Interview with the head nurse. Secrets of the head nurse

“The profession of a doctor is a feat; it requires selflessness, purity of soul and purity of thoughts. Not everyone is capable of this,” said the wonderful zemstvo doctor Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. People of this profession are truly amazing by nature, because few of us are able to follow their work with complete dedication. Sometimes there is a lot of criticism and dissatisfaction in their direction, but we all understand that only doctors, every day standing guard over our health, take risks that are sometimes beyond the control of circumstances or even the laws of life. And although these words cannot be dedicated to each and every doctor on the planet, they can confidently be addressed to the wonderful pediatrician of the Pershotraven City Hospital Lyudmila Grigorievna Kibalnikova. Having received the most excellent reviews about her work, we decided to talk with Lyudmila Grigorievna and find out what the key to her professional success is.

— The path to healing. How exactly did it start for you?

— In 1994, I graduated from the Dnepropetrovsk Medical Institute, but after the third year I worked as a nurse in an infectious diseases hospital, where I had my first internship in the children’s hepatitis department. Then - 2 years of internship at Pavlograd City Hospital No. 1. After completing all the necessary practice, in 1996 I got a job at the Pershotraven City Hospital, where I work to this day.

— Is there any doubt that you should have chosen a different path in life?

“I have worked as a children’s doctor for 20 years, and I don’t regret it at all. There are different moods. You know, it doesn’t happen from day to day, especially for us, doctors. There are such difficult reception days that sometimes in the heat of the moment you think to yourself: why did I come here... But then you realize that this is yours, this is your life - and the very next day you rush to work again.

— As you know, graduates medical institutes They no longer swear by Apollo, the physician Asclepius, Hygieia and Panacea - modern doctors take the Hippocratic oath. What points of this oath are most significant for you personally?

- ABOUT! This is an interesting question, of course! It is interesting because we did not take this oath quite as many people imagine. The fact is that I graduated from medical school in the 90s. This was a difficult period of life, and during this difficult time our institute was accredited to acquire the status of a medical academy. The fuss began with documents: registration and re-registration, so we were simply given our diplomas - and that was all. In the oath itself, which, of course, any doctor knows, for me personally the most basic commandment is “do no harm!”

— Hippocrates once said: “A doctor is a philosopher, because there is no big difference between wisdom and medicine.” What can you say about this? Is this true?

— Medicine is, of course, great wisdom. Here, in general, you always need to not lose your head and be sure to adhere to a certain golden mean in everything: in treatment, in communicating with patients, in relationships with colleagues. Once, at a Kyiv medical course, our teacher said: “You should always delve into the depths of the situation, and not just look at the surface. Yes, it is very important to make correct diagnoses and prescribe appropriate treatment, but you also need to have a wise approach and get to the bottom of things. For example, two of your patients have the same diagnosis - cholelithiasis. But one lady, let's say, is a VIP: she has salons, proper nutrition, dear life, and the second is an ordinary village woman with ten cows and an alcoholic husband. Will you make the same appointments for them? If you write a list of cheap medications to a lady with income, she will immediately ask for another doctor, and if an ordinary woman is prescribed expensive medications, she will most likely refuse treatment.” This example illustrates all the wisdom that any real doctor should have.

- Lyudmila Grigorievna, in this case, tell me, what qualities distinguish a real doctor from God and a doctor, as they say, “God forbid”?

- It's hard to say. Doctors are different, and each has its own approach. A good doctor must have the patience to listen carefully to the patient and not miss anything important. Well, “God forbid” doctors, it seems to me, don’t stay in medicine for long.

— Have you ever met colleagues whom you condemned and did not agree with their methods of treatment?

- You know, I generally don’t like to judge people. In my practice, this has happened more than once when patients came and began to condemn the treatment methods of some of my colleagues, saying, “I’d rather be treated by you than by this one.” And I immediately stopped this, because, firstly, it is unpleasant, and secondly, if a person discusses and scolds another doctor in front of me, then where is the guarantee that he will not start scolding me behind my back if he Is there anything you don't like? Therefore, no: everyone has their own methods and situations, and I have no right to condemn my colleagues.

