December 2021

Who wrote the following? “My first patient was Mrs. P. I remember her well. After making her bed I rolled up the head of the bed, the sheet moved down and the plastic mattress appeared. I  had made the bed wrong tucking in the bottom part of the sheet instead of the top part.” Pat Doyle Flannagan

Who told us? “Miss MacDonald was my first clinical teacher. She seemed so strict and did not show that warm, caring side my 18-year-old-self thought nurses lived by!  Turns out nursing students were not always on the top of recipient list!!  Still hate that anatomy test where we had to ID all the bones on the desk! I wanted to perfectly provide morning care to my senior patient…spent 30 minutes trying to exactly line up his slippers and could only find one. Turns out I forgot he had only one leg!! I also remember that he had a BM that I had to clean up… would take a big breath, go the bedside to start the process, run away to take another big breath. Goal was never to breathe while cleaning him!!!!” Cathy MacDonald McJanet

Mrs. Wright was known for sliding a box of Kleenex across her desks to students who were sent to her office. Who pulled out a roll of toilet paper and said “no thanks, I brought my own” when offered the Kleenex? Brenda Tingley

One of our classmate’s Big Sister told her that she caused quite a stir daring to arrive in pants! and that she had better change into something more “suitable” for our September 15, 1969 meet and greet at West Lane. Who was that student? Louise Carrier Deschenes

One of our classmates had these stories to tell us. “First mistake was cleaning a bed pan of urine with hot water. Never did that again. Later, I was on an evening shift and had to prepare my first body for the morgue. I thought I had done just perfect. After shift, and (amazingly), I was in bed, the Housemother came to tell me that my instructor wanted me on the phone. Oh, oh. I had forgotten the patient’s dentures in the bedside table. The instructor told me to take them to the morgue and insert them in the patient. Off I went, shaking in my nice white sneakers. I located the patient and awkwardly and with difficulty, inserted the dentures. Oh crap! the jaw snapped shut after I put the dentures in. Scared the wits out of me! I quickly slammed the drawer closed and ran all the way back to Anne Street. I never forgot the dentures again.” Who was that student? Joanne Albert Belliveau

Another student disclosed that “My first patient was a 90-year-old man who was unresponsive on 1P. I was so very scared, I thought he had died. I had to do a bed bath without unduly exposing him and make his bed. I was told that hearing was the last to go so I had to think of things to tell him all along the way. I believe Mrs. Crowther was the head nurse. Thanks heavens I didn’t quit that day” Marlene Myers Hill

Many of us lived in apartments in our 3^rd year. A classmate reminisced that “that five (5) boxes of macaroni and cheese cost $1.00”. Who was that classmate? Wanda Firlotte McLellan

Someone reminded us that 50 cents was deducted for CPP from a $15.00 cheque? Who was that student? Brenda Tingley

50 years ago hitchhiking was a common way for some students to travel home or to the Nurses Cottage. One student told us stories of carrying a scalpel or a hat pin with her and another said she kept a rock in her pocket at all times while hitchhiking. Who were these two students? Joanne Logan Simpson and Marlene Myers Hill

Three classmates were “rapid responders” to some of our emails.  See if you can guess who they were.

• First respond to the July 2020 initial email about the Reunion Helen McGrath Brown – within 2 hours of July 2020 email
• First to send recent photo and update over the 50 years for our slide presentation Cathy MacDonald McJanet  within 1 week of July 2020 email
• First to send mask picture for March Pandemic Mask Madness. Marilyn Hatchard Crawford – within 2 hours March 2021 email