as countless others, including the hospital staff and even doctors, contribute hugely to the collective humanitarian endeavour. The money is saved in the poor patients’ accounts. We save a substantial amount, which is later handed over to the poor and needy patients depending upon their needs” she said with a glint in her eyes.
She said that, over the years, she had given a maximum amount of time for the services of the patients admitted to the institute, often surrendering her weekly off days by working beyond the fixed duty hours. When required, she, without wasting a split second, rushes back to the institute in the evening as well to attend to a patient.
She further tells that there were times when nurses, including myself, go for donating blood when it was required for a patient in critical condition” she said. “There can be no greater joy than saving an innocent life. Words of gratitude and hearty prayers by the patients who pray for us and our families for the services rendered to them at the institute, is a biggest reward, besides being recognition to the services rendered.”
Parveen stoutly believes there’s an urgent need for recruitment of young girls to in the public hospitals in the terrorist-infested state of Jammu and Kashmir. She stoutly holds out “If nurses work sincerely and do justice to their profession, they can achieve the incredible in their lives by serving the suffering humanity.
She feels nursing is a noble profession that gives you a greater sense of satisfaction in life. She maintains that it is because of the commitment of the nurses who are engaged, heart and soul, in service of the poor and needy, especially when none of their family members are not around, which save precious lives of the patients ” she signs off.
With a vast experience of a slew of administrative roles she has performed with efficiency in capacity of a senior nurse, Parveen leads her counterparts by example when it comes to the call of duty. She still prefers to perform the role of a bedside nurse so that the younger nurses may take a cue from their role model to prioritising patient care to other things.
“We need to understand in the first place that patients are like our own members of the family. Tomorrow, it may be anybody from amongst us on a hospital bed seeking attention from a nurse.”, she said