Grace General Hospital - Our Days of Grace Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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To Mrs. McNaught, our Educational Director, and our instructors who have spent long hours writ¬ ing up lectures, giving us their time and knowledge that we might obtain the goal that was ours--Thank You! We are grateful and thankful to our Doctors, Head Nurses and staff of our hospital for their kind¬ ness, guidance and patience, especially during times when perhaps as we learned, we hindered more than we helped. To the undergraduates, our little sisters, we wish the best in the coming years. Your friendship, best wishes and understanding--especially during the R.N. examinations when seniors were very tempera¬ mental people to live with--was appreciated. Now we come to our parents. We love you so much for your constant support and loving kindness. The care packages from home, the letters of en¬ couragement (sometimes lectures), the needed financial assistance, the understanding when we were complaining, tired and unsociable, will never be forgotten. You have longed for this night just as we have, and the honor of our success is equally shared by you—Mom and Dad. For months we have been counting the days to the completion of our training and yet we reach the occasion with rather mixed emotions in the realization we have come to the parting of the ways. We will always cherish memories of residence life--the water fights, pizza, pizza and more pizza and the constant reminder of curfew. I would like to thank the one person who listened to my prob¬ lems, who put up with our messy room, that person being my roommate. Thank you, Marlene. Tonight our joy is tinged with sadness, we are missing one classmate-Carol Storey—whose tragic death occurred on November 23, 1969. In her memory we would like to say these few words: Her smiling way and pleasant face Are a pleasure to recall. She had a kindly word for each And died beloved of all. Thank you classmates for the honor of being Valedictorian. In closing, I would like to leave my class with these thoughts: Always come to your patient garbed in the uniform of knowledge, wearing the cuffs of service, the collar of efficiency, crowned by the cap of charity, and bound by the black band of silence. Then will the unseen audience of your school, parents, friends and instructors silently applaud. When your patient by her look of appreciation and thanks pins on your breast the gold medal of approval, approval of your worthiness to practice your vocation in the service of God and mankind, then, and only then, can it be truly said of each and everyone of you. She has graduated, she is a nurse. Anonymous Elaine Hubic 29

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Valedictory Address Honored guests, friends--but most of all Mom and Dad. Tonight we have reached the goal we have been striving to obtain these past two years and eight months ! Tonight we graduate. We are still full of memories of the past as we are of hopes for the future. Remember the first day we arrived at the Grace with mixed feelings--apprehension of the unknown and excitement of entering our chosen profession of nursing. Our parents also experienced the confusion of that first day. Remember the mother who accidentally opened the fire door in our residence. All those memories of the first few months, having our first real patient, the sudden feeling of panic when attempting our first bed bath, taking hours to make our first bed and being called nurses when we would rather have been called visitors. After six months of studying in our probie block, we received our caps. Those caps--one more step to receiving more responsibility and fulfilling our desire to be nurses. There was more res¬ ponsibility in obtaining our caps than we had anticipated--the responsibility of keeping them perched on our heads at a dignified angle, soggy caps which fell into basins, bathtubs and what not. We received our second year pins, we felt we had accomplished many nursing skills but many areas of training still awaited us. In obstetrics the thrill was ours to be able to share with parents the joy of birth, the perfection of a new born infant. First day in the nursery found us all with very awkward hands--babies can be so slippery! Our pediatric training at Children ' s Hospital was very enjoyable. How susceptible a child is to indifference, thoughtlessness and neglect, during illness especially vulnerable. Children to hold and cuddle, to clean dirty hands and wipe tears from streaked little faces. The tricycle drag races between tiny tots and student nurses were a major attraction. Our psychiatric specialty took place in Selkirk Hospital for Mental Diseases. It was an entirely different phase of nursing. We realized the importance of mental health and feel better equipped to handle many situations which we will meet throughout our nursing careers. We had one problem at Selkirk--the residence appeared to be miles from any other building on the grounds, which meant bundling up countless times during the winter months to tackle all that fresh air! We were introduced to the speed, accuracy and tension of the operating room. The operating room--holding one ' s stiff, useless, contamina ted arm behind one ' s back during the length of a long operation can be agony to say the least. Casualty found us learning to think quickly, although some of us became casualties along with our patients. During these affiliations and specialties we received our black bands. We were now Senior students. We are proud tonight as we emerge graduate nurses to meet life with all its challenges, but remember we have not accomplished the task alone, for many have given their time, support and ability so that tonight we might be successful. We owe them a debt of gratitude. 28

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jf hi b E They say that at the Grace the food A job well done! is mighty fine. 30