Working Lives: The Kidney Specialist Nurse Who Trained in 3 Continents

Working Lives: The Specialist Nurses of Nigeria

In this series, we bring to you the Working Lives of some of Nigeria’s most educated nurses. Let’s be frank, most us would not expect a nurse to discuss specialist areas of medicine we have never heard about. These nurses have qualifications in them! But as usual, it is their life stories that are compelling rather than the details of what they do at work. Delve in and discover.

Working Lives: The Kidney Specialist Who Trained in 3 Continents

 I used to hawk stuff for my mother.  I followed her to the market to sell anything she bought from the north. We sold the bulk at the market and hawked whatever is left in the neighbourhood. But this did not stop me from attending school. I hawked palm oil in the morning before going to school, I would then rush back home when it was almost 8 o’clock to change to my uniform and leave for school. 

CECILIA OLUREMI

Where are you from?

I am from Ijebu Isiwo in Ogun State. But I was born in Epe and grew up in Ijebu Mushin.

Which school did you attend and when did you graduate?

I attended St Mary Anglican Primary School in Ijebu Mushin from 1969 -1976 and Our Lady of Apostle Secondary School in Ijebu Ode from 1976-1981. After secondary school, I went to catering school at Nigeria Federal School of Catering, Fadeyi, Lagos from 1981-1982. And after school of catering I worked as a caterer for some time at Topmost Hotel, Shomolu, Lagos from 1982-1984, before I left for nursing school.

Which of the nursing schools did you attend?

I studied at the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Oluyoro, Ibadan from 1985-1988. I also went to school of Nursing at Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos for more training in nursing in 1998. I then went to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital College of Medicine to study Nephrology, the study of the kidney. I specialize in helping those who have renal failure and cannot pass urine. We use a dialysis machine in helping the patients; the machine cleans their blood. I operate the machine. I left Nigeria for Jamaica in 2007 to bag a BSc degree in Nursing at the University of the West Indies. I also did nursing courses in the United States of America on taking care of the elderly in nursing homes before I finally returned to Nigeria.

When did you decide to become a nurse?

A conversation with my dad one evening while I was still working as a caterer led me to become a nurse. He asked me why I chose catering and I told him that I had a passion for cooking. He said I could cook during my spare time and told me he wanted me to go back to school to study nursing. He reminded me that I had a dream as a child in which I was working in the midst of white people taking care of the sick and had decided I would become a nurse. He encouraged me to realize this childhood dream. That is how I went to enroll as the School of Nursing in Oluyoro, Ibadan.

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Please, tell us about your family?

My father was a dispenser. He was managing a government hospital in Ijebu Mushin between 1969-1976. It was called a district hospital back then but now it is a general hospital. My mother was a trader. She used to go to the eastern part of Nigeria to buy things that she would take to the North to sell. She was selling a lot of kolanut in the North. She also sold garri, yams, chewing sticks, anything, just mention it. She bought fabrics, kuli kuli, ponmo etc. to sell in the southern part of the country. I have 7 siblings. I used to hawk stuff for my mother.  I followed her to the market to sell anything she bought from the north. We sold the bulk at the market and hawked whatever is left in the neighbourhood. But this did not stop me from attending school. I hawked palm oil in the morning before going to school, I would then rush back home when it was almost 8 o’clock to change to my uniform and leave for school.

When did you get to Lagos?

When I finished from secondary school, I left for Lagos immediately in 1981 to study catering at Federal School of Catering, Fadeyi, Lagos from 1981-1982. And then I came back to Lagos after school of nursing and I was working as a registered nurse for a private hospital in Lagos. I worked at St Thomas’ Hospital in Obanikoro and I later left and worked at R-Jolad Hospital. I started working there in 1988 and I left in 1992.

Where do you live and how much is the rent?

I live in my own house now. But when I got to Lagos I was living with my older sister. She was married and living with her family in Mushin. I left my sister’s place just before I got married.

Where do you work?

Like I said earlier, I worked at St Thomas’ Hospital in Obanikoro and I later left and worked at R-Jolad Hospital in Iyana Oworo and I left in 1992 for the Lagos State Teaching Hospital in Ikeja and later left for Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and got to the level of Matron, Assistant Chief Nursing Officer and then Chief Nursing Officer before I resigned. I proceeded to Jamaica. When I was in Jamaica, I was also employed at the university teaching hospital where I studied because I studied part time. I left Jamaica and moved to Canada and worked in Oakville General Hospital, Ontario. I then came back to Nigeria to work with Reddington Hospital in Victoria Island. I worked there for 6 years and left for Olive Multi-specialist Hospital for two years before I decided to be on my own. I am currently a consultant; people call me to manage cases.

How many hours do you do in a day?

I work for 6 hours in a day. But I do not work every day. I work 3 or 4 times in a week.

What is your best day like on the job?

Every day is my best day on the job. I am a nurse. I care for people and that makes me happy. The only thing that might frustrate me is the traffic in Lagos.

What unusual encounters do you have with patients?

Patients with kidney failure could be fine and talking to you quite okay and then the next minute they are in a coma because of the accumulated fluid in them. It is always a shocking and distressing experience for me. Before you know it, cardiac arrest happens and the person is gone.

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How much are you paid?

Hahaha. This is a personal question o. But I get paid within the range of N350,000-450,000. I am not going to disclose the exact amount.

How much do you spend in a day?

To take care of myself? Well apart from Uber fare and food, I do not spend more than N2,000 in a day. I sometimes don’t even spend on transport fare because the hospital convoy often come to pick me up in my house and also drop me off. This happened throughout the lockdown. I didn’t spend anything on transport.

What other things do you spend money on?

Apart from the regular fare and daily feeding, I sometimes go out and do some shopping but this is just like once or twice in a week. I spend about N30,000:00 shopping.

For how long have you been practicing as a nurse?

I started in 1985 so that is about 35 years now. I am looking forward to retiring fully. God has been good to me through all these years.

Do you have savings and how much do you save in a month?

I do not save anymore. But those days when I was still working under an employer, I usually saved about N100,000/N150,000 from my salary monthly. But right now, I do not save a dime. God has blessed me, and I know he will continue to bless me. I always use my salary to finance my poultry business. That is, buying feed for the catfish and hens. Including paying salaries to two of my workers. Buying feeds for the livestock is not child’s play, now that things are even somehow in the economy, prices for feeds has increased. That is basically what I spend my salary on.

Are you married or looking forward to marrying?

Yes, I got married in 1988. I live happily with my husband and two lovely kids.

Do you have plans to venture into something else apart from your nursing career?

Yes, I have a farm. I am into the poultry business, I rare chickens, catfish, and rabbits.