— During the winter quarantine this year, we all heard about large queues of sick children in your office. How many children did you take in then? Is this more than normal? And how often do you see so many patients at one time?

— There are difficult periods when outbreaks of viral infections begin and colds children, and during this period I am not the only one who has large queues outside the office. All my colleagues accept more than the norm. At that time, I saw about 50-60 patients per appointment, while the doctor’s norm is 18.

- You are clearly disingenuous: as we know, in February of this year, from Friday to Tuesday, you admitted 254 children and visited 32 sick children at home. Here are some statistics from those days: on February 13, 80 patients came to see you, and you visited another 9 at home; February 16 – 92 patients and 11 at home, February 17 – 82 children and 9 at home...

“You can’t hide anything from you, but I myself don’t keep any such statistics - I’m just doing my duty.”

- Tell me with whomDo you find it easier to work with young children or with teenagers?

— The work of a pediatrician is mainly work not with children, but with their parents, and children are all children. The only difference is that parents always come with small children and closely monitor everything, while teenagers can come to the appointment themselves, get an appointment and go for treatment. This is probably somehow easier with them, because this age category already much more independent.

— We know that all children are afraid of people in white coats. Do you have your own methods of influencing such a situation?

— Oddly enough, such cases are rare for me. If a child is already hysterical, then it is very difficult to calm him down, because he no longer responds to toys or persuasion. It’s easier, of course, for parents to calm down, but for me personally, even though I’m in a white coat, all the children perceive me very calmly and are not afraid.

- You know, teachers, educators and pediatricians have something in common. And this is not at all the fact that they are all state employees. Scandalous parents are a unifying problem. How often do scandals arise in your office and how do you deal with them?

- You know, yes. You noticed this feature very accurately. Basically, scandals begin in the queues between the patients themselves, and there, in the corridors, they end. But there are also cases when the patient begins to take on the doctor’s burden and teach you how to properly treat the child. It also happens that I made one prescription, and then a dissatisfied parent comes and begins to say that the pharmacy recommended him other medications - much better. In such a situation, the main thing is not to get lost and offer such a parent to treat the child himself, if he knows everything so well, or to be treated by a pharmacist. As a rule, this works because the person begins to realize that it is better for his child to be seen by a certified and experienced specialist rather than listen to or read all sorts of advice on his own.

— What is special about pediatric medicine? Are there any statistics on the most common diseases in children?

— Mostly, children often experience viral infections and colds. These are the most common diseases we encounter. The peculiarity of pediatric medicine, rather, is that children need a special approach, and any pediatrician must be especially careful in treatment, since the child’s body is not yet strong and not fully formed. Therefore, dosages medicines and treatment methods in general must be clear, so as not to cause allergies or anything worse. And if an adult can tell the doctor in some situation what he took and what helped him, then a child will not tell you this, and for some children some medical procedures and medications may be a first. The pediatrician must take all this into account so as not to cause harm.

— I would like to hear from you, as a specialist, some advice for young parents on maintaining the health of their babies.

- This will be the advice that parents have heard more than once and have grown up with, but, nevertheless, repetition is the mother of learning. Therefore, I say again that children should not be overcooled, that they should not be given foods that can cause allergies, that they should always seek help from a professional specialist in a timely manner... And main advice– example healthy image Parents should give life to their children. And what kind of health can we talk about when a dad walks with a stroller and smokes a cigarette directly at the child, and then wonders why the baby is coughing?

- Approaching. How do you celebrate this holiday? Are there any specific traditions for celebrating it?

— With us, everything is traditionally modest: after work, my colleagues and I get together for a cup of tea and just talk. We don’t have any special traditions for celebrating this day, but the atmosphere has always been good-natured and joyful. There is a good reason to remember your student years, tell your colleagues interesting cases from practice, and just talk about what we are working for - albeit not without humor, but honestly.

