Choosing between two demanding careers is rarely easy, but for Ghanaian comedian Ben South, the decision to leave nursing for comedy came down to preserving his mental well-being.
“I couldn’t blend the comedy job with nursing, so I had to choose one, and I chose comedy,” Ben shared in a recent interview with media personality Deloris Frimpong Manso, popularly known as Delay. Reflecting on his journey, Ben opened up about the difficult moments he encountered as a nurse, especially during his national service rotation in the hospital.
Starting out in the Emergency Ward, Ben witnessed the intense, often grim realities of healthcare. “There were lots of deaths and accident cases, and whenever I got home, I’d feel sad thinking about the people who didn’t make it,” he recalled.
His tone softened as he remembered one particular incident involving a pastor who was under his care. “He was brought in during the evening, and by the next morning, he had passed away,” Ben recounted. He was the first person the man’s wife saw upon her arrival, and she looked to him for reassurance.
“She asked me how he was doing, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell her what had happened.” Moments like that lingered, haunting him even outside the hospital. “I was very sad after that incident,” he admitted, explaining how these intense experiences ultimately pushed him to make the difficult decision to leave nursing.
Yet, Ben’s story isn’t all heavy. He brought a refreshing touch of humor when talking about his experiences as a psychiatric nurse, a specialty he trained for before his national service assignment.
“Working with people who have mental health issues can be a humorous experience,” Ben noted with a laugh. One mental health condition he encountered was pseudobulbar affect (PBA), where patients laugh uncontrollably, sometimes for thirty minutes straight.
“Imagine being in a hospital with someone laughing like that—you might end up laughing with them!” he said, highlighting the unique lighter moments he found in psychiatric nursing. For Ben, these instances were a source of content and laughter, a quality that made psychiatric nursing feel less intense than general nursing.
The comedian’s time in psychiatric nursing allowed him to find humor amid challenging situations. But his national service rotation didn’t leave room for that respite, as it required him to work across various wards, from pediatrics to emergency, each with its emotional demands.
“Since I couldn’t handle it anymore, I decided to leave nursing,” Ben concluded, adding that he left after just three months. “Maybe I’ll return to it someday,” he said thoughtfully, leaving the door open for a future where his two worlds might once again collide.
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