Česky
As a little girl, Anna dreamed of becoming a midwife one day. "Imagine that in my native Hostomice I played nurse and doctor with my best friend. A few years later, our dream really came true. I became a midwife and she became a doctor specializing in gynecology. It was the headmistress Martínková, who for many years headed the gynaecological and obstetric department at the hospital in Hořovice," Mrs Zpěváková recalls nostalgically. "In fact, I joined the hospital at the beginning of October 1967, but the first month of my employment, according to the legislation of the time, was counted as a probationary period," says Ms Zpěváková today.
The year 1967 was truly exceptional in her life. "On 12 January of that year, my daughter was born and I graduated in June. In September my husband went to the army and in October I started working at the Hořovice Hospital. In another three years I graduated from another school for midwives at work. In all the time I have been working here, I have never been "on the paragraph", except in 1982, when I stayed at home for five months after I gave birth to my son for the second time. Today, I am a grandmother of five grandchildren," says Mrs. Zpěváková.
From the beginning of the 1980s until today, Nurse Zpěváková has formed an inseparable professional duo with the current head of the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department , Aleš Klán. Hundreds and hundreds of patients have passed through their office over the years. "They were not only my peers, but also their daughters. The role of the nurse is very important in any setting, but it is doubly crucial in the maternity ward and the gynaecological outpatient clinic. Many times women come here with fears of various afflictions. The human factor that connects the nurse here with nursing care is simply irrefutable. It is up to the nurse to be perceptive, to be able to empathise with the situation of ordinary women and not explain their problems to them in Latin terminology, but in ordinary language," says the Hořovice nurse.
"A nurse must be mentally resilient, physically fit and sometimes skilled. And sometimes a nurse must not lack the qualities of a good manager and diplomat", says Anna, assessing the qualities of an ideal nurse. "I was lucky enough to have a wonderful friendly atmosphere here, no rivalry. You know, working with people is very special. The help you give to a loved one cannot be quantified in money. After all, the financial remuneration of the medical staff is not dazzling. That's why you have to have it in you," says Mrs. Zpěváková.
And what are her feelings from almost half a century of working at the Hořovice Hospital? "I have experienced everything in this hospital. I remember very vividly how not far from the hospital in August 1968 belly planes with Russian soldiers and tanks landed. I experienced the Velvet Revolution and the privatisation of the hospital ten years ago. Working conditions have improved incredibly in recent years compared to what a nurse had to manage thirty years ago. Today, it's more and more about the relationship to work and a friendly attitude towards people," Anna Zpěváková sums up her story.
