Hahnemann Hospital School of Nursing - Hahnoscope Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

Page 20 text:

Alter Affiliations, we traipsed back to Ye Okie Alma Mater to resume our studies in our own classrooms and to grasp an opportunity to make use of that extra late leave every week granted only to Seniors. Many of our nights during our Senior year were spent working on the Private Floors with either Miss Martelonis, Miss Jones or Miss Connors to greet us with a cheery good morning bright and early every morn, and with the Misses Fluck, Fritz and Strock keep- ing the vigil over us throughout the night. The nights were sometimes long and dragged out, and our eyes would have a tendency to droop a little and our head tend to fall to one side in a light doze, but that was all absent on the cold nights when the north wind would howl around the west corner of the building, banging the doors, flapping the window shades, and upsetting the flowers in tit i £ Vr v the dark, dismal corridors; and above all awakening the patients, who were sent back to Dreamland with the aid of a little red or yellow capsule. We accumulated some helpful experience in the Out-Patient Department . . . Over in the Clinics with Miss Fine: draping patients. assisting the doctors and medical students with examinations, listening to their prob- lems and tales of woe (as il 1 didn ' t have enough on my mind) and so referring them back to clinic in another week or so. [wo weeks were spent working in the Admission Room under Mrs. Bringhurst (who shared honors with Mr. Anthony. Now my probem is ... ) and occasionally slipping over to the Accident Ward to witness or to assist with some unusual case brought in. Maybe it would be a simple stab wound through the heart or a bi-chloride of mercury poisoning or slashed wrists or maybe just a plain D.O.A. In

Page 19 text:

' Round about this time we were a little suspicious of what was to tome next on our schedule, and that was the dreaded and feared Operating Room. How we ever lived through that first day is beyond me. Oh, my aching back!! But that fear soon wore off, and after four or five weeks we began to feel at home, and were actually able to find the white table by the green shelves behind the gray sink in back of the amphitheater with the guidance of Miss Hervey and Miss Young. After nine weeks of O.R., we were prepared for Obstetrics. Instructed by Miss Deakyne and Miss Davies, we devoted our time to momma and her off-spring. Now we were ready for our black bands, which were awarded for our two years good conduct. Being Seniors, we were granted more pri- vileges, and among them Affiliations. We were given our choice of either three months at Friends Mental Hospital or two months at the Philadelphia Hospital for Contagious Diseases. Which would it be, dimentia prae- cox or scarlet fever? Both hospitals offer beautiful surroundings and a peaceful environment. Those students who affiliated at Muni told stories of their mad excursions up the brick- streets of Philadelphia in the ambulances, and those long journeys up the second floor ramp- way to the wards; while those who affiliated at Friends boast of their ability to handle an irrational patient and their expertness in giv- ing a cold pack under the most difficult cir- cumstances. (Yes, nurse, they ' ve got me here because they think I ' m crazy, but you and I are the only two that know I ' m not. Hm- m-m-m-m? -?)

Page 21 text:

Life is never dull in Accident Ward, though sometimes life ends here, and on certain • occasions life begins there. Another part of our Senior year was spent working on Pediatrics, where Miss Elwell taught us the care and feeding of children and many of us learned by experience that you never prop a baby ' s bottle when feed- ing. (Didn ' t I?) For baby ' s pause that re- freshes, those two weeks we spent in Formula Room preparing tidbits for the little ones were fun. Sometimes, as usual, we made an excessive amount of noise, and the familiar sign would be put up on the bulletin board by one of the dietitians . . . A woman ' s charm is not her beauty but her voice. Silence reigned again . . . Was that a pin you just dropped?? . . . Crash!! . . . Oopsll . . . Just a few minutes while I get a dust pan and brush. Well kiddies, what ' ll it be today?? Similac or Dextri-Maltose? Both are good. For three months I was doing things in a small way and hearing lots of small talk . . . 1 wants to go home . . . Where ' s my mommy? ... I want my mommy . . . Read me a story . . . Don ' t give me that needle . . . But I don ' t want to eat that . . . My mommy doesn ' t make me eat that at home . . . What are you doing that for nurse? . . . Leave the lights on, don ' t turn them off ... J don ' t want to go to bed yet . . . I want some candy . . . Can I have a doll}? . . . Nurse, I gotta ... I wants to color in that there book he ' s got over there, and anyway, it ' s mine ... I want an orange, and can I have a drink of water and a glass of chocolate milk, and a taffy and some cookies . . . And so, on it goes, never ending until you yourself leave the department and cease to hear it. 17