ERROR RG P4 30.4.1994 In referring to cardiac arrest patients, Nurse of the Year Mr. Arnold Botelho said there were "just four to six minutes before brain damage occurs'', and not 46 minutes as stated in a May 18 feature about him.

Overwhelmed! That was Mr. Arnold Botelho's reaction to being named Nurse of the Year in a special ceremony hosted by the Bermuda Nurses' Association on Sunday.

And indeed, although he knew of his nomination, winning the title took him completely by surprise.

"I was quite nervous,'' he recalled of the announcement process. "I kept hearing she, she, she. So when my name was announced I was overwhelmed with pride that my colleagues had chosen me. There were five nominees and I faced some tough competition.'' Only the second man to win the title (the first was Mr. Eddie Richardson in 1982), Mr. Botelho carried off a huge silver cup as well as an armful of "gorgeous'' prizes -- yes, and even flowers! (In fact, he was still receiving flowers on Monday).

No doubt, his success shattered the stereotyped expectation of a female winner, but then Mr. Botelho is used to confounding stereotypes.

As a registered nurse doing regular ward duty, he dealt with male and female patients alike -- without a murmur of protest from the latter.

"If you conduct yourself in a professional manner there is no problem. There are male doctors, so why not male nurses?'' is how he dismissed the question of potentially embarrassing possibilities. "In fact, in all my career I only ever had one complaint, and it was during my training. A 92-year-old woman said, `You're not bathing me!'' Declaring himself "proud to be a nurse,'' the caring Bermudian describes his chosen career as the nearest he has come to realising a childhood dream.

"I wanted to be a missionary but so far, nursing is the closest I have gotten to missionary work. The story of the good Samaritan has always stuck with me.

It's my favourite part of the Bible,'' he said. "But being able to share my knowledge with others gives me great pride because they are now able to share in the care of others too, which is fabulous.'' A committed Christian who is very active in his church, Mr. Botelho first began ministering to humanity through the St. John Ambulance Brigade, which he joined as a teenager in 1972.

"I really loved it, and thoroughly enjoyed being out there helping others,'' he said.

Today, as the Brigade's deputy commissioner, he looks back on those early days with a deep sense of gratitude -- for they proved the turning point in what has become a qualifications-laden career in nursing.

A high school drop-out at age 15, the young man worked for ten years at the Bermuda Gas & Utility Company, but through his association with St. John, he realised he wanted to become more deeply involved in medical work.

Thanks to an understanding employer, Mr. Botelho was able to combine work with day classes and thus complete his basic education.

In 1980, he enrolled in Florida's Tallahassee Community College to train as an emergency medical technician, spending his holidays as a part-time orderly at King Edward Hospital.

In 1982, he graduated as a paramedic with associate degrees in Science and Arts. Returning home, Mr. Botelho was disappointed to find the paramedic qualification was not recognised here (it still isn't) so he settled for being an ambulance driver where at least some of his skills could be utilised.

But "settling'' for something less went against this ambitious Bermudian's grain, so he entered Florida State University in pursuit of a full nursing degree. Again, holidays were spent working in various wards of King Edward.

In December, 1986, Arnold Botelho graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, and became a registered nurse in Florida and Bermuda in 1987.

"I was the first child in a family of three to graduate from university,'' he said proudly. "Not bad for a drop-out!'' Since 1986, Mr. Botelho has relentlessly pursued more and more qualifications as he pushes toward his ultimate goal.

In addition to being a registered nurse, he is also a registered instructor in basic trauma life support; a registered instructor/trainer in adult, paediatric and sports medicine first aid; and a registered instructor in basic life support and advanced cardiac life support techniques.

Currently a training officer at the Hospital's Educational Services Department, Mr. Botelho is primarily responsible for the Emergency Medical Technicians' (EMT) certification and recertification programme.

"EMT is the first level before paramedics,'' he explained. "A lot of people think it is first aid but it is actually training people in the use of specialised equipment (so they can) deal with any situation they (are facing).

Ambulance crews are the main ones to use EMT, but we have EMTs in St. John Ambulance, Bermuda Fire Services, the Police, Bermuda Regiment, and the Bermuda EMT Association, of which I am president.'' Mr. Botelho also assists with basic trauma life support classes and the hospital's nursing orientation programme for orderlies and nursing aides, as well as helping to assess their work in conjunction with the Hospital Nursing Auxiliary.

Code management -- training individuals to use specific equipment when dealing with cardiac arrests on a ward -- is another of his duties.

"There are things going on constantly,'' Mr. Botelho smiles.

And indeed they are. Not only does he teach first aid and CPR at St. John on Monday nights, but the Nurse of the Year is also "on call'' if the Emergency Department needs extra help -- a department he once worked in and still loves more than the wards, where he also served as a staff nurse.

"I miss Emergency because that is where my training was. I like Emergency because you are able to do something for a person and see immediate results, unlike the wards, especially the medical floor, where there was no immediate improvement that you could see. Some of the patients were there for months.

"Besides being exciting, you need a wealth of knowledge to be able to deal with Emergency cases because you never know what's coming in -- medical, obstetrics, trauma, the whole shebang. Your assessment skills have to be that much better. Being able to respond is the key.'' While, as an advanced cardiac life support instructor, it frustrates him that he is also unable to use all of the skills at KEMH he has been trained for, Mr. Botelho is nonetheless pleased to be involved in the current plan to develop an Island-wide Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system to improve a patient's chances of survival after an accident or trauma.

And it is not hard to see why.

"At present it takes King Edward 20 minutes to get to Dockyard or St.

George's,'' he explained. "If a person is a victim of a major trauma, there is a `golden hour' of 60 minutes to get him from the time he is injured into surgery to give him a fighting chance of survival.'' Allowing 40 minutes for the ambulance to go out and come back from either end of the Island, that leaves just 10 minutes for everything else, including putting the victim into and removing him from the ambulance, initial assessment at the hospital, x-rays, preparing him for surgery, and more.

"For cardiac arrest patients, there are just 46 minutes before brain damage occurs, so bystander CPR is very important,'' Mr. Botelho explained.

In 1992, representatives of King Edward, the Bermuda Fire Service, the Police, Bermuda Regiment and St. John Ambulance met to discuss the concept, and, according to Mr. Botelho, "Management Services have now come up with a proposal for an Island-wide EMS system''.

"We are looking for a co-operative response, and I believe the Fire Service is going to be the first responders for the West End and hopefully the East End when the Base closes,'' he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Botelho is preparing for a two-day seminar on racism which he will conduct for nursing staff with colleague Chris Tuckett, for he believes proficiency and happiness in the work place are important.

Happily married to Lucia and the proud father of six-year-old Andrew, the ever-busy Bermudian lists gardening and rug-making as his hobbies. But nursing will always occupy a very special place in his life.

So much so, in fact, that he is currently planning the next step in his career, even as he flips through a thick binder filled with certificates testifying to past successes and qualifications.

With preliminary studies completed, Mr. Botelho is now weighing up the best way to pursue his degree in Supervisory Management.

Which bring us to his ultimate goal: "I want to be the first male Director of Nursing at King Edward,'' he said firmly.

NURSE OF THE YEAR -- Mr. Arnold Botelho proudly accepts his winning trophy from Minister of Health and Social Services, the Hon. Quinton Edness.