Kibuuka’s two-decade nursing career

It is a hot sunny day and I am stranded at the premises of Mengo Hospital. Wondering where to start, I seek help from a student nurse on her way to Albert Cook ward.

Behind Mengo blood bank, I meet the secretary of the hospital director who directs me to the office of one of Mengo hospital’s longest serving nurses. 

Clad in a white dress with a blue belt and head cap, I find Prossy Kibuuka Kateregga, the hospital’s principle nursing officer, reading out names on the Covid-19 vaccination cards. When I introduce myself to her, she welcomes me and excuses herself so we can have this interview.   

“I compare nursing to a river. Sometimes it flows quietly and other times, it has to navigate the rough terrains. My journey as a nurse has seen both experiences,” Kibuuka remarks about nursing.

Born with seven other siblings, Kibuuka is the last born and the only nurse in the family. Her inspiration was drawn from her birth story.

“According to my mother, she had a challenging pregnancy. She was admitted to hospital three months prior to her due date and was subjected to vacuum extraction - machines were used to extract the baby that was lying in transverse direction and when it decided to turn, it turned in what is called a vestal fubise- condition under which the baby faces up instead of facing down.

During the procedure, my nose was injured.  Growing up, I had a big scar but with years, it started to diminish.  My mother too suffered deformities. The nerves in one of her legs were injured and for a long time, she used crutches to walk.”

It is this story that triggered Kibuuka’s interest in nursing. Every time she looked at her mother, she felt indebted to do something to change her mother’s condition and enable other women on her village to have safe delivery.

Her early start

Upon completing her secondary   education at St Joseph’s Girls Secondary School Nsambya, in May 1997, Kibuuka joined Mengo School of Nursing.  “When I got my Senior Six results, I submitted my application to the nursing school. We were about one hundred students, but only 40 of us qualified,” she recounts.

Although she successfully passed the interview, she almost failed to raise tuition, but her elder sister stepped in and supported her through her entire academic journey.  “At that time, we were paying Shs390,000 per semester,” Kibuuka recalls. Everything seemed to flow during her course, until the day she was asked to put into practice all that she had been taught.

At the ward

As a nursing student, her first placement was in Catharina ward in Mengo Hospital.  During practical lessons, Kibuuka and other students used dummies. But this time round, she had to deal with human life. 

 “One morning, my friends and I were on the doorway to the ward and we heard a woman screaming. She had lost her mother and this was the first time I got close to seeing a dead body. It was scary. Being a general ward, we used curtains to bar other patients from seeing what was happening.  We dressed the body before it was taken to the mortuary.  I did not touch the body, but I had to help the staff on duty. That evening, I failed to eat,” she narrates.

The days that followed were characterised by scenes of what she had seen and uglier events. But determination and the promise she made to herself when she was a little girl kept her going. Kibuuka eventually completed the course and later enrolled for a diploma in Nursing in 2002.  In 2012, she pursued a Diploma in Midwifery. She is currently a student at Ndejje University studying Public Administration and Management.

Becoming an instructor 

“I had always wanted take care of patients and I derive so much joy in seeing them heal.  But one of my mentors advised me to consider tutoring as a way to grow careewise. I did the clinical instructor’s course and I was equipped for the teaching job,” she recalls.

Kibuuka worked as a clinical instructor for 13 years and reminisces on some of the nurses she has personally groomed.  As a clinical instructor, Kibuuka taught clinical tasks, oversaw all activities of patient care, ensured optimal level of care in a clinical setting and participated in various education programmes, among other activities.

For the 13 years, Kibuuka has worked as a clinical tutor, she has trained more than 600 nurses, some of whom she is currently working with at Mengo Hospital.

“Some of the nurses that have gone through my hands are working in several hospitals such as Case hospital, Nakasero Hospital. One time I was at Kadic Hospital and I saw a photo of one of my students pinned on the noticeboard as the nurse of the year. There is no greater reward for me than this,” Kibuuka speaks of her achievements.

