Oncology nurse Agita Sprukule: you never get used to death, but you learn to live with it
Agita Sprukule has worked for 15 years as a general care nurse in the Radiotherapy Clinical Unit of Riga East Clinical University Hospital. In an interview she talks about her daily routine, her relationship with patients and keeping work separate from private life.
Agita Sprukule has worked in oncology for 15 years as a nurse in the Radiotherapy Clinical Unit of Riga East Clinical University Hospital. She wanted to work in medicine from childhood, as her family included medical professionals: an aunt and a cousin both worked in a hospital.
From orderly to nurse
Agita began at the hospital as an orderly, and she recommends the same path to other medical workers. It helps one understand what junior staff actually do, which in turn improves teamwork. It also let her get used to the environment gradually. In her view, had she been placed in oncology straight after school, she might not have chosen it. Now, she says, nothing frightens her anymore.
On the hardest shifts, several patients may feel unwell at the same time. There is no room for confusion at such moments: one must know what to do and do it well.
Relationships with patients
Over 15 years she has met a great many patients and heard their stories. Some stay in memory, others fade quickly. What stays with Agita most are patients who leave the hospital smiling after treatment but have nobody at home to care for them. She says there are many such people. They are usually elderly, but young people can be among them too, since the illness does not choose by age.
Sometimes a nurse has to listen to patients much like a psychotherapist would. According to Agita, people say one thing to the doctor, but once the doctor steps away, the patient opens up. Nurses spend the whole day with them, so patients trust them more.
Work and family
Agita says she has never been close to burnout. Once she leaves the hospital, her thoughts turn to family life: she has a husband and three sons, whom she takes to training sessions and helps with schoolwork. The boys are athletes and do not plan to pursue medicine. She does not take work home. At the start of her career she wanted to share her emotions with loved ones, but later realized they do not need to know what goes on inside the hospital.
