On International Nurses Day, we reflect on the incredible work of our Hamlin nurses — and their dedicated peers around the globe.
As frontline healthcare professionals, the responsibilities carried out by nurses are absolutely essential. In recent years, however, the pressures they have faced have been unprecedented. This year’s theme — Our Nurses. Our Future. Caring for nurses strengthens economies — highlights the importance of caring for our carers.
As Dr Pamela Cipriano, President of the International Confederation of Nurses, explains: “Nurses face numerous challenges — physical, mental, emotional, and ethical — and it is imperative that we address these challenges in a way that promotes their overall health.”
The Hamlin Nursing Team
Across each of our six hospitals, Hamlin nurses are vital to every aspect of patient care. Their responsibilities include:
- Greeting and assessing new patients,
- Assisting in the operating theatre, and
- Conducting daily ward rounds to ensure each woman’s condition is stable.
Undergoing surgery for a fistula injury can be an intense and overwhelming experience. Hamlin nurses stand by every patient’s side, providing essential post-surgery pain relief and emotional support. They not only deliver high-quality medical care but also kindness, compassion, and respect to every woman entrusted to their care.
The Hamlin Model of Care
Hamlin nurses are trained in the principles of the Hamlin Model of Care: a profound respect for women suffering from obstetric fistula and a commitment to providing complete, compassionate treatment.
The dignity and kindness Hamlin nurses show is crucial to their patients’ healing journeys. Many of our nurse aides are former fistula patients themselves, offering empathy and drawing from their own lived experiences to support others.
One such nurse aide is Almaz, who has worked at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital for nearly two decades. She describes her work as a “truly rewarding experience” sharing: “Witnessing the transformation in the women we care for brings me immense joy. They are often very distressed and crying when they arrive.
“However, when I translate for them in their own language, it feels as though they have already begun to heal.”
Almaz adds: “During follow-up visits, many have told me, ‘It’s because of you that my life has changed.’ By the time they leave, they are filled with hope and happiness. It’s truly heartwarming to witness their recovery and new beginnings.”
Sharing Knowledge and Best Practice
Hamlin’s Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital is recognised globally as a centre of excellence in fistula surgical care — and that includes the vital role of nurses specially trained in caring for fistula patients.
Recognising this excellence, the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) has partnered with Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia to expand the number of trained fistula surgical nurses worldwide.
So far, eight nurses from Yemen, Somalia, Ghana, and Congo have trained at Hamlin through the FIGO Fistula Surgery Training Initiative. These nurses gain surgical nursing skills and best-practice knowledge to treat fistula injuries beyond Ethiopia, guided by the Hamlin Model of Care.
A Word of Thanks
On International Nurses Day, we reaffirm our belief that every patient deserves compassionate, high-quality care — care that would not be possible without our incredible team of nursing professionals.
While nurses deserve recognition every day, today we want to shine a spotlight on the world’s 22 million nurses, including the inspirational Hamlin nurses, and highlight the enormous contributions they make to our health and wellbeing.
