Renatus Imalwa: Nurse

“I am a registered nurse who works in the cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) at the Windhoek State Hospital. For the past three years, I have been caring for patients who had heart procedures, both adults and children.”

As a nurse in a cardiac ICU, Renatus Imalwa provides specialised care to patients with cardiac problems who require close monitoring and treatment.

His daily tasks include closely monitoring patients' heart rates, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and other vital signs to detect any changes or abnormalities; administering medications such as cardiac drugs, pain relievers and antibiotics as prescribed by doctors and monitoring the effects and potential side-effects, and assessing patients' cardiac status by monitoring electrocardiograms (ECGs), interpreting lab results and evaluating symptoms to determine the appropriate course of action.

To do this job, he said one must first get a four-year bachelor's degree in nursing from any of our local universities, and then specialise in critical care for one year, which requires three years of experience in a critical care setting.