In my last blog, “Home Is The Nurses’ Residence”, I wrote about the residence privileges and curfew rules that we learned to live with. The Arbitration Board was one experience none of us ever wanted to go through. It seemed that no excuse was acceptable… and there were consequences. Well, perhaps there was the occasional exception!

It was the summer of our first year of training when I met Joe, a friend of my next door classmate’s boyfriend. He telephoned me several times, but a date seemed to be out of the question. I was studying for exams, and he didn’t have a car! When he learned that exams were done, he invited me to a weiner roast, put on by the church youth group, and borrowed his friend’s Volkswagen ‘bug’. It sounded like fun, so I was “good to go”!

We knew that the event was on the south side of the city, in the general area of Sandy Beach on the Elbow River. No problem… it shouldn’t be hard to spot a bunch of people and a bonfire along the river. When we finally found them, we were on the wrong side of the river, and because we were not familiar with the area, we couldn’t figure out how to get to the other side. No problem! The river was very shallow and there were tracks on the bank that suggested that others had crossed the river with no apparent problem. It sounded like a crazy idea, but when Joe suggested that we follow the tracks, I agreed. That was our first mistake!

There were large rocks on the river bed, and as careful as Joe was to avoid them, the VW became high centered in the middle of the river. The water level was above the bottom of the car door, and was finding its way into the car. Now what? Leaving me in the car, Joe crawled out through the window and waded to shore to get help. I did have a couple of visitors who came by in their canoe to see what happened. My feet were on the dashboard so that I wouldn’t get my shoes wet… and the radio still worked!

By the time Joe returned with a tow truck, it was starting to get dark and there was no point in thinking about the weiner roast. I knew that by the time they got the car out of the river, we would have to head back to the Nurses’ Residence. My late-leave was for 11:00 p.m. and I didn’t want to be late.

I was still in the car when the tow truck winched the car out of the river, and I was a nervous wreck. The floor well of the car was full of water, so he towed it along the embankment so that much of the water would run out.  But the car wouldn’t start! Thank goodness the tow truck was still there, and eventually they did get it started. When he was writing out the receipt for services rendered, I requested that he include a description of what he did for us, and also record the time. I would need a believable alibi, explaining to the house mother and the Arbitration Board why I was 57 minutes late.

Three days later, I made my first (and last) appearance before the Board. I couldn’t imagine what the ruling would be; losing the minimum of 3 late-leaves would be bad enough. I told the Board that I had a written explanation to why I had been late, and they asked me to read it aloud.

“At 11:15 p.m., VW car was towed from Elbow River with one lady in the passenger’s seat.” My penalty was the loss of three late-leaves … for stupidity!

Tags: Nurses Nursing Friends Rules

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Growing up on a farm without a brother or a sister, entertaining myself with my dog and my horse, it still was a very lonely childhood for me. I had more friends when we moved to the city, but the best experience for me was moving into the Nurses’ Residence. There were 91 girls in my class, and we lived together, worked together, and partied together, and when needed, there was always a shoulder to cry on. It didn’t take very long for us newbies to develop a real ‘sisterhood’.

We ate our meals in the hospital cafeteria, but in the evening, we had access to a Tuck Shop in the basement of the residence where we could buy bottles of pop, sunflower seed, popcorn, etc. Sometimes there were chocolate bars, Lifesavers, and gum, and a limited supply of shampoo, and other personal supplies. We could make cinnamon toast, hot chocolate, and even coffee and tea in an area next to the TV Lounge, but we were not to have food in our room, because they didn’t want to encourage bugs to move in. Did we follow that rule in every detail? Hmm? We became very good at cleaning up all the evidence of having food in our room, and hiding the pop bottles in the bottom of our laundry bags if we didn’t want to take the time to return them to the Tuck Shop. However, if we saw pop bottles lined up on our vanity when returning from work the following day, we knew we were in trouble; our housemother was going through our personal stuff again, and we would be receiving an invitation to visit her in her office, to personally receive her reprimand and the penalty. About the only good thing about those sessions was that it was always done in private, and not in an area where we would likely have onlookers.

