Bijo John, Nurse: Whatever I can do, I do

Bijo John trained as a nurse in India and New Zealand, and has worked in both hospital and community nursing settings. He regards it as a privilege. �Being a health care worker can have a big impact on people.�

His current work is in a community health service, where the help he is able to give often goes beyond medical assistance.

�Here you see people who don�t have food, who don�t have insulation, who don�t have money to pay their rent or heating, which all makes them sick.� He is able to refer people to foodbanks, community health workers and agencies which help with making houses warmer.  �Health services can make a lot of changes in people�s lives.�

He draws on his faith from his Catholic upbringing in responding to people, especially the identification of Christ with people in need; I was thirsty and you gave me water. �So there is a connection from the Bible to care, but for me it�s more about humanity. I look to Jesus Christ who was a man and taught us to love people. He was there to help people humbly, supporting them.

�He multiplied the bread and fish, and he didn�t care what sort of people were sitting there. He fed them all. It�s for everybody. I�m a human being too, I follow his example to support people in their need.�

However, Bijo says it is a stressful time to be a health carer. �When I leave home, I dedicate myself to my work. Sometimes it�s like getting ready for war. It�s like becoming a different person to serve the nation, to serve the community.�

He said in a time of Covid-19, health care staff don�t know what new situations they are going to come across. �There is a fear. Being a young father, thinking what�s going to happen if I get Covid? What about my family.� He has three daughters aged 6, 3 and 2-years-old.

However, he said there are many health care workers in New Zealand who are also having a hard time. �The New Zealand healthcare system is understaffed, and depends a lot on migrant health care workers, but there is a scarcity of migrant workers at the moment. Those who are here can�t go home, but they are thinking about home. Some can�t get married, everything�s up in the air for them. Covid has definitely put mental, social and physical stress on all age groups in the medical profession.�

However, he said he is glad that there is recognition of the stress on health care workers. �A word of appreciation, a card, someone leaving food or speaking to the manager, saying, �Thanks for looking after the community� � it can really make you feel valued.�

He also likes to talk to people, to take a bit of extra time to listen to people�s own struggles and challenges. �You are here at work for 8 hours, and you want to be productive, so you want to support people. I know I took this career to take care of people. Whatever I can do, I do.