Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania - Record Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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ln the early days of the older members of the class, the new Maternity Building was in the course of construction. Can't you still hear that drill, that awful noise that never stopped by day or by night? just before we went to sleep, someone told us that the cries we heard in the distance were from The Philadelphia General Hospital. When we awakened in the night, and heard them, the cold shivers ran up and down our spines. Then the various noises from Maternity made us long for that quiet little room at home, that was empty to-night and where we were so missed. We saw. In the morning we arrived at roll-call, and an- swered f'present, right at the end of the long line. How many more times were we to answer it? And, alas, how many times were we to arrive just too late? VVill we ever forget diets the first day, sweeping one side of the ward, cleaning the bathrooms, assorting the linen, etc.? How wonderful the older nurses seemed and how much they knew! How the sick patients frightened us! Some of us had two months' probation work, and some of us had two months plus. , Will you ever forget when we were accepted, how shaky we were when we climbed the incline, and how hard it was to talk? Qur hands and feet were in the way. What a glow of happiness swept over us, when we were allowed to try for four months more. Then when we were relieved, how de- lighted we were at the prospect of doing up patients. When we were First called into the dressing room, we did not know what to do. The awful feeling which accompanied this new experience was a composite sensation, a mixture of feelings in the past, such as Valedictorian on Commencement Day, going to the dentist, and being walked home with for the first time, with the boy next door. VVe recovered from it and came to like it. VVhen we ran into a chief accidentally, we went the other 47

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Class History IBY B. M. og We came, we saw, we are conquered. Yes, we the Class of l9l8, of the -University Hospital. Let us go back for a few minutes, and remember ourselves in our early days., VVe came down from that little town up the State, from Reading, from Ashland, from Curwenfsville, Berwick, Chester County, then a few from other states, from the Empire State, Maryland, little Delaware contributed Happy Day, from across the seas, from Scotland, Belgium and Germany, came other members of the class. R Despite that lumpy feeling in our throats, and the watery solution that would persist in irrigating our eyes, at the thought atwhat we had left behind, and that dread fear of the un- known- that we were pitching into, despite 'all this, I say, there was a lump on the northwest side of our heads. I-Iadn't every- body been lovely before we left? They had given farewell dinners, parties and gifts. They had shaken their heads, know- ingly, and said, She will make a good nurse, all right. You knew the community would miss you, but then it was your duty to have a career. You would not admit it for worlds, but you hadbeen reading K, i and you thought there wouldbe some romance around the corner. t After seeing Miss Snyder in the Board Room, and receivin-g our Book of Rules, we were escorted to the Maternity Dormi- tories, and landed in lVIiss Keesey's oflice. She, in turn, took us to the third floor, to the big room, or to one of the small rooms. We dressed up 'in sober little probation dress, pinned on our cap, powdered our nose, cultivated a sweet smile, and decided we did look rather professional after all. If it were before 3 P.M., we went on duty, if not, after making the ac- quaintance of our room-mates, and partaking of dinner, we went to bed. ' 46 Q

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way, and secured help. Sometimes, though, we were cornered, and one member of our class was lectured for fifteen minutes by the genial Dr. Pfeiffer, as to the proper way of giving enteroclysis. It was the first time she had ever seen it given, but she never will forget. Speaking of chiefs, how they gained our earnest admiration and affection. We will never forget them in lectures, in clinic, and by the patients' bedsides. Then classes started. It did not take many weeks of class work before it began to dawn upon us what a friend we had in Miss Stephenson. .Much credit belongs to her if we do anything great in the nursing world. How many times the thought of her honest, straightforward opinions helped us when we might have been tempted to shirk, also the friendly humorous side shown us, especially in our Senior year. First came our Anatomy Lectures, which we had the pleasure of taking from Dr. Wfillard. We were the last class so honored. He is now serving his country somewhere across the sea. VVe, as a class, will never forget his lectures, not only what we learned, but the wonderful personality of the gentleman who gave them. Dr. Piper gave us Physiology, in his usual breezy style. He scared us almost silly by his threats to flunk us, but when we knew him better, we found that his weakness was -his love of teasing nurses. He is n-ow one of the most popular odicers at Fort Gglethorpe. Dr. VVolferth gave his scholarly discourses on Bacteriology, and the gentle Dr. Birdsall, Preventive Medicine and Hygiene. Bandag- ing was taught us by Dr. Prosser in the latter days of his stay at the hospital. These three are also added to the list of, f Heroes in The Making. Q ' , By this time, summer was with us again, and vacation. Will we ever forget that month at home, and all its joys? The least of these not being our return back to our work, which was no longer drudgery but a part of ourselves, so vital had it become. This summer we had our Hi-st brief taste of being 48