As for our social life, it was practically non-existent for the first six months; the one day off per week was expected to be a study day unless we were give special permission to leave the residence. If we did leave, we were to check out on the message board at the front desk, which indicated if we were ‘in’ or ‘out’. Written messages, such as missed phone calls or visitors, change in class time, etc. were left in a slot by our name, which we would be sure to receive when we came back and were again ‘in’!   We had no late-leaves for the first six months, and we were to be in our room at 10:30 p.m. We needed to be well rested for the challenges of the next day, we were told. 

The second half of the first year, we were allowed one late-leave per month, to be checked in no later than 11:00 p.m. If we were late, we would lose one late leave for each of the first three minutes, and after that, we were requested to appear before the Residence Arbitration Board (consisting of both senior students and staff), to explain our tardiness and receive any discipline deemed fitting. Nobody wanted to go through that routine, so we became very good at watching the clock, and explaining to our date how important it was to be back in time. Often the goal was to be back to the hospital parking lot a half hour early, as it was only a 3-minute walk from the parking lot to the Residence entrance, giving us ample time for saying several ‘goodbyes and thank yous’ to our date, if you get my drift!!!!!

In my next blog, I’ll tell you about the circumstances that led up to my one and only appearance before the Arbitration Board.

Tags: Nurses Nursing Friends Rules

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Because our Nursing School was part of the hospital, we attended classes for only six weeks before being assigned to a General Medicine ward in the hospital. What could we do on the wards for four hours with the knowledge we gained in six weeks?  Even though we had been assured that we wouldn’t be expected to do anything that had not been addressed in class, it was still a scary experience.

After attending morning report from the night staff, we met with the head nurse who gave us our assignments; distribute ice water jugs to each patient, greeting them with our best smile and cheery ‘Good Morning’! By the time we had completed that assignment, breakfast trays would have arrived from the hospital kitchen. If there were any patients who needed help with their breakfast, a student nurse was assigned to them, even to feed the patient who was not able sit up.

We knew about bed baths and back rubs, having practiced on fellow students, and now we had the real patients who seemed to appreciate the service for the most part. There were a few patients who were about as shy as we were, but with the help of our Clinical Instructor, we soon learned to use some gentle persuasion while hiding our own trepidation. Distributing and collecting bed pans after breakfast was not as easy as one may think, but we also knew it was a necessary duty that would soon become routine. We also checked vital signs… pulse, respirations, and blood pressure, and recorded our findings in the patients’ charts. One question, that was most difficult for us ‘newbies’ because it seemed much too personal, can best be expressed by a conversation that I have never forgotten. The conversation between my classmate and a hard-of-hearing elderly gentleman was something like this:

“Good morning, Mr. Smith. Please put this thermometer under your tongue, and close your mouth around it. I also want to check your blood pressure.” After checking these vital signs and recording them in her notebook, she leaned closer to Mr. Smith and said in a quiet voice (almost a whisper!), “Have you had a B.M. today?”

“What did you say? I couldn’t hear you!” said Mr. Smith in a loud voice.

Using a slightly louder voice, my classmate repeated her question, but Mr. Smith still couldn’t hear or understand the question.

Exasperated, my classmate said in a much louder voice, heard by other patients in the same room, “Mr. Smith, did you have a sh- - today?” The Clinical Instructor also heard the question as she entered the room, and my classmate was firmly beckoned out of the room, for a severe verbal reprimand and a bit of “re-education”!

Tags: Education Hospital Classrooms

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A response to my last blog from Dabbymac reminded me about our introduction to the uniforms we were issued. They were very similar to what she described that her sister wore at her school of nursing in 1953. I started in 1958 and the only difference I noted was that we were not issued capes. We didn't need to go outside in the cold weather because of the underground tunnel that connect our Residence to the hospital.