She says training nurses is a daunting task because students are trained to handle human life.  “One of my lecturers often mentioned that the mistakes of nurses are in graveyards. If one dispenses a wrong dose, the effects may be irreversible,” she says.

Is nursing a sacrifice?

According to Kibuuka, nursing is a calling. She says the doctor and the nurse are inseparable and nursing requires one to be near the patient’s bed all the time. The doctor can walk away, but a nurse should never leave the ward.

“It is only after another nurse has reported for duty that a nurse can leave the ward. Nursing means treating patients and colleagues with dignity, kindness, respect and compassion and being accountable.  The most rewarding thing any nurse gets at the end of each day is to see a patient who was badly off walking home with a smile,” Kibuuka says 

Roles of a nurse

According to nursingworld.org  nursing is defined as both an art and a science; a heart and a mind. At its heart, lies a fundamental respect for human dignity and an intuition for a patient’s needs. Responsibilities of nurses range from making acute treatment decisions to providing vaccinations. Through long-term monitoring of patients’ behaviour and knowledge-based expertise, nurses are best placed to take an all-encompassing view of a patient’s wellbeing. Through the critical thinking exemplified in the nursing process, nurses use their judgment to identify patient’s biological, physical and behavioural needs and ensure that every patient receives the best possible care regardless of who they are, or where they may be.

Leadership

From the ward, to a clinical instructor, today Kibuuka is the principal nursing officer at Mengo Hospital. She currently heads 400 nurses categorised in three groups: nurses and midwives, theatre assistants and nursing aides.

Doing a job that requires seeing patients every day, passion, integrity and consistency have kept Kibuuka on top of her game. Besides caring for patients, through the years, Kibuuka has prioritised professional development. She also hails the supportive team she has worked with over the years.

Kibuuka may not be at the patient’s bedside today, but she monitors the nursing department.  “I might not be able to make every day visits to all the patients, but I  monitor different wards and whenever there is need, I wear my uniform to get work done,” she says.

Her plea

“While government has made attempts to build more health centres, equipped them with drugs and increased human resources,  Kibuuka believes a lot has to be done in the health sector. “For the years I have worked in a private hospital, the Ministry of Health only checks on us when it is International Nurse’s Day.  This is when they send invitations with a budget. When will the commissioner for nurses come to visit Mengo Hospital and the other hospitals and interact with nurses?  When does the nursing council assess the work of nurses? It feels like we are detached from the ministry,” she says.

In October last year,  a  new tax was introduced and it requires all nurses despite their level of education, to pay Shs100,000 to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) for a stamp and  Shs200,000 for the practising licence.

Previously nurses were only paying for the renewal of the practising licences and this was paid according to one’s qualification.  For instance, nurses with a certificate used to pay Shs50,000, diploma holders were paying Shs80, 000 and degree holders paid between Shs150, 000 to Shs200, 000. Kibuuka says as a principal nursing officer, she has never received any official communication from the Ministry of Health in regard to this new tax.

“Who speaks for the nurse in Parliament? At what point does the Ministry of Health protect Ugandan nurses? We too are making a contribution to this country through saving lives and our voice as nurses matters.  They need to listen to our challenges,” she says.

Challenges

Speaking on the effect of Covid-19 on nurses under her care, Kibuuka says when the Ministry of Health permitted private hospitals to care for Covid-19 patients, getting nurses to work in the Covid-19 ward became a challenge that at times she would have to force nurses into the ward.

Balancing life

Kibuuka is an administrator, a nurse, a mother and a student, but in order to balance her tasks, she focuses on what is important. She also commends her husband for being supportive. “Monday to Friday I am at the hospital working and on Saturdays and Sundays, I go for lectures,”  she says.

“At the time I joined this office, all we had were blue books. Today, computers have made our work easy. I am also happy that I have groomed many into the profession,” she fondly speaks of her achievements.