— And finally: what would you like to wish to those who have not yet set foot on this path, but have already decided to devote themselves to medicine?

“We can only wish them success.” I don’t think it’s worth talking about any fears or instructions, because deciding to become a doctor is already a brave step in life, and not everyone can take it. Therefore, since these people have decided to take such a step, it means they will become doctors. I think they already know what they're getting into.

Interviewed by Tatyana Komarinskaya

It is impossible to imagine a children's hospice without nurses. They are the ones who provide proper and sensitive care for children every day, see better than others what is changing in the child’s life and help both parents and doctors.
We have prepared for you an interview with Children's Hospice nurse Natasha Kuznetsova:

“There should be a hospice so that children have nursing and medical assistance and worthy and departure from life. To have pain relief. It's terrible when problems arise with obtaining medications. People simply throw themselves out of windows because of pain, it shouldn’t be like that. Children's hospice is a necessary institution.

After Dmitrov Medical School, I worked in the intensive care unit of the Burdenko Research Institute. The intensive care unit is not the department where you sit and lay out pills. Here you need to think. And quickly. In this department there were 38 critically ill patients on ventilators, a quarter of them were small children with cancer or after car accidents.

In our department, visits to parents lasted only half an hour. I saw them suffer. They did not know what was happening to their children, they tried to find out any details from the doctors. I was nearby all the time and tried to put myself in their place. It was a very difficult moment for my teenage psyche. I was scared to give birth to my child.

I worked there for 12 years. At some point, I decided to have a child and devote myself entirely to my family for a couple of years, but when my daughter was 10 months old, I was offered a job in the intensive care and anesthesiology department of the Institute of Endocrinology. I worked there for several years, then as a nurse anesthetist at the American Medical Center, and from there I was invited to the Children's Hospice.

I came to work at the Children's Hospice two years ago. I thought about this decision for a long time. Field work radically different from working in a hospital. In the hospital, you are alone with the child and follow the doctor’s orders. And in the field service you work not only with the child, but with the whole family. Psychologically it is more difficult. You need to be not only a nurse, but also a psychologist. A child’s illness is a serious test for a family and a test of the strength of relationships. Usually everything falls on the mother's shoulders. I try to look at the situation from a mother’s perspective and support. Because I understand the problems, concerns, anxiety, first of all, as a mother. Sometimes mothers call late in the evening and at night.

Working in a hospice is not just a job for me. If it happens that I can no longer work in a hospice for some reason, it will be a big loss for me.

I love children very much. They are what they are. Simple, understandable, they don’t hide their desires in any way. They have no internal conflicts. The child wants to hug - he does it. There was a girl with whom we always hugged and kissed when I came. She needed tactile contact. And during the visit, she always sat on my lap, and we spent an hour and a half to two hours hugging her. Her mother and I still have an amazing relationship. I love this family very much.

The death of a child will never be normal for me. Despite the fact that I am a doctor by training, despite the fact that I have seen so many deaths in my work. But I can never accept it.

Because of my work, my values ​​in life have changed. And, probably, the attitude towards family, towards loved ones. After working in a hospice, I realized that every day needs to be appreciated. Take care, love your loved ones and be kinder.”

Thanks to her leadership qualities, the former barmaid of the occupational pathology department became the head nurse of the surgical hospital. Every patient is surrounded by her invisible care.

There are no secondary, insignificant roles in healthcare: the success of the fight for human life and health depends on each specialist. Much is in the hands of nurses: not a single doctor can do without a reliable rear. And the head nurse of a hospital is a person without whom it is impossible to solve many organizational issues. And even though she does not give injections or assist in the operating room, every patient and every doctor in the surgical hospital is surrounded by her invisible care. On the eve of May 12, International Day nurse, “Vsluh.ru” met with the senior nurse of the surgical hospital of the Regional Clinical Hospital No. 1 Irina Mazurova and talked about everyday life, problems and joys of the profession.

Hello, Irina Alexandrovna! Our conversation is timed to coincide with Nurse's Day. I was told that you have an unusual story of coming into this profession...

