By Otti Thomas
The Netherlands has more than 150,000 residents with roots in Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba. Thousands of these residents are successful in their own way. During 2018, Foundation Ocan, originating from the Consultative Body for Dutch Caribbean persons, will put one of these persons in the spotlight every week. In the spotlight this week is Maciba Hull from St. Maarten; she is employed as a registered nurse at Erasmus University Medical Center.
In her own words:
One of my neighbours on St. Maarten was a registered nurse at St. Maarten Medical Center. As a little girl, I did not know what it exactly entailed, but it had a huge attractive power. I have never wanted anything different. I work at Erasmus University Medical Center in the HPB ward for persons with liver, pancreatic and gall bladder diseases. Nursing is unpredictable. You need to be able to take the best decisions, estimate the risks, make the best of a situation and keep a cool head. Not all patients survive, so you need to strike a balance between empathy and not becoming too close to them. You should not freeze, but you must turn thoughts into strength. I also work as a coordinating nurse together with a doctor. We decide where to place patients that have come in via the Emergency Room. I decide which person in a team is the most suitable for a task, because even experienced nurses can become subjected to stress. I help out where necessary. I also worked in the polyclinic for a period of time. Nursing is thus more than just bathing patients.
Obstacle
I was 14 when we moved to the Netherlands. It was culture shock for me. I started in the second year of VMBO, a lower level of high school than that which I was enrolled in on St. Maarten. I found it to be difficult that I did not know anyone, had to make friends again and on top of that needed to learn the language. I suffered from homesickness the first years. I skipped school often. I would remain in bed when my mother left for work in the mornings. Before she returned home, I would get up and pretend as if I had been to school. I did the Nurse’s Aide course at Mondriaan College MBO after finishing high school. There were times that I went home crying from my internship at a nursing home because I did not like it and would have preferred working in a hospital.
A change came about somewhere. I think that I simply grew up and realized that I needed to stop with the sass and complaining. At MBO Level 4, I got the chance to do an internship at Erasmus University Medical Center. Classmates warned me that I had to do twice my best there having a colour, but I wanted it – regardless of what I would have to do for it. After a year interning on the children’s ward and a year at vascular and transplant surgery, they offered me a job. I have been working here seven years now and I have started my HBO level bachelor in nursing. I have not learnt everything there is to learn by far; and that is impossible in this field. I want to gain as much experience as possible in the area of nursing in order to be generally employable.
Inspiration
People find themselves in a vulnerable, powerless situation in the hospital. It is nice to guide them. I can possibly do very little to change that situation but I can help them in dealing with the situation. I understand that they are going through a difficult time, but I try to stimulate a positive outlook regardless. If you give up mentally, your body will also give up. They are related. It gives me strength. People lay lifeless in their beds when they are first brought in, but walk away energetically from the hospital. I also get satisfaction from the way in which I make the best out of a stressful job, choosing the right priorities. A number of things happen in every organization, for instance, where logistics is concerned and it is important to see to it that the client does not notice that. He or she needs all of his strength to heal.
Grateful
My mother was always proud of me. She has always stimulated me to become a better Maciba. I therefore wanted to give her every reason to be proud. Above all, I want to create a better foundation than my mother’s. She dropped out of school when she gave birth to me at 17 years of age. After that, she has always had to work hard in order to get by. She died two years ago from breast cancer that spread to her liver. I am always glad and thankful I could be there for her as a daughter and with my nursing knowledge.
Help
I perhaps want to do something in education or management in the future. There are many registered nurses with a multicultural background at the MBO level. They wrestle with the same things that I do and have the feeling that they have to prove themselves twice as much. I think I am a source of inspiration. I can show that it is possible and which steps you need to take and that they do not need to let themselves be held back from their goals by a person. The work environment is not always pleasant but aside from their goals and dreams, they must be there for the patients in the first place. The last years I have been thinking increasingly on a return to St. Maarten. I do not know how I will experience it because I came of age in the Netherlands. But I consider it a task to contribute to the growth of my country through my expertise and knowledge.
Advice
“Willen is kunnen!” Someone once said that to me and I now often say it to myself. Foremost, do not limit yourself to a certain environment. Through expanding your horizon, you will discover things you did not know of their existence. I think advice is to be listened to but not always to be followed. Sometimes people advise you to do something while they do not know your drive. If I had listened to the advice of my classmates, I would not have had the wonderful job.
Foundation Ocan supports Dutch Caribbean persons in the achieving of their individual and shared ambitions and objectives. Visit www.ocan.nl and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
