Calgary General Hospital - In Cap and Uniform Yearbook (Calgary, Alberta Canada)

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Address to the Graduating Class of 1948 It is a pleasant duty I have been asked to perform tonight, that of address¬ ing the graduating class—not because I feel that I have any inspired message to deliver but rather because I feel that it places me in the happy position of representing graduates of the various branches of the profession of medicine, who through me say to these newcomers “Welcome”. The life of a student nurse is anything but an easy one. She chooses it, of course, because it interests her. But she comes into it at an age when so many of her school colleagues are embarkng upon a Ife of social pleasures, or on a business career that takes them into the centre of commercial activity where the hours are not too long and where their free time is theirs to use as they see fit. The student nurse finds that her hours of work are long; that her tasks are arduous and often menial; and that her leisure hours are short and controlled. Work becomes her design for living and discipline the key¬ note of her existence. Her opportunity to indulge in the social pleasures of her erstwhile contemporaries is limited. Frequently she is scolded by her supervisors, bullied by her doctors and berated by patients, and discipline demands that all of this she must accept -and accept pleasantly and with good grace, too often without even an opportunity to explain or to defend herself. She is bored by lectures, haunted by examinations, confused by the rules and regulations which govern the life of a hospital. It is assumed that she will never be tired, that she will always be cheerful, that the simple ringing of a bell will produce her presence more promptly than the rubbing of Aladdin’s Lamp made the geni appear. And through it all she must constantly be cater¬ ing to the whims of people who are as different in personality and temperament as night is from day. And yet, in the hospital, we learn to scan gently our fellow man, asking no questions, but meeting out to all alike hospitality, and deeming ourselves honoured in being allowed to act as its dispensers. Here too. one learns the three great lessons of life—and may I quote our own Sir William Osier: “Things cannot always go your way. Learn to accept in silence the minor aggravations, cultivate the gift of taciturnity, and consume your own smoke with an extra draught of hard work, so that those about you may not be annoyed with the dust and soot of your complaints. More than any other the pursuit of medicine may illustrate the second great lesson--that we are here not ct get all we can out of life for ourselves, but to try to make the lives of others happier. This is the essence of that oft-repeated admonition of Christ —“He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it —on which hard saying if the children of this generation would only lay hold, there would be less misery and discontent in the world. It is not possible for anyone to have better opportunities to live this lesson than you of this graduating class will enjoy. The practice of medicine -and cer¬ tainly I include nursing—is an art, not a trade; a calling not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head. Often the best part of your work will have nothing to do with potions and powders, but with the exercise of an influence of the strong upon the weak, of the right¬ eous upon the wicked, of the wise upon the foolish. To you the father will come with his anxieties, the mother with her hidden grief, the daughter with her trials, the son with his follies. Fully one-third of the work you do will be entered in other books than yours. Courage and cheerfulness will not only carry you over the rough places of life but will enable you to bring com- Forty-five

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Can You Remember Way Back When —3 Years Back Uniform—Three dresses made of plain, medium blue, wash material, skirt gathered on band, two inch hem, shirt waist with plain short sleeve six inches from underarm seam. Dresses must be made of material as near the enclosed sample as can be procured. The neck of the uniform must be made to fit correctly the collar enclosed. Skirts must be twelve inches from the floor. Sweater White Jumbo knit. Kimona—One heavy weight kimona. Underslips and Underclothing -Two underslips of light washable mater¬ ial. and a good supply of plain underclothing. Kindly note that trimmed and frilled underclothes will not be accepted in the Hospital Laundry. Shoes—At least one pair of comfortable, new, substantial perfectly plain black oxfords, with rubber heels (high heels prohibited) to be worn when on duty. One pair of rubbers. One pair of bedroom slippers. Soiled Clothes Bag -One bag of not less than one yard in width. Laundry -Every article must be clearly marked on neck or waist band with full name and number Cash’s woven names to be used. Forty-four

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fort and help to the weak-hearted, and will console you in the sad hours when, like Uncle Toby, you have to whistle that you may not weep. Three years of training—three constant years—then comes the day of graduation. This day -this evening—this little piece of parchment -these are the obvious indications of reward for persistence and for work well done. What more should we say than “Welcome”? We must not lead you to feel that this is the end, but really only the beginning. You have served your novitiate—you have learned the meaning of service above self -you have been fitted with the tools of your trade—but you are really only on the threshold of your life. True, there will be fewer restrictions. True, you have now escaped the spectre of lectures and examin¬ ations. Now you need not meekly listen to the out-dated jokes of your doc¬ tors—not all of your doctors in one morning at any rate. Now, at least, you can look the supervisors in the eye and think your own thoughts, even if you choose not to put them into words. But the mission for caring for the sick still goes on. The other things are incidental—the basic need of humanity is still there. The drudgery of training days becomes a memory tinged with moments of light and happiness. The real value of it remains—the lessons in self discipline, in tolerance, in sympathy and in patience, equipping you to deal surely and swiftly and with understanding with the needs of your fellows-in- distress. There will be many times of trial and tribulation, of disappointment and despair. But there will be many moments of success and happiness and of a sense of victorious achievement that will push all else into the background of insignificance. With assurance I can say to each member of this graduating clas.s— “Practically there should be for each of you a busy, useful and happy life. More you cannot expect; a greater blessing the world cannot bestow. Busy y ou will certainly be, as the demand is great for women with your training. Useful your lives must be. as you will care for those who cannot care for themselves, and who need about them, in the day of tribulation, gentle hands and tender hearts. And happiness shall be yours, because busy and useful, having been initiated into the great secret that happiness lies in absorption in some vocation which satisfies the soul, that we are here to add what we can to -not get what we can from life. It is the mixture that makes the life of medicine worth living, and because it is so fundamentally worthwhile, it is with equanimity that I can face this Graduating Class tonight and say “On behalf of doctors and graduate nurses alike, “WELCOME”. I said to a man who stood at the gate of the year “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the darkness”. And he replied “Go out into the dark¬ ness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer than the known way.” —DR. R. G. TOWNSEND.