– Yes, after graduating from school I dreamed of working in the police! But they didn’t just take girls to police schools; I worked in the police to gain experience secretary-typist. And my mother happened to go on a business trip to Tyumen, I came to visit her and... met my love. All spun and spun, got married, had a child, followed by a second. There was no longer any talk about the police. My youngest son suffered from pneumonia with complications in his legs, and I was constantly in the hospital with him. By that time it was time to get a job, and I got a job at the hospital, in the occupational pathology department, as a barmaid. I tried to be as neat and starched as possible, so that everything would fit neatly. At any free moment I went to the girls’ post, helped, wrote directions, this and that... The manager looked at me, looked and said: “You’re still young, go study.”

- How old were you when you entered medical school?

– 32 years old. I was already quite old. By the end of the first year, our large group in the specialty “nursing” was shaken, only 26 people remained. From the second year, I became the leader of the rest. I strictly asked them: “After all, I can, and I have a family and two children. And you can!

- So you showed leadership qualities back then?

- Exactly. After graduating from college in 1991, she worked as a physical nurse in an inhalation clinic, then received a second specialization in laser therapy. To this day, my former patients remember that they were not afraid to come to me, because all the equipment was immaculately clean. That’s how I worked until the same head who sent me to study came to me: “Come to us as an older sister, we have known you for a long time, you are ours.”

- That is, no injections, no operations - straight to leadership positions?

– Indeed, I did not work either in the procedural department or at the post, but this did not stop me. The ability to plan, organize, and control was more useful to me. For 24 years I worked in one place, in that same occupational pathology department, and during these years the department was exemplary, ask anyone.

In 2005, the Tyumen Nursing Association was created, I stood at the origins of the nursing cell in our hospital. I was also responsible for working with personnel, and wrote plans and reports, organized inspections. Just like at the front: wherever they send you, take your chin up and go! I retired at age 50, and thanks to the governor’s certificate of honor, I became a labor veteran. And a little over a year ago I became the head nurse of an entire hospital - this is a significant promotion. Previously, I had one department, but now there are as many as thirty! The work of the entire middle and junior medical level is under my responsibility. These are 371 nurses and orderlies.

- I would like to understand the hierarchy of nurses in the hospital. Are you now the second oldest? Third?

“The most important thing for us is the chief nurse, and we, the senior nurses of the two hospital inpatient units, are her closest assistants. We can say that we are in a good job with great responsibility. I remember after a couple of days in this position, I asked how I looked in the new place. They told me: “You look decent. You know the line that cannot be crossed. And the managers like it all.”

- The line between doctors and nurses?

- Certainly! We have a chain of command. For example, between me and the heads of departments. I respect them, they are more literate than me and higher in position. I teach sisters: he is the manager, I am twice his age, but in public I will never allow myself to sit in his presence, much less discuss his work.

- Do doctors treat nursing staff with the same respect?

– You know, I don’t like it when they say “nursing staff.” It turns out that we are not clear who: either smart, or not so smart. We are colleagues of doctors, and when we call ourselves that, everything will go great for us.

- How do you start your working day today?

– From a planning meeting with the heads of departments. I must be present: important issues are discussed there - from disciplinary issues to department support consumables. Next comes a tour of departments and business departments - you need to monitor how clean and dirty linen is transported, how class B waste is collected and stored...

- Are you responsible for the most hazardous waste in the hospital? Can you tell us more about this?

– In special security rooms, everything that comes into contact with biological fluids human: syringes, catheters, disposable instruments. Everything is dumped into yellow bags, temporarily stored, then a truck comes and takes the waste away for disposal. I need to monitor how it is handed over, weighed, registered, whether the bags are signed, whether the needles are sticking out. Everything must be properly packaged to avoid any accidents.

The next point on my work route is the disinfection chamber, where patients’ belongings and hospital bedding are processed. In addition, you need to make sure that everything is in order in the disinfection department. Cleaning in our hospital is carried out using a “bucketless” method: sets of rags are provided for each department and office, which are then washed and reused. Then - to the warehouse, and to the electricians, and to the medical technicians...

