"Nurses are the best! I feel they have an overall awareness of everything."
Dahil sa overall awareness na ito, natulak ang Brisbanian na si Bernard Mina na gumawa ng paraan upang mabigyan ng boses ang mga kapwa niyang nars na naghahangad na marinig.
Mahirap tanggapin
Hindi tipo ng Iloilo-born na si Bernard na isantabi ang pangangailangan ng iba. Saad niya na kahit di siya kilala bilang matalino noon sa klase, kilala siya para sa kanyang pagmamalasakit sa kapwa.
"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. 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."
Ang pagbibigay ng oportunidad na makapagsalita na ito ang nagbigay din ng pagkakataon kay Bernard na mas makilala pa ang kanyang mga pasyente. Dahil dito, mas lumakas ang kanyang nais na maging advocate para sa kanila.
"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. 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."
Ang muling pagbalik sa normal na pamumuhay ay nasa sa mga pasyente, ngunit aminado si Bernard na nalulungkot siya kapag nagkaka-relapse ang mga ito. Bagama't minsang nangyayari ito, paniwala pa rin ni Bernard na "it's always worth it to keep trying and trying to help."
Ang pagtyatiyagang ito rin ang nagbuhat sa kanyang makita ang mga mali sa healthcare system.
Bernard grew up in a family of nurses. Source: Bernard Mina
Ayon sa kanya, ang mga ideyal niya noon sa kanyang propesyon ay nasira ng katotohanang negosyo din ang healthcare.
"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."
Kahit alam niyang bahagi ito ng sistema, saad niya na dahil sa pagkokompromisa, nawawala ang tunay na kahulugan ng pag-aalaga ng pasyente.
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
Ang alinlangan ay napunta sa pagtuon sa sining ng pagdesisyunan ni Bernard na buhayin muli ang pagmamahal niya sa pag-aarte. Dahil sa desisyong ito, nabuo ang ''Practise Patience,' isang serye na umiikot sa buhay ng mga nars sa Australya.
Saad ni Bernard, isang gradweyt ng Australian Performing Arts Conservatory sa Brisbane noong 2013, "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
Nakabase sa kanyang sarili at mga dating katrabaho ang mga karakter sa serye, at ilan din sa mga aktor sa 'Practice Patience' ay mga health practitioners sa totoong buhay.
"They give a lot of heart to the series. 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
Isang screening para sa kauna-unahang palabas ng serye ang tinanghal noong ika-labing-tatlo ng Disyembre at ayon kay Bernard, ninanais pa niyang palawakin ang sakop nito sa social media at baka sa TV.
Habang wala pang kasiguraduhan ang mga plano niya para sa susunod na mga buwan, sigurado si Bernard sa ninanais niyang ipahiwatig gamit ang serye.
"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. 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."
BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN
