• Nursing staff embody the soul of a hospital. The interviewee knows this well. She tells us about her experiences, just as her hospital, the "Guevara," celebrates its 45th anniversary.

She was a girl of average height when she first encountered a nurse. In her memory, she has been immortalized as tall and beautiful, with a uniform as white as her eyes. She saw her cross her path, laughing, and continue on her way... But it was like a wordless invitation. Ana del Rosario Rodríguez Meriño knew that she, too, would one day walk in those shoes.

With more than seven decades of youthful energy behind her, I still find her at the Doctor Ernesto Guevara de la Serna General Teaching Hospital. She carries the stories of the patients in the Angiology ward in her hands. But deep down, she carries her profession as a philosophy of life: “in the end, this is the most sensitive job in the world.”

"I was 17 when I started working. Imagine I was just a girl. I remember that since I wasn't old enough to work, I didn't even get a salary. That first stage was considered training. I was so excited that I didn't want to go home.

"They placed me first in the provincial maternity ward. It was located in what is now the Provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Microbiology. At first, I had a thousand reservations, fears, and even concerns about doing things wrong; I learned the trade by following the guidance of the older nurses. How wonderful that was!

“For a teenager, seeing a child come into the world was incredible. Then I began to understand the importance of my work and to anticipate the doctors' requests, but of course, that knowledge required years of experience and endless night shifts.”

ANOTHER HOME

Back in 1980, when Las Tunas was fortunate enough to have a hospital as large as the “Guevara,” the call for health professionals spread everywhere. It was a time of building services from scratch that would have a vital impact on the population. Ana did not ignore the call.

"I will never forget that when I first walked in, I was struck by how huge the facility was. Everything was new and shiny, and we were the first to use the equipment. But we needed too many staff to cope with such a heavy workload."

"I'm not going to lie to you, I lost count of the number of times I had to work double shifts and even triple shifts. At that time, I felt strange at home because I spent most of the day at the hospital. I already had rigorous training, as I had been chosen for a collaboration mission in Iraq. That experience changed you; I became a nurse by force."

"My early days at the ‘Guevara’ reminded me a lot of my days in Iraq. Above all, because I was transferred wherever I was needed. I would finish my shift in Surgery, and if I had to support another department, I would go there."

"Due to the need, nurses from other provinces came to support us; I worked with those from Santa Clara; there are still some who decided to stay here. We worked together and trained, and learned the specifics of our work."

"From the beginning, it was clear to me that this is a profession of unconditional love. One can have a thousand problems; right now, there are economic situations that make life very difficult for Cubans, but all that has to be left outside, and the patient has to be treated with empathy."

“I have taught at various stages of my life, and more than the technical issues, I focus on helping students understand that without sensitivity, nursing cannot be done. Before, we even bathed the patients; now the job is easier, but you have to touch the patients, interact with them, and support them. You can't achieve excellence from a distance.”

BACK TO THE CAP

Ana retired a while ago, and within a few months, she was back at the hospital. "No way, I couldn't stay at home. I have so much more to do here. I immediately felt useful; I remember the day I had my first case of gastrointestinal bleeding, we sprang into action, and by the time the doctor arrived, the patient was already stable."

“I'm used to getting up at 5:00 a.m. I come in early and leave in the afternoon. My generation was raised with a sense of sacrifice and responsibility; now it's our turn to pass it on. Today, there is a great lack of motivation, but young people need good guidance.”

Ana has postgraduate degrees and has taken many courses to further her education. She knows the profession she loves and respects inside and out. She confesses that what she likes most about her job is dealing with patients, that first line of work.

"The most beautiful thing is when you know you have contributed to saving a human life, and the saddest thing is when you have to deliver bad news, to hug a family member. That's when my soul knots up because we never get used to loss; pain is not foreign to us.

“When I think about my life, I have no regrets. I didn't have children because I dedicated my entire youth to this institution. But luck rewarded me with a son whom I feel is like my own flesh and blood. I have no debts or complaints. I decided to pursue nursing, and I'm still trying to do it better and better.”