May 12 is International Nurses Day, to commemorate the 1820 birth of British nurse Florence Nightingale, who is considered the pioneer of modern nursing. In our photo report, we show a working day of nurse Réka Horváth at the Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology of Semmelweis University.
Click on the pictures to read our photo report.
The handover between night and day shifts is between 6:30 and 7 a.m., when nurses go through the important events of the night, check the fever chart, and prepare the necessary equipment and medicines for the therapy prescribed by the doctors. Then they measure the body temperatures at the bedside and check how much fluid the patient has drunk, reports Réka Horváth about the morning tasks.
Réka Horváth has worked at the Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology for four years. She has a BSc degree in nursing and is currently studying at the Faculty of Health Sciences to obtain a Nursing MSc diploma.
The active internal medicine ward primarily treats elderly patients with a diverse range of conditions, including stomach issues, ulcers, heart rhythm disorders, and diabetes. Some patients stay for a few days, while others are treated for months.
Morning blood glucose is still measured by the night shift, but it’s day nurses who administer insulin as needed, and then patients are served their breakfast.
During the morning rounds, the attending physicians present any additional therapies, such as whether the patient’s medication needs to be adjusted or if any laboratory tests need to be carried out.
Nurses perform a wide variety of tasks, such as admitting patients to the ward, taking blood, inserting a peripheral venous catheter, bandaging, taking blood pressure, taking ECGs, and washing and cleaning up patients if needed.
After serving lunch, they do some paperwork. Between 4 and 5 p.m., they are back at the bedside for thermometry and blood glucose measurement. After dinner, they check the temperatures and hand over to the night shift.
“As some of our patients spend weeks here, we have the opportunity to get to know them. They are glad to share their stories, and we are happy to listen to them with interest and attention,” says Réka Horváth.
Infectious wards – such as those for COVID patients – can only be entered wearing protective clothing.
Réka Horváth’s mother is also a nurse, so she was drawn to a helping profession. As she shares, what she likes most about her job is the opportunity to constantly experience and learn new things.
May 12 is International Nurses Day. British nurse Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing education, was born on this day in 1820. She believed that the work of nurses required a threefold interest: an intellectual interest in the case, a hearty interest in the patient, and a technical (practical) interest in the patient’s care and cure.
Semmelweis University is one of the largest patient care providers in Hungary. In 2024, over 200,000 cases of more than 108,000 inpatients were treated at the university, with the contribution of around 5,000 allied health professionals.
Eszter Keresztes
Translation: Judit Szabados-Dőtsch
Photos by Boglárka Zellei – Semmelweis University
