Passion and purpose

(A book review)

Book: Encounters of a bedside nurse – inspiring insights on impacting individuals

Publisher: Haven Publications, Lusaka

Book author: Grace Zimba

 

In a continued bid to read and review books by Zambian authors, I came across this little gem right here in Lusaka. Look beyond the very basic cover design and formatting, and you will find words well worth reading. Nurse Zimba offers insight into the life of a very important care-giver that is often overlooked.

The autobiographical story that Grace Zimba narrates in eight chapters is a brief but insightful record of her calling to be a bedside nurse. She uses the word “calling” rather than profession, to draw attention to her lifelong passion, and she is right to do so. She speaks of a common scenario, “It is amazing how a number of us find ourselves treading the career pathway paved by people who seem to want us to pursue what they think should be our dreams… and consequently [many] have walked through life as frustrated individuals”. She identifies the passionless life as a life “off-track” from our true purpose. We sacrifice our callings for any number of reasons and we serve there with little passion, and we find in this booklet an example of passion and conviction. The nation would be a very different place is every place was filled with people who were passionate about their task!

Service which goes unnoticed and often not appreciated, is still important when one serves a higher purpose. Nurse Zimba is characterised by a deep personal faith that raises the bar for her work as a caregiver and the compassion she shows her patients. She was catechised and baptised at St John’s UCZ church in Kabwe, but in her own words, that was not her turning point. As a teenager in 1978 she witnessed the change that took place in her sister’s life after experiencing transforming faith, and she was drawn to hear the gospel as well. She narrates, “My turning point came in 1978 when two youths, Evans Chibesakunda and Mwiche, visited our congregation at St. John’s. The two young men were zealous for God and they formed a youth group and began holding meetings on Sunday afternoons. I refused to attend the first meeting, but one of my elder sisters attended. When she came back, I noticed that something had changed about her. She was not the same person that I had known all those years we were growing up together.”

When she finally heard the gospel, the demands for repentance and personal faith gripped her heart, and from then on Grace Zimba would never be the same. All this would impact of her attitude towards nursing and impacting people’s lives. One of those principles was empathy, “understanding another person’s condition from their perspective. While we may not fully understand the extent of pain being experienced by the hurting individuals, empathy implores us to place ourselves in their shoes and feel what they are feeling.” She drew this principle from the command to do unto others what you would have them do unto you. She explains what this looked like in practice. “When on duty, I need to observe my patients and take note of those who have been abandoned by their relatives. As a nurse, I try to fill the gap. Society will always categorise human beings according to their economic status and social standing as well as levels of their education; but before God, all people are equal.”

Later in the book, nurse Zimba talked about the challenges of nursing family members, of a suicidal patient and dealing with patients who are stigmatised. The value of this book is not in the poetic lines or vivid descriptions, but in the frank tone and matter-of-fact approach of a real life story. We also see the kind of faith in action that needs to spread and take the place of so much theatrics that has taken the spotlight in Zambian church circles. Whether you agree with every conclusion or not, the book shows us a deep conviction that will surely inspire others to ask if they have such a passion; and if not, to not waste another moment living without passion and purpose.