What do I remember most about our uniforms? I should say how proud I was to wear the uniform, but that would not be at the top of my list. It wouldn’t be the design of the uniform either. The blue and white checkered dress with removable buttons from top to bottom, and the white starched bib and apron, were not exactly high fashion.  The pricked fingers from the safety pins that we needed to use to hold our uniforms together are still a vivid memory. The starched bib needed to have a pleat on each side, and then pinned to the starched apron. Getting a safety pin through three layers of starched cotton was a challenge at first until someone suggested that we stick the pin in a bar of soap before attempting to work on the uniform.

Then there was the cap. When delivered with our uniform, it was a flat piece of starched material, accompanied by a sheet of instructions on how to fold it.  We also needed to use long hat pins to “construct” our starched nurse’s cap, and a piece of cardboard of a prescribed size to guide the folding of the cap. We soon learned to do it as instructed, or our house mother would give us an on-the-spot instruction lesson before letting us go to class. She would also make sure that the seam on our white stockings was straight up the back of our legs, and that our white lace-up shoes were well polished.

By the time we were ready to go to work in the hospital, we all knew what was expected.

On a positive note, we would shed the bib and apron after work and lounge in our checkered dress in the private areas of the residence. It sure saved on the amount of personal laundry we needed to do. The hospital supplied us with a denim laundry bag for our uniforms, and all we needed to do was remember to send the bag down the laundry chute on our designated day.

Tags: Uniforms Style

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It is over 50 years since I was a student nurse, but many events have been tucked away in a ‘safe place’ in my mind, assisted by the class reunions that we had every five years.

Some years ago, when I was working as a medical transcriber, I was often asked by staff nurses about my experiences as a student nurse. They were university educated, with limited practical experience during their education, and were interested what it was like to live in a nurses’ residence at the hospital for three years. They were amazed and amused, and I got thinking that it may be an interesting project to put some stories to paper, for my granddaughters to read.

As I was putting my thoughts together, I wondered if my friends on The Hill would like to read some of my experiences. This is my first story.

My high school credits had been upgraded with two summer classes, my application was accepted, and registration day had arrived. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but my parents were pleased that I decided to accept their offer of further education after high school. Not everyone in my high school was given this opportunity, and I recognized the privilege offered to me. The choices seemed to be quite limited; did I want to be a teacher, a secretary, or a nurse?

Arriving at the Nurses’ Residence with the required admission forms carefully filled out, we were greeted by a crowd of applicants with similar feelings of apprehension. There were ninety-one students in my class, and only the second class to move into the new residence beside the major hospital in the city. We were officially welcomed by the Matron in the spacious lounge of the Residence, and taken on a tour before escorted to our assigned rooms. The lounge on the main floor was for formal occasions, and we could ask for permission to play the grand piano there. We visited the Chapel, which we would be required to attend every morning before going to classes or to work, and introduced to the eight Beau Rooms, available to students to entertain their dates in a more ‘private’ setting. Hmm? Are these rooms ever used or are they there for show?

Each student was assigned to her own private room; a small, compact room, adequately furnished with a bed, used as a “sofa” during the day, bookshelves, a double-door closet, a bank of drawers, and an upholstered chair with a floor lamp was by the window. On the opposite wall was a bank of drawers, a sink with hot and cold water, and a desk with a top that opened to a mirror and space for cosmetics and personal stuff. On the wall was a signal buzzer, used by the receptionist to let us know that we had a visitor or a telephone call was on hold. The only phones were by the elevators, so it was always a quick dash down the hall to answer the phone call, or last minute look in the mirror before going to the main reception area to meet our visitor.

Curfew for newbies was 10:00 p.m., and that meant in your room with the door closed. We were warned that the House Mother would be patrolling our halls, and there would be consequences for ignoring that rule. 

