Jacklyn Mugoiri is one of the essential service providers whose job means more than just a salary.

Being a registered nurse deployed at the critical care department of the Nakuru War Memorial Hospital, her job is to protect life at all costs.

She has to oversee the patients' recovery journey from an unresponsive and unconscious state at the Intensive Care Unit to their stability.

During her morning shifts, the nurse responds to her morning alarm at 5:30 am.

She takes about 10 minutes reading her bible and praying for the day.

"I do this for my own spiritual nourishment and to dedicate myself, family and patients to God,” says Ms Mugoiri.

She then starts preparing herself for work. With the help of her nanny she prepares her two children for school.

She and her children take breakfast at exactly 6:10 am before she packs her snacks for work.

“We leave the house at exactly 7 am to drop the children to their schools on my way to work,” she adds.

Jacklyn Mugoiri during her shift at war memorial hospital where she works as an ICU nurse.

Photo credit: COURTESY

Ms Mugoiri is required to clock in at half past 7 hence arrives at 7.20am and goes through the patient’s report from her colleague who was on a night shift for assessment for about 10 minutes.

“The first step is to check the safety measures including the safety of the bed rails,the patient’s environment and the entire body,” Ms Mugoiri says.

From here she priorities on her care by the order of urgency which will form the basis of her work for the day.

For the nurse, a good morning entails walking in to a stable patient who has shown great improvement.

"I have come to appreciate that every moment is unpredictable and life is very delicate. In one moment you can see someone bubbling with life and the next moment they become unresponsive," she says.

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My Good morning story: Meet Jacklyn Mugoiri, an ICU nurse

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Joseph Openda