It seems that you are the most economical person in the hospital! You talk about your work with such passion. What are the difficulties in it?

– Here, perhaps, we should talk about finances. Nowadays it’s not easy with them everywhere. We always want something new and necessary. For example, so that endoscopy is equipped with modern equipment that washes endoscopes. We want cabinets in which equipment is dried and disinfected. We want everything in our building to be beautiful, and if something falls out, we want everything to be immediately painted and whitewashed. Yes, I just want the garbage to be removed from the territory on time!

- Tell me about your nurses.

– We, senior nurses, work closely with the senior nurses of the departments, and they already work with their girls. The team has been formed for a long time, and if new older sisters appear, they were raised here, in this very department. Normal older sisters, I feel at ease with them.

- Many professions have their own signs. Do you have a sign?

– I don’t believe in omens, I just always get up in the morning and thank God for everything. We are now at such an age that we only dream about health, about long years, about fruitful work. We recently congratulated our patients on the holiday, heard from them that the team was excellent, the girls were kind, they saved their lives, got them back on their feet - that’s all! This is our happiness. I always worry when our work is compared to someone else’s - I always stand up for my girls, for my staff and for my hospital.

- Can everyone become a nurse? What is needed for this? What should it be like?

- Become medical worker Not everyone can. We have a lot of people who come to work, but not everyone lasts. I often visit medical colleges and ask young people: where would you like to work? In dentistry, they say, in cosmetology... I don’t agree with this: you need to start your journey in the profession from a hospital or a clinic. A nurse must have kindness and compassion for others in her soul. If she cannot understand what pain and loneliness are, she has no place in the profession.

From the history of the holiday

The professional holiday of nurses is celebrated on the birthday of one of the famous Englishwomen, Florence Nightingale, who during Crimean War(1853 - 1856) organized the world's first sisters of mercy service.

Although the holiday is actually more than one hundred and fifty years old, it was only in January 1974 that an official decision was made to celebrate this day on May 12th. Nurses' Day has been celebrated since the unification of nurses from 141 countries into a professional public organization - the International Council of Nurses. In Russia, the holiday has been celebrated since 1993.

Nurse of the neurological department of the Republican Hospital No. 2-Emergency Center medical care Lyudmila Vasilievna SOLOVYEVA came to the department as a nurse in 1969. She was only eighteen years old.

— The department turns 75 this year, and when I came to work, it was 25 years old. I remember all the doctors who worked then, all the nurses, of course, all our patients. For me, a village girl, working as a nurse seemed like an unusual job, but I tried to do everything right.

Apparently, seeing that Lyudmila was not an accidental person in medicine, the head doctor of the hospital, Pavel Vasilyevich LYUBIMOV, advised her to study to become a nurse. The girl did not shelve it and soon, having graduated with honors from a two-year nursing course at the Red Cross, returned to the hospital as a nurse.

“In 1972, there was my first night shift as a nurse,” recalls Lyudmila Mikhailovna. “There were seventy patients in the department; stroke patients were also ours then. There was a lot of work, but somehow I quickly got into the groove. Maybe it was because, while still working as a nurse, I had an eye on the work of nurses. Besides, my mother was a military operating nurse. I am proud to become a nurse and follow in her footsteps.

On the very first day of Lyudmila’s work as a nurse, Pavel Vasilyevich asked her two security questions, but under the stern gaze of the head doctor, the girl did not lose her head and answered correctly.

“I remember his questions for the rest of my life,” says Lyudmila Vasilievna. “He was a surgeon, and maybe that’s why he asked how to make a compress and the difference between potassium, chlorine, calcium chlorine and sodium chlorine.” She and Lydia Mikhailovna were extraordinary people, as we said then, real people's commissars. Then Afanasy Vasilievich NIKOLAEV came as head physician. Not only did he know all the workers by sight and by name and patronymic, he knew all our household members. The hospital in those years was small, made of wood, they heated stoves, carried water on horses, and did everything with their own hands. And still it was happiness!

