A lifetime of caring for patients

“I have been living with my patients’ worries for 47 years – almost a lifetime. In all these years I have continued to study, I have built and led teams and I have worked with thousands of people,” recounts Liubovi Chisevscaia, Chief Nurse of the Mother and Child Healthcare Centre in Tiraspol, Republic of Moldova.

Liubovi Chisevscaia currently leads a team of several hundred nurses at the Centre, one of the biggest health institutions in the Transnistria region. Her day starts with morning rounds and attending to every patient. She devotes as much time to her administrative work and direct nursing responsibilities as she does to her visits to the wards and supervision of medical assistance to women, future mothers and newborns.

“After graduating cum laude from Tiraspol Medical College, I was assigned to work at the Child Centre. Every Friday I went to the municipality to enquire about vacancies. There was a long waiting list of people looking for work in the 1970s – over 300 people on a single day! I have never thought of being anything other than a nurse. My mother always told me how caring I was with my peers when young,” she says.

“I was eventually transferred to Maternity Hospital No. 1 in Tiraspol. At that time I wanted to fulfil another dream – that of becoming a surgical nurse. I kept my eyes open and was among the first to enrol when specialized training courses were delivered in Chisinau. I worked in the Gynaecology Surgical Department for several years before I specialized in anaesthesiology and could finally work as a surgical nurse.

“It was my natural environment: the work was very difficult, so many surgeries during the night, but I was happy. I was visiting and monitoring the patients in the ward. … Eventually I regretted that I did not have higher education and so, in 1985, I enrolled in the Biochemistry Department of the T.G. Shevchenko University in Tiraspol. I studied while working as Chief Midwife, and later this higher education provided me with a unique opportunity to teach nursing at the Tiraspol Medical College. I have taught for many years now and am so proud of my students.

“I was Chief Midwife until 1991; I am Chief Nurse now. Some people may think I’m too strict, but I like discipline and responsibility. Discipline is one of the keys to success. I learned discipline when I was involved in athletics and participated in different republican and union competitions. Now, I swim regularly and I urge everyone to follow a healthy lifestyle.

“I love my job. I have dedicated myself to caring for people – there is nothing more important than human health. The health needs of the population have changed in the last decades, and nurses have an important role to play in tackling health challenges, promoting health, preventing diseases, providing individual care to patients and ensuring the continuity of care.

“What do I wish for after a 47-year career? To learn more and to implement modern and innovative standards and protocols in our institution. I believe that I can move mountains.”