Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing - Stripes Yearbook (New York, NY)

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CHRISTMAS WEEK AT MAXWELL HALL HERE is no holiday so much connected with home as Christmas. The first one away from the family is an ordeal for anyone. Some shut them- selves up with their misery and spend the festival steeped in gloom, others adopt a hard-boiled demeanor, waive all sentiment and concentrate solely on the number and value of their gifts. After spending Christmas at Maxwell Hall it seemed impossible that anyone should take either attitude, There was so much Christmas spirit and cheer, with just enough preparation, anticipation, and excitement that it was hard to be homesick, in fact one might feel guilty at not being more so. First was the arrival of parcels and extra heavy mail. Miss Rogers took charge of the former and l'm sure she enjoyed holding back one package for each of us until Christmas eve. Artistic souls volunteered to help trim the tree in Sturges. Aside from getting Maxwell Hall under way, much was done over in the hospital. lt is up to us to cheer those who have had happier days and to show others what a real Christmas celebration is like. Great flights of imagination were used in decorating the entrance to each ward. A certain spirit of rivalry was in the air between lst and 2nd Division, and Medical East vs. Medical West, The success of the finished product depended largely on the pocket-book of the head-nurse, the ingenuity of the stripes, and the amount of cotton and collodion available without arousing the ire of Mr. Bush. Three days before Christmas we had been practicing carols, following the last practice, the Dramatic Club presented Dickens' Christmas Carol, an excellent exhibition by local talent. Dancing and refreshments brought the pleasant evening to a close. The assembled candle-bearers on Floor P Christmas eve did not daunt the rugged internes, in any case the harmonizing was excellent. The de- lighted faces reflected in the tree lights and candles were enough to make one carry on, no matter how hoarse the voice, or flat. Those who remained after the carols to participate in the further fes- tivities had the unaccustomed privilege of staying out until l 150 A,M, To climax the evening Santa Claus made a personal appearance to the inhabi- tants of Maxwell Hall and distributed the many gifts with much good nature and patience. Christmas was over, but for many nights, night nurses jumped like startled rabbits at the eerie thump of this or that falling wreath, and the night supervisors shuddered at ghostly snow-men and thought hard thoughts about nurses' stations shrouded in blizzards causing visibility-zero. F. VENABLES Thirty-nine

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IIIFII F you can please the head nurses and doctors, The superintendent and the patients too, The patients' families and your senior nurses, 'Twould seem that you'd have quite enough to do, lt you can please the Czarines of the pantry, The Napoleons who massage and bathe the hall, And yell at you for not walking on the ceiling, Or smile when you have lost your beau's phone call. lt you can please the internes and the house doctors And hold your tongue when the buck they try to pass, Or when chambermaids and elevator workers Think your day is lost without their sass. lf you can stay your tears when in the drug room, They ask for whom and why you want their wares, Send you back pronto for prescriptions, And make you climb what seems a million stairs. If you survive two months in the O. R. With tie my gown and hand me this or that , The wild excitement ot the doctors' scolding, Still don't give up and leave your training flat, If you don't swear the night you've got a heavy , And are informed it's your turn to relieve, It you still stick when lying tongues run rampant, That those in charge seem disposed ta believe. It you can glide past Catherine at nearly midnight, Sign the book and make it look like ten o'clock , It you can tool the director and the nurses, When you go hatless tor a walk around the block . If you can keep your head when bells around you Are ringing 'till you don't know what to do. lt you can keep your heart when handsome internes Are losing theirs and blaming it on you. It now that you have finished training, You can look back upon this lite as mild, Yours is the earth, but l'm here to tell you, You'll not be a nurse-you'll be a saint, my child. lWith apologies to Kipling, Revell, and Classof l936l Thirty-eight

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Mask, Cap and Gown or Xmas Eve in the O. ' WAS a little past seven and all through Floor P x Not a creature was stirring except Kurt and me. The drugs were all locked in their cupboards with care, ln hopes that no ap would appear from thin air. The bundles were nestled all snug in their drums, And the nurses on call were all twiddling their thumbs, While Kurt in his shirt sleeves and l minus cap, Were hoping and praying that nothing would hap. But at the main desk rose the usual clatter, l sprang to the phone knowing what was the matter. The voice from the phone said the ominous words, 'Stat op on the way! Hustle you birds! Soon what to my wondering eyes should appear, But Goodie and Mac and the patient, my dear! Come Apgar! Come Carson! Come Olson! Come Sloan! Roll up your shirt sleeves and scrub to the bone! From each little dressing room way down the hall Now, dash away! dash away! dash away all! With phenomenal speed the op got under way, Hemostats, purse strings, all brought into play. Soon, the cry Cautery! -the unsterile nurse Fell from her stool, fearing only the worst. But it worked! With a low sigh she sent the word 'round The op was most finished: hopes gave a rebound. We might still make the dance-get a sandwich or three But, no! The phone jangled, A new case in V. C. As they clipped the last suture, we gasped a last shout, The doctors and nurses and appendix were out! One eye shed a tear, one face wore a frown As music from R Floor in taunt floated down, And we started the next op, adjusting the light- Merry Christmas to all and to all a long night! M. H. and W. Forty