I was travelling to a small Alberta town and my first job interview as a graduate nurse from the Calgary General Hospital School of Nursing. Well, it wasn't quite official ...I was still waiting for my marks, and our graduation ceremonies, but I decided to start looking for work in the area where I had grown up. I wanted to get out of the city, and close to where a friend of mine was attending college. After the initial interview by the Matron of the hospital, I was assured that a job would be waiting for me when I received my passing grades, and I would get time off for graduation and any additional celebrations connected with the end of our three years of training and dorm living. On that trip, I also found a tiny basement suite on Main Street, and with a reasonable deposit, it would be clean and ready for me when I arrived to start my job. It was only about five blocks from the hospital, and I could handle that, even on cold or rainy days.
My first day of work was September 1, 1961, starting at 8 a.m. After the report from the night staff, half of the day staff went to the basement of the hospital for breakfast, while the other half served breakfast to the patients. There were 19 beds, including 3 cribs, so it didn't take very long to prepare the trays and serve them.
I was not only the newest member of the staff but also the youngest. It didn't take long for me to realize that I had a lot to learn, the least of which was to remember the names of my new co-workers. There was the pharmacy in the closet at the end of the hall, near the Matron's office, to prepare the morning med tray. Someone needed to prepare the operating room for the scheduled surgery, and the delivery room needed to be ready for the woman in the two-bed labor room. Oh ... and where was the orderly when you need him? WHAT ... there was no orderly on staff? Well, who's going to ... ME? You've got to be kidding! How am I going to do that procedure with a blindfold on?
I loved working the night shift, midnight to 8 a.m. I could sleep anywhere, any time, and the routine was perfect for a single girl. I ate breakfast with the day staff, slept soundly during the day, and then enjoyed supper with the afternoon staff before enjoying the social life in the evening. We worked 14 nights, and then had seven days off. The only thing that would improve my situation would be to give up my suite on Main Street and move into the nurses' residence in the basement of the hospital, across the hall from the kitchen. The cooks prepared wonderful meals for the patients and staff, and on my starting salary of $249.00 per month, I could have a bit of money left at the end of the pay period for some extra treats, like travel and clothes.
Working nights had advantages and disadvantages. Most nights were quiet, making rounds once an hour, restocking supplies, and learning handcrafts from our nurses' aide 'housemother'. However, we often admitted expectant mothers in labor, which was quite a challenge, in a way you may not have thought about. Routinely, our night staff was one registered nurse to tend to special cases, and one nurses' aide to cover the main patient area. Occasionally, when nursing aide trainees came to our hospital for their sixteen-week probation, one would have some night shift rotation. On occasion, she would be our saving grace when we needed to have the doctor come to the hospital. The night telephone operator was well-known to enjoy too many matinees in the evening, and sleep too soundly during the night, not hearing our call to request a connection to the doctor’s home. The third person was able to take a staff car In the parking lot, and drive to the doctor's house, while the patients in the main part of the hospital and the patient in the labor room were well attended. With two on duty, we were on our own, with the help of another staff nurse in the basement residence, who would come upstairs (sometimes in bathrobe and slippers) to help out.
In 1962, rumors started to circulate around town that a crew of installers from Alberta Government Telephones were coming to our town to convert the old central operator system to the new modern dial telephone system. In the city, we were familiar with dial phones, but not in our town. To us, that meant no more trouble with a sleeping telephone operator when we needed her. It was the best news, and the crew’s arrival was highly anticipated. Old telephones, such as woodbox wall phones and candlestick desk phones in homes and businesses were removed and replace by new black bakelite telephones with chrome dials and ringing bells.
Social life in a small town is different than in the city. Those who could afford a car, were able to venture out of the community for entertainment, but most of the time, we were our own entertainment. Skating and tobogganing in the winter, wiener roasts and dancing at the lake in the summer, or any time late night coffee dates at the local café. On days off, I would take the train or the Greyhound bus to Calgary to visit family and friends.
I loved the experience at the small town hospital and the special farming community. It is where I met many of my lifelong friends. Nursing took on a whole new face for me, and I was privileged to call that community my home for a number of years. Oh … did I mention that I married the plant inspector of the telephone crew? After fifty-two years, he’s still my best friend!
Tags: Nurse Memories
