tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723755846699098373.post317941618287691628..comments2024-03-23T17:49:56.783-07:00Comments on oldfoolrn: Fun in The Sun at Diploma Nursing SchoolsOldfoolrnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747485143127099085noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723755846699098373.post-11469917289804337342019-10-22T10:47:40.244-07:002019-10-22T10:47:40.244-07:00that is so very sweet! I can picture you laying th...that is so very sweet! I can picture you laying there, waking up to the flowers. Thank you so sharing. DancingLotushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17835505815921914426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723755846699098373.post-44644822262446688532019-03-17T21:43:45.753-07:002019-03-17T21:43:45.753-07:00I just Googled both those hospitals OFRN and the S...I just Googled both those hospitals OFRN and the St Francis Hospital looks like it had a beautiful chapel and has a website devoted to its nursing alumni. What a shame to lose all that.<br /><br />We are not safe here either, the government is privatising our free public hospitals by stealth and they turn into money-making institutions. The nearest big public hospital near me, the Port Macquarie Base Hospital, was privatised some years ago and was so badly run (due to profit making being the major priority, not patient care) that the government was forced by public pressure to take over the running of it again and turn it back into a free public hospital. So we fight to keep our tradition of free healthcare for any who need it.<br /><br />Thanks for bearing with my long comments OFRN! Sue.<br /><br />PS: I nearly bought a house once when I was living in the lovely town of Bathurst, NSW - but what put me off was that the view from the kitchen window was over the town cemetery - it didn't seem to be the most cheerful view as you were making breakfast, although it would have been quiet ... Cheers! S.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723755846699098373.post-70504163582625436372019-03-17T18:26:19.310-07:002019-03-17T18:26:19.310-07:00I treasure your comments Sue. In Pittsburgh, St. F...I treasure your comments Sue. In Pittsburgh, St. Francis hospital was also constructed right next to Allegheney Cemetery which was huge. Almost very room in the hospital had a graveyard view. St. Francis Hospital is long gone and a huge hospital megaplex UPMC Childrens has taken it's place. The cemetery is still there, but most of the windows facing it have been obscured by colorful murals. It's sad to think of all the charity hospitals that have bit the dust or taken over by corporate monstrosities.Oldfoolrnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01747485143127099085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723755846699098373.post-74044239533590744072019-03-16T21:58:52.300-07:002019-03-16T21:58:52.300-07:00Re flowers OFRN (I do talk a lot don't I!) - o...Re flowers OFRN (I do talk a lot don't I!) - our hospital was built next door to an old unused (ie. full up!) cemetery in which grew the loveliest flowers and shrubs which had sprouted from the ones left in the past by people on the graves.<br /><br />When the new tower block was built it was discovered to our dismay that the Oncology Ward was positioned so that every patient's window looked out over the cemetery … you do have to wonder about architects sometimes don't you...<br /><br />But anyway, in the old days when we had patients who had no flowers or we wanted to decorate the wards (or our rooms in the nurses' home) we used to wander into this old graveyard and pick the flowers to put in vases. The graveyard was always known affectionately by us as "Matron's Garden". Sue.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723755846699098373.post-36710360566255941722019-03-16T21:31:40.606-07:002019-03-16T21:31:40.606-07:00My old training hospital is now a tower block surr...My old training hospital is now a tower block surrounded by high rise apartments OFRN - sadly the old brick and stone buildings and lovely gardens that existed in my day are almost all gone. The spinal unit was wonderful in that we could wheel the patients in their beds outside on a nice day and the nurses could chat to the them while they were able to enjoy the fresh air and hear the birds... when they built the tower block they went into a dark 7th floor air conditioned ward and I remember the nursing staff objecting vigorously as there was no nowhere to easily wheel the beds outdoors anymore. By then I was working in Psych and we still had a two storey circular building with a pond and garden in the middle which was lovely.<br /><br />I can imagine the roof top sun decks must have been wonderful for you all - and gave the nurses a chance to get even with the Miss Bruisers of this world! Gosh we had a few of those too...<br /><br />Our graduation was a bit of a non-event in that you only came off-duty for the duration of the ceremony, got your veil, badge and certificate, then went back onto the ward immediately after - for the first three months after graduation you were a Probationary Sister and still wore the student nurse's uniform but with veil not cap - after that you went into the light blue-and-white Sister's uniform. <br /><br />But usually there was a celebration on the ward and the patients would give you flowers! Sue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723755846699098373.post-33151121694829275132019-03-16T17:43:56.725-07:002019-03-16T17:43:56.725-07:00Sue, I think that hospitals with some access to th...Sue, I think that hospitals with some access to the outside natural world are more therapeutic for both patients and nurses. Our school was smack dab in the middle of a concrete/asphalt jungle. No green space for many blocks in just about any direction and the multistory buildings often blocked out the sunlight. Under these conditions a visit to a roof top urban sundeck was refreshing, even the noises of the city down below faded away. I like your story about the flowers.<br /><br />Flowers were few and far between in Chicago, but it was a graduation tradition that each graduate was presented with a bouquet of roses after the awarding of our pins. As a male I received a couple of blue carnations and felt cheated out of the roses (just kidding, I was so euphoric after receiving that hard earned pin that little else mattered.Oldfoolrnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01747485143127099085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723755846699098373.post-49973379021080650152019-03-16T16:34:57.805-07:002019-03-16T16:34:57.805-07:00Thanks for the laugh, I like Rose! This made me t...Thanks for the laugh, I like Rose! This made me think how different it must have been living in a building that from the description must have been several stories in a large city like Chicago, whereas we lived in a two-storey nurses' home where buildings were mostly ground level (like in the New Zealand video) in what was then a small quiet Sydney with easy access to outdoors. <br /><br />The grounds of our hospital even contained a hot-house where the gardeners grew only orchids for decorating the desks of the Matron and Deputy Matron. One of my nicest memories is coming out of the Spinal Unit (then a small cottage near the orchid house) and falling asleep (in full uniform, a hanging offence!) under a tree on the grass on a particularly lovely day (I think student nurses can sleep anywhere/anytime). When I woke up, one of the gardeners had spotted me and had laid a bouquet of orchids beside me. How sweet! I never found out which gardener it was but I still think what a lovely gesture! Perhaps he took pity on a tired sleeping young student nurse. Cheers! SueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723755846699098373.post-49611457084103470352019-03-15T16:49:23.936-07:002019-03-15T16:49:23.936-07:00Haha, brings back memories! Our sun deck was loca...Haha, brings back memories! Our sun deck was located on the roof of our nursing residence in full view of both the medical school and 7th floor of the hospital. We, however, had a typical tarred surface that was about 9 degrees cooler than the sun. Students provided their own beach chairs. EDNurseasaurashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039072154469818990noreply@blogger.com