"Nurses are the best! I feel they have an overall awareness of everything."
In as much as Brisbanian Bernard Mina felt that his life was directed towards nursing, this overall awareness of everything led to a desire to amplify the causes of his fellow nurses whose voices "sometimes get pushed aside".
A hard pill to swallow
Pushing aside the sentiments of others has never been a characteristic afforded to Iloilo-born Bernard. Growing up, he found that while he wasn't the brightest kid in class, he was always the most compassionate.
"Compassion and empathy were qualities I always thought were important. Nursing gives you the opportunity to be able to listen and be a lot more sensitive when connecting with people," he shares, adding, "I've been specialising in mental health for 11 years and it definitely has its challenges; but it also creates an opportunity to create a dialogue with someone. Most of the time, patients just want the opportunity to talk."
Allowing his patients the opportunity to talk also gave Bernard the chance to get to know them better, which in turn, moved him to advocate for them even more.
"I've been specialising in mental health for 11 years and it definitely has its challenges; but it creates an opportunity to create a dialogue with someone." Source: Bernard Mina
"I remember most the young adults [under our care] who become exposed to illicit substances. After the first time of trying [alcohol or drugs], their lives are completely changed. I want to understand how they get to that point -whether it's a psychosis or mood disorder," he shares, adding, "I want to help integrate them back into the community, to be part of their family [again] and to have a high-level of functioning."
Being able to function in society is up to patients, but Bernard admits that it saddens him when he sees them back in the hospital after a relapse. He's a firm believer though that "it's always worth it to keep trying and trying to help."
While the need to keep on trying has made Bernard the nurse he is, this persistence also led to his disheartening observation of the healthcare system.
Bernard, who grew up in a family of nurses, confesses that the ideals he once held about the profession were dimmed by the truth that while healthcare is a human right, it too is a business.
Bernard grew up in a family of nurses. Source: Bernard Mina
"In nursing, you have to be patient-focused; but the other side of the coin is that healthcare is also a business. You're trying to be supportive of unwell people that come into the hospital, but there's also a high turnover. We need to discharge people so that others can also come in and get treatment."
While Bernard understands the necessary protocol, he shares that the compromise could miss the point of patient care.
Bernard in a digital training video as a mental health nurse. Source: Bernard Mina
"[I had a morning shift wherein] a patient was being discharged whom I felt wasn’t ready [to go]. A colleague of mine was doing everything to advocate for the patient because she really wasn’t ready to go. The doctor at the time still discharged the person [because the hospital needed the bed]. My colleague said to me, 'I can't do this! This is really frustating!'"
Practise Patience
Frustration turned to art, with Bernard deciding to revive his love for acting and to develop 'Practise Patience,' a series revolving around the lives of a diverse group of nurses.
Bernard, a graduate of the Australian Performing Arts Conservatory in Brisbane in 2013, shares, "The series revolves around the character of Dean Santos and his friends who are also nurses. You see them go through their day-to-day lives. You see how healthcare services interact with the community and vice versa."
Bernard is a graduate of the Australian Performing Arts Conservatory in Brisbane. Source: Bernard Mina
Loosely based on himself and former colleagues, a number of the characters in 'Practice Patience' are also played by real-life health practitioners.
"They give a lot of heart to the series," Bernard says, adding, "Caitlyn, one the main supporting characters, plays a nurse and is a nurse in real life. Toby, who plays a doctor, is by profession, a clinical psychologist. Just knowing the other side, we share some kind of commonality."
Loosely based on himself and former colleagues, a number of the characters in 'Practice Patience' are also played by real-life health practitioners. Source: Supplied
A screening for the pilot episode for the series was held last December 13 and according to Bernard, he plans on expanding the reach of the series either through social media or potentially, a TV network.
While plans for the series are still fluid, what Bernard stands firm in is what he intends to convey through it.
"I hope the series incites a reflective internal dialogue. Hopefully, people will become better in their practice and how they treat people, realising how healthcare affects communities. This is about how people care about each other," he shares, adding, "Whether someone is in healthcare or not, we can be better people."
"I hope the series incites a reflective internal dialogue. Hopefully, people will become better in their practice and how they treat people."
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