Nursing knows no gender - There's no male or female Nurse.

Siyanda ‘SiyaSpeaks’ Ngema, born and bred in a village called KwaKhoza Reserve in KwaZulu Natal, under the care of his father and partenal grandparents. He later moved to eMandeni (a township under Ilembe District) where he stayed fully with his father, lovely stepmom, brother Mxolisi Mngoma and little sister Nokwanda Ngema. Siya holds a B-Tech in Nursing Science from Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) obtained in 2015, Post-Graduate Diploma in Nephrology Nursing Science from Nelson Mandela University which he obtained in 2018 and is currently doing his Master of Nursing Science Degree with TUT.

Ngema is operating in an industry that is considered feminine; however, with male nurses now entering into the industry, that comes with a lot of stigma from the society. When asked how he deals with the stigmas attached to being in the industry his response was: "Oh boy, I enjoy being a nurse, of course there has been moments where I felt like I chose a wrong profession, but those thoughts do come and go. I strongly believe that a nurse is a nurse, there is no male or female nurse. I actually don't even notice that I'm in a profession dominated by women. However, knowing that we are few males in the nursing profession, I always make sure to put all my dedication, skills, and expertise when doing what I'm tasked to do to portray a good image of nurses in the workplace, and in the community. I'm a very emotional person and working with females in some way stimulates that side of me a lot and I enjoy it. I want to be a good example to those who want to join the profession but doubting, to those who are within the profession but are exhausted and to those who have lost hope. I want them all to gain from the little light of mine that I hold everyday."

Going into his Masters degree and selection of his thesis, it was during his 3rd year of study in nursing. While doing work integrated learning, a certain gentleman walked in with a haemodialysis machine, being an inquisitive person that he is, he questioned him about the machine and what he does. The gentleman, then m, explained how the machine works as an artificial kidney for a certain period, typically for 4 hours, and it is used for patients with kidney failure. Learning all that left Siya amused so much so that he went on to do a little research about dialysis. He has since started working post his undergraduate degree and has been working in Nephrology - the discipline focused on kidney health and his Masters focused on infection control. It is to everyone's knowledge that the working hours in the nursing profession are longer considering that they serve very essential services. When asked of how he balances his work and school life and if practically doing what his academics speaks makes putting everything into theory easy, he replied, “I have a great team of supervisors who push me above my limits. My research topic is about something close to my heart and something I'd like to do for a long time, so yeah I'm enjoying. I'm surprised you didn't mention the social part in this, well , I won't say it's easy, but I try not to go to bed without reading at least one article. At first, it was a bit boring, but as time goes I started enjoying myself because you have to that remember I'm used to reading motivational books. Others call me a nerd while to date I don't even know what the definition of a nerd is."

Siyanda is more than just an essential services provider, he's an inspirational speaker, a facilitator, master of ceremonies, ambassador and a mentor to a few young people. He enjoys making conversations, hence the name 'Siyaspeaks'. He tells us more about his ambassadorial endorsement with a local brand called 'Look n Feel' -"I'm what people would consider 'a man in a suit' all the time and I hardly wear sporty clothing until I came in contact with a group of people who are the founders of the brand Look n Feel - Nhlanhla Zondo, Boitumelo Rapoo, And Keletso Matabane who invited me to form part of making the brand successful. The minute I put on the first 'Look n Feel' tracksuit I felt like there was absolutely no need to take it off ever again. It's a very unique and luxurious brand.”

Siyaspeaks used to be shy when growing up until he met a gentleman from church (The Salvation Army) by the name of Mthokozisi Mkhasibe. He used to help the youth in his church with a lot of activities. As many would say, many elders have a very sharp eye for spotting talent or a special gift, Siya attests to this to say: “surprisingly, Bab' Mthokozisi always gave me leading roles in all that we'd do and eveytime I'd do my best in those roles and I noticed how much I touching people's lives with my performances. Even when I came to study in Gauteng, he told me not to return back home until I have achieved what I came to Gauteng for. I haven't told him this before but I'm very thankful to him."

He has had many events that he has been invited to for various reasons but the one that he holds dearly and close to his heart is the Tshwane Region Event for World Nurses Day which happened in 2016. He explains, “I was tasked to speak as a newly qualified professional nurse, mandid I not enjoy myself there, I set the entire auditorium on fire, I remember it was May 12th. I dwelled more on qualities of a good nurse, which includes: caring, being empathetic, having good problem solving skills, a good communicator, being organized, and the desire to keep learning. I knew from that day that I had to take this public speaking hustle to another level and I never turned back. I got a few mentorship sessions from Sibusiso Molimi the Author of: ‘Work Through the Barriers to Success’ because you can never stop learning right?"

As an inspirational speaker, seeking and chasing knowledge is a never ending marathon. He was asked of what book is he currently reading and those that he has read that changed his life, he replied, "the book I'm currently reading is ‘The 5am Club' by Robin Sharma, I love his style of writing, I enjoyed his book. Then there are two others 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari' and 'The Leader Who Had no Title'. Going back to the current read, just from the title of the book, I realized it might be worth reading and indeed I didn't play myself. The three lessons that I took from the book thus far, are: - it is important to maintain a daily habit of rising before the sun just like many successful people have a daily habit of rising early. - Small, frequent advances lead to unimaginable results over time, the important thing is to just start. - To truly be great, continue to step outside of your comfort zone, even when your life is changing for the better.

If given a chance to invite someone dead or alive to dinner, he said that he’d love to have dinner with Sibongile Mthembu, his late mother, "I last saw her when I was very young, I think I was 4 or 5. I can't even picture her, how she looked like, memories that I'm left with of her are pictures. God has blessed me with the most wonderful stepmom in the world Mama Lindiwe Ngema and the most beautiful sister Thandeka Kunene and I think a huge part of the man I've become I owe it to them. Internationally, I'd love to meet Robin Sharma because I love his style of writing and the wisdom he shares in his books and locally, it would have to be Vusi Thembekwayo. He's a very knowledgeable man, how he gives his keynote speeches is out of this world" he said. His mantra is: “It is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting and when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" Paulo Coelho.

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