Four years later, my heroine was appointed head nurse.

“I cried, of course, it was a little scary, but I agreed.” My whole life has been spent here,” Lyudmila Mikhailovna smiles. I found a wonderful galaxy of doctors who graduated from famous universities in the country. And in general, the neurological department has always been somehow intelligent. I worked with only two heads: Lydia Ivanovna BABENKO and Lyudmila Timofeevna OKONESHNIKOVA. Lydia Ivanovna was very strict, you just wanted to stand at attention when she entered, but Lyudmila Timofeevna is a kind-hearted person who thinks about everyone and cares. But at the same time, she is an excellent organizer and leader, strategist, a storehouse of ideas, all our holidays are her ideas, her merit. Wise woman, a good housewife, thanks to her, we are all like family in the department. We constantly maintain relationships with former employees, call them, congratulate them on holidays, invite them to our place, over time this has become a tradition.

- Now a new generation has arrived, they are great, we have a very strong backbone of doctors, and I am very glad that now my home department has the same high status as before.

A wonderful gift for the anniversary of neurology was the victory of two doctors of the department in republican competitions held this spring by the Ministry of Health of the Republic. Margarita BATYRKHANOVA became Miss Healthcare, and Elizaveta SIVTSEVA became the winner of the “Profession is Life” competition for young medical specialists.

— You have patients in your department that are unusual for an emergency hospital...

— Yes, our patients are special, difficult, they come to us repeatedly, many with exacerbation. Everyone needs an individual approach. We teach young people to address patients by their first and patronymic names. We try to create comfortable conditions for patients, help each patient, take him away if there is no one to take him, we know where he will go after discharge. We are pleased that our regular patients come to us. They probably feel kindly treated.

“Looking at you, Lyudmila Vasilievna, I can’t even believe that you have half a century of work behind you,” I say.

“Lyudmila Timofeevna and I are going to work for a long, long time,” the nurse laughs.

- Certainly! It's hard to imagine a department without both of you. I wish you health, good spirits, and your optimism and hard work to your youth!

Nursing is the most important component of the overall medical practice. Nurses are the main assistants to doctors at the clinic, operating table, in a treatment room or physiotherapy room, in a hospital... What can I say: a large proportion of medical services are provided by nursing staff. But not only this makes the nursing profession one of the most important and necessary. Carrying out doctor's orders, they also treat patients with the warmth of their hearts. It is no coincidence that they were called that way before - sisters of mercy.

There is in the urban district of Pavlovsky Posad, in the village. Rakhmanovo, a medical institution, the name of which already contains the special purpose of the people of this profession - House nursing care. The only one in the Moscow region, it accepts for rehabilitation elderly people who need constant care for health reasons.

Chief physician of the medical institution of the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution "Nursing Care Home" Marina BRUNCHIKOVA:

The nursing home in its current status has existed since 2005. We are directly related to the Ministry of Health of the Moscow Region, so we receive patients from all over the region. Our main task is caring for elderly people, their rehabilitation after stroke and other diseases. There can be forty patients in our institution at the same time, and, of course, the main responsibility for caring for them falls on nurses and nannies. And I can say with confidence that they work very professionally and with soul.

All eleven nurses of the Nursing Home have the highest qualification category. Almost half of them have been working here for a long time. This is Tatyana Kuznetsova, Irina Shevalina, Olga Chuvarzina. Senior nurse Elena Sharonina is also among the “old-timers”.

- Elena Ivanovna, what was your path to the Nursing Home?

At the age of 17, I came here (previously the women’s drug treatment department was located here) to work as a nurse, and after graduating, I became a nurse. She already worked in the Nursing Home, first as a guard nurse, and now for three years as a senior nurse.

- Why did you choose this profession?

I’ve dreamed about this since childhood, I even had the appropriate toys - syringes, bandages... Although our work, to be honest, is difficult, I love it.

- Does working in a nursing home have its own characteristics?

