“My mission is to serve every patient with compassion”

Can you introduce yourself and your role at the Nazareth Hospital?

My name is Wael Shomar, and I am the Head of the Nurses in the emergency room and the Head of the workers’ committee.

How long have you been working at the Nazareth Hospital?

I started working back in 2000 as a student in the neonatal ward. After passing the government exam and registering as a nurse, I worked in the ICU for 15 years. Later, I became responsible for preparing the hospital to deal with major events, such as an earthquake, big road accidents, a war, etc. In 2017, I was appointed as Head Nurse at the ER.

Have you faced any challenges while doing your job?

Working at the ER is very difficult. The violence rate in our community is higher than in other regions. Also, the number of patients who come to the ER keeps increasing yearly. In 2017, we received 65,000 patients. In 2020 the number increased to 70,000. This year, we expect to get more than 90,000 patients. That’s why it’s very important to expand the ER and restructure our building. According to the standards of the Ministry of Health, we would need more than 2,600sqm, while we currently have less than 900sqm. We offer a broad spectrum of trauma services closer to people’s homes. Alongside the two other hospitals in the city, we must serve the area, including Nazareth and the surrounding villages: approximately 300,000 people. We must take every case and give the best for each patient.

Can you tell us about the rooms we can find at the ER?

The patients go to the reception office, where we take their details. Then, they wait to be called by the triage nurse. In the triage room, we assess each case and establish the priority required: the most complex cases always take priority. We have one bed in the triage room, while the standards of the Ministry of Health require more than three beds. In the orthopaedics emergency room, we receive between 70 and 100 patients. It’s a very small space with only two beds. The shock room is one of the most important rooms in the hospital. It has many mechanical ventilations, sonography, etc. We use it for CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation), cerebrovascular accidents, etc.; all the serious trauma victims come here. Around 3% of our patients come to this room every day. We have two beds, but according to the Ministry of Health, we need two more.

Wael Shomar with a patient

What motivated you to work at the Nazareth Hospital?

I want to serve our community. My mission is to serve every patient with compassion. What’s special is that people trust us; people believe in the hospital and what we give. Patients receive fast and good treatment. Despite all the financial challenges and the small ER, my colleagues and I love to come to work and continue the work that started over 160 years ago.