Hazar

Nurse

Remember Hazar, who said that her community members felt it was unacceptable for her to work night shifts as a nurse? Now, Hazar has worked over 7 years as a nurse. She works at Najah Hospital in Nablus, and still works both day and night shifts. Recently, Hazar got promoted to become a senior nurse and is very successful at her new job. When she first graduated from school, it wasn’t acceptable for her society to study nursing. The society she comes from believes that such a job should be exclusive for males only. However, this did not stop Hazar, and with her family’s support, she was able to graduate with high scores. After graduating, Hazar encountered obstacles in finding a job. Soon, however, with the help of Education for Employment-Palestine, she learnt communication skills, how to write a CV, English skills, how to interview, and more. Soon, Hazar got a job offer at one of the hospitals in her town. Once Hazar got the job and started working, she noticed how contradictory traditional society is. Society does not accept women studying and working as nurses, but want female nurses to look after their family members. This made Hazar realize she needed to continue working in the field. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Hazar decided to volunteer in her neighborhood as well as continue working. Hazar responds every time she gets a call from an elder or anyone else in need of medical attention. She adds, “it is true- I return home every day exhausted- but at least I return satisfied because of my contributions to my community”. After 7 years of experience, Hazar admits that there are some skills that she would still like to enhance but does not know where to start. However, she explains that the skills she learnt with EFE-P were transformational back then. But, with the more people she interacts with every day, the more skills she believes she still has to work on and improve. “Working as a nurse and dealing with patients and their families can be so stressful sometimes”, Hazar explains. She continues, “I know that I can be better, and I will, but I need to take more trainings on how not to lose control, how to deal with people while working under pressure, how to set my priorities straight, and how to take trainings in phycology and physiology”. Hazar thanks EFE-Palestine for the opportunity it has given her, and highly recommends new graduates enroll with the organization’s trainings. Hazar adds, “You think you know best until you enroll with EFE-P and find out how much you have been missing out”.