We all spent a lot of time the first week, reading the Student’s Handbook to learn the rules and routine of residence life. Our adventure had begun!

Tags: Nurses Medical Classmates

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I usually don't talk about the weather (can't do anything about it anyway, so 'it is what it is'!). However, after enjoying a beautiful Sunday, I thought I would take a picture of our "brown valley" with my new Nexus smartphone. Last week, my husband was plowing snow with his tractor, and today there is very little snow, thanks to the arrival of the Chinook winds. These winds that come from the west and over the Rocky Mountains are a great reprieve during the winter, but for those of us who are native Albertans, the rule was ... "I don't care how warm you think it is, if there is snow on the ground, keep your parka on and zipped up. You don't want to catch a cold and have to miss school, do you?"

The brown valley won't last long ... I'm sure the next white blanket is just around the corner.

Tags: Weather Chinooks

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Sunday and Super Bowl filled our past weekend. I'm not much of a sports fan, but my husband and son are fans of about any sport. That's why my husband and I both wear headsets and the TV is on mute (in addition to both having hearing problems). He watches sports and I listen to music while I'm on my laptop, and we do a bit of chatting during commercials!!!

Because our daughter and family live in the Seattle area, the family supports their football and baseball teams, and when we visit, we often attend games with them. 

Back to Canada ... on Sunday morning, our son posted this photo and commented how much he supports the local company who caters to a huge variety of events. Several friends thought he was showing what he and his wife would be serving at their football party (including us!) and we made sure that we would be there on time OR even a bit early, so we could have a look at this creation before the eating began.

Guess what? We discovered that the only thing our son had at his house was the picture. The rest of the food was purchased in big bags from Costco, or prepared in their own kitchen. Personally, I was relieved that he didn't spend the money on that huge "snack tray" ... I can only imagine the cost of it. Even preparing it would be labor intensive!

It was a great party ... until the last play in the last minute of the game!!! It was hard for many people to say, "They played well, but it is still just a game!"

Tags: Sports Party Game Football

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I recently discovered two FREE creative online websites, one for building a website without knowing any HTML coding. Have a look at www.wix.com 

The second FREE site was to create great slideshows at www.kizoa.com

I love to learn stuff, so decided to try them out with a personal project. 

My project was kindled with the memories of what my dad used to do. He did a lot of travelling after my mother passed on, most times with his sister. He wasn't a great photographer, but tried to learn how to use the 35-mm camera and the movie camera that were given to him by his employer as a retirement gift.

When he returned from a travel adventure, he would post an invitation on the bulletin board at the Seniors' Apartment where he lived, to come and enjoy an evening of 'Armchair Travels'. He would  set up his projector and screen in the social room, and always had an audience. Many came because they no longer were able to travel, but enjoyed the faraway places that my father had visited.

Here is my first project, which will be ongoing as I get more ideas. 

http://yourchoicetoo.wix.com/valleynotes

Remember, the link will open in a different tab. I hope you enjoy it! 

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We haven't had a pet for a number of years, due to a number of circumstances. In November, we were asked if we would look after our friend's dog for a month. His dad needed to make an international trip to tend to family business, and the people who the son would be staying with could not accommodate the dog due to allergies. How could turn him down?

We've had so much fun with Tommy, this 'furry guest' (7 yr. old miniature schnauzer).  He has appointed himself to be our "official" watchdog, barking loudly and relentlessly when someone comes to our home that he doesn't recognize. He has learned the routine at this strange place very quickly, starts barking around 7 a.m. to get us up, and puts himself to bed if we stay up too late.

Today, Daniel, his owner, came to visit for the first time. Surprisingly, after giving Daniel a sniffing inspection, Tommy came and sat at my feet. He didn't seem to remember this guy. However, when Daniel talked to him in Spanish, his ears perked up, tail started wagging, and he moved to sit beside Daniel. The words were what he recognized. 

He is NOT one dumb dog!

Tags: Pet Guest Friends

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