Certainly. This requires a lot of patience, because our patients are very old people. It is no coincidence that they say: old as small. Our grandparents can sometimes even be offended by the fact that you talk to their neighbor or roommate for longer than to them. Therefore, only attention and patience: talk, tell the news, encourage, set the mood for something good. The word, you know, heals no less than medicine. Although we are also in complete order with medications and everything necessary for care and rehabilitation. We are provided with disposable gloves, diapers, diapers, and care products for bedridden patients from Hartmann (the patients we receive are different). For treatment, we use anti-decubitus mattresses, do physiotherapy, massage, and conduct classes in physical therapy. Our nurses undergo special training for this.

In 2015, the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution of the Moscow Region “Nursing Care Home” was awarded the status of a leading healthcare institution in the Russian Federation. The certificate of inclusion in the national register “Leading Healthcare Institutions of the Russian Federation” confirms the quality of the medical services provided here.

- So you attach great importance to professional skills?

Of course, our nurses undergo retraining every 5 years and confirm their qualifications at professional skill competitions.

- Elena Ivanovna, what schedule do nurses work on?

We go out for 24 hours, and during our duty we do not leave our charges unattended for a minute.

The nursing home is equipped with video cameras, thanks to which medical staff can instantly provide the necessary assistance to patients. The monitors show not only the wards and corridors, but also the surrounding area, where older people like to walk in warm weather.

- It’s difficult to stay on your feet for a day. How do you solve the issue of rest? - We ask the question to the chief physician Marina Brunchikova.

- A nurse's daily duty does not involve sleep, but rest is still needed. That’s why we installed cots in the hospital room and nurses’ room. Each post is usually staffed by a nurse and two nurses. And at night, when our patients are sleeping, they are allowed to take turns resting from 12 to 6 am, but someone always remains on duty. There is no other way.

- Elena Ivanovna, as a head nurse, what instructions do you give to your subordinates?

I say that they must be patient and adhere to medical ethics, both in dealing with patients and their relatives, and with colleagues. We have to look for a middle ground between strictness in the implementation of labor discipline and a favorable environment in the team, because only under such conditions can we successfully cope with our difficult task. Therefore, I want to create an environment where people would be happy to come to work. Of course, everyone needs an individual approach - both to the employee and especially to the patient. Our work teaches respect for the elderly, for the infirm, and to what extent a philosophical attitude towards life, because we will all be old someday.

- You don’t hide the fact that nursing staff’s work is hard. What makes you stay in the profession?

- Yes, the profession is difficult, but it gives great moral satisfaction because you are benefiting people, doing a very necessary, important and noble thing.

Marina BRUNCHIKOVA, chief physician of the Nursing Home:

Nurses, one might say, are the main people in our institution. The physical and moral state of our charges largely depends on their professionalism, sincerity, and, I would even say, dedication. Fortunately, we have a good team that you can rely on. People love working at the Nursing Home. That’s why we have virtually no vacancies. We always celebrate Nurse's Day in our team, because it is a wonderful occasion to say thank you to those who have chosen charity as their profession.

Irina RAZUKHINA, relative of a patient at the Nursing Home:

My mother is now in the Nursing Home, but before that my mother-in-law was in bed. We brought her in a very serious condition, and when we left here, she began to walk and talk. My mother-in-law later told me how much the nurses worked with her, gave her massages, taught her to walk again...

Mom also likes it, she says that all the girls-nurses are smiling, friendly and work with their souls. In general, patients here are not allowed to get bored: someone always comes to visit with concerts and gifts. On May 9, soldiers sang songs with a guitar. Volunteers and schoolchildren often come here, from the Church of St. Catherine's are coming. Services are held in the chapel on the grounds of the House. And the territory itself is clean and well-groomed, just like the entire Nursing Home. I would like to say thank you to the chief physician Marina Pavlovna Brunchikova, our doctor Andrei Anatolyevich Mikheev and all the nurses and nannies for taking such care of the elderly. Low bow to them.