Nurses -The Makers of Destiny

Bhagya Vidhata -The Makers of Destiny 

I was watching a movie recently,Bharat Bhagya Vidhata ,about the exemplary role played by the nursing staff of Cama Hospital during the terrorist attack on Mumbai on 26/11/2008. It took me straight back to my own residency days, way back in 1994.

N.Wadia Maternity Hospital was one such place — a saviour for countless women in Mumbai, with dedicated teachers and technology that was always a step ahead, whether it was fetal medicine, laparoscopy, assisted reproduction, colposcopy, or a state-of-the-art neonatal unit. But working there as a postgraduate student meant relentless hours, sleepless nights that stretched to two or sometimes three in a row, no fixed meal times, and an enormous amount of learning packed into every single day. And yet, we have no regrets. That was possible, of course, because of the resilience and perseverance the system built into us, and because we had teachers it was an honour to train under, and colleagues who held each other up.

One thread runs through all of it, though, more than any other: the nursing staff. They were extraordinarily efficient, always willing to help, clinically sound to a degree almost equivalent to any midwife in the West, meticulous about asepsis, and punctual to the minute. They were a helping hand and, just as often, a guiding one.

I can still hear the voice of the sister calling from one end of the labour ward — "this patient will deliver vaginally, no worries" — and what a relief that always was. So many times, before we residents had even finished ordering the vacuum tray, we'd hear the machine's footsteps already on their way. They kept pace with moving technology, assisted the great stalwarts of obstetrics and gynaecology through their own learning curves with newer equipment, and just as readily helped residents through the basics of obstetric care. They did it all. They picked up on danger signs even without a chart in sight.

And beyond the clinical work, they were something more. A hoping hand, a coping pat, a loving shoulder to cry on when the toxic culture of  the "batti" or scolding as we called it, the family and senior backlash — got to be too much. They would make us a cup of tea at four in the morning and share their mess-made omelette sandwich without a second thought. Where would we have been without them?

I have now owned and run a hospital for almost three decades, and I have always tried to train my nursing staff and trainees with those very ideals in mind. I see Sr. Grace in the labour ward, Sr. Lovelie in the fertility OPD, Sister Jog in the postnatal ward,Sr.Joyce in the Operation theatre and so many others I could never forget. Whether I have succeeded in passing that on, only time will tell.

What troubles me, though, is a decline I've started to notice. I see young nurses today who can quote the latest bollywood film dialogues but don't know the basics of monitoring labour . Social media has such a hold on their attention that discipline, empathy, the quiet rigour of following a protocol — none of it comes easily anymore, and it gets harder every year to train it into them. I wouldn't generalise; I still see wonderful ones and committed ones too! The trend feels less pronounced in the metros. But it is there, and I perceive it is growing. It is worth pondering and understanding the possible why's and working towards solutions for it.

Nurses are the backbone of healthcare. They truly are Bhagya Vidhata — the makers of destiny. A doctor visits a patient once, maybe four times a day. A nurse is there through all of it. They shape the future of the patient, and they shape the doctors who go on to treat them, long after residency ends. I hope they continue to exist and flourish, so that there is a Florence Nightingale in every one of them.

Sanjivani (Gauri Karandikar)

18/08/2026