More than 400 people packed Waterval Community Hall on Tuesday, 26 May, for a Nursing Day event that quickly turned into a platform for urgent warnings about the state of the profession — with retired nurses sounding the alarm over declining standards and a crumbling mentorship system threatening public healthcare.
The gathering brought together retired nurses, active healthcare workers, and secondary school learners, intended to reflect on the state of nursing and encourage young people to enter the profession. Instead, discussions were dominated by the loss of experienced staff and its devastating impact on training and patient care.
DENOSA (Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa) Limpopo provincial secretary Jacob Molepo said the departure of experienced nurses had created serious gaps in knowledge transfer and leadership. “There is still a challenge of knowledge deficiency within the nursing fraternity and the leadership crisis within the nursing fraternity right now,” he said, adding that the health system is struggling to retain institutional memory as senior nurses retire or leave.
Retired nurses warned that the loss of experienced practitioners has weakened the informal mentorship structures that once played a vital role in training younger nurses in hospitals and clinics. New nurses, they said, are often left to learn on the job without sufficient guidance — affecting their confidence, decision-making, and ultimately, patient care.
Retired doctor Sheila Makhado, who worked at several facilities including Tshilidzini Hospital and Dr George Mukhari Hospital, said the decline in standards was evident even in the planning of the event. “We hear from nurses and we hear patients complaining, and it tells us things are not going well,” she said. She added that many experienced nurses believe the profession is increasingly being treated as ordinary employment rather than a vocation.
“Nowadays they are taking it as a job and it’s not a job. It’s a calling,” she said. “It’s a noble profession because you serve mankind from your heart.” Makhado stressed that nursing demands emotional commitment, discipline, and sacrifice. “You even neglect your family sometimes when you look at the patient,” she said.
Organiser and retired nurse Molly Ameker said this was the third Nursing Day event held at the venue. Unlike previous gatherings, which focused on celebrating nurses, this year’s event placed greater emphasis on mentorship and the future of the profession. Ameker suggested that retired nurses could consider voluntary initiatives in hospitals and clinics, as well as training caregivers in community-based care — ensuring that decades of experience are not lost when nurses retire.