Travelling nurse cares for patients around the world

Lerato Masekela is a travelling nurse in the medical division of Europ Assistance South Africa. She tells Margaret Harris that even as a child she knew she wanted to be a nurse

What does your job as a travelling nurse involve?

I manage international medical cases for our clients. I assess each case according to the patient's insurance policy. I work closely with patients when they are admitted to a hospital in a foreign country. I do the admin when they are too sick or in too much pain to do it themselves.

What are the tools of your trade?

• My skills as a qualified registered nurse;

• My mental stability;

• My ability to handle pressure; and

• Technology, for example computers, phones and access to the internet.

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Please describe a typical trip to take care of a patient.

A typical trip was when I escorted a South African who needed medical attention from Hong Kong back to South Africa. I had to travel there as a nurse case manager to escort the patient as they needed constant monitoring throughout the flight back to South Africa.

How did you end up doing this type of work?

After completing my nursing degree at the University of Limpopo's Medunsa campus in 2008, I worked in a clinic in Pretoria as part of my community service. After that, I worked as a community nurse in my home town of Mamelodi for about six years.

But I wanted to work in a corporate environment so applied for the job with Europ Assistance.

When you studied nursing, what type of work did you expect to eventually do?

Community nursing has always been my first passion, hence I pursued a speciality in advanced community nursing (honours degree). I have always felt strongly about empowering myself professionally and have wanted to explore other fields in nursing.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

I've always wanted to be a nurse. I have always felt strongly about serving the community. I loved working with the youth and inspiring young ladies from the community about women's empowerment.

What character traits does a travelling nurse need?

You need to learn to be patient and calm, and always remember that someone is placing their trust in your hands.

You need to be selfless, putting someone else's needs first. You need to have good administrative skills to take care of a patient's documentation when planning to travel with them.

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What was your first job, and what important lesson did you learn?

At the clinic in Pretoria I learnt about the importance of putting the health needs of my patients first, assisting them where possible and ensuring that they are comfortable.

Which mistake at work led to your biggest lesson?

Listening to a third party reporting a case as they normally give you an exaggerated version. By the time you speak to the client who needs assistance, it's usually a different scenario.

It is vital to talk to the client directly, to do the assessment yourself and get all the important information regarding the incident from the horse's mouth, as it were.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

Knowing that I can make a difference in clients' lives. I really like assisting clients with their queries and helping them get back home after falling sick in another country. I like to be there for these clients, to guide them through an unpleasant experience.