Vic Banayad, Hemodialysis Nurse, Seven Oaks General Hospital, Winnipeg, MB
“I’ve been a nurse since 1994, so that’s 22 years now. But here in Canada, it’s only four years. Back home when I started my nursing course in 1990, it was the profession that was booming because of the demand. I got here through the nominee program. My sister sponsored us. She told me the nursing profession is one of the jobs in demand here.”
Highlight of the job: “It’s basically the bedside nursing that we can do here in the renal program. I used to work in the medicine ward. Even if you wanted to do bedside nursing it was too much of a workload. There was not enough time. Here you have four hours to do your bedside nursing with each patient. You can talk to the patient and get to know them better. We all know the healthcare system revolves around the patient.

The more you know about the patient the more dynamic care you can provide. You can individualize the care. Each individual has their own needs – things to accommodate for.

I really believe it makes a difference when you know them more. It makes them more trustful of you and makes the atmosphere more therapeutic for the patient and yourself.”
Challenges: “Right now, there are times when there are patients who are so different in terms of personality. They might be kind of rude sometimes. Even though they have that personality you still have to give them a smile back. Once you get to know them more sometimes that personality takes a 180 degree turn. I don’t blame them because this is a lifelong therapy for them. Some of them are still in a denial stage.
One thing for me is that the renal program is a team effort. The nurses on the floor, the CRNs, the PCT and the educators are all there to support you. You can ask anyone around and if they are free they are always willing to help. The team effort is making this program very efficient. Even if we are short staffed, everybody works and makes it happen.”