Where does one begin to describe a nursing career that has spanned over 50 years and is still continuing? It is quite amazing, since I never really wanted to become a nurse. As a young woman, I never had it on my list of job choices.
My mother, on the other hand, had other ideas. She wanted a nurse in the family. Being one of six children, I felt sure she would convince one of my other sisters to succumb. I had never had a penchant for blood and other GI fluids that a nurse quite frequently encounters. She had poor health, including a bad heart condition, so I stayed home for the year following my high school graduation to help care for my siblings. This gave her extra time to convince me to at least take the nursing entrance exam being given at our local hospital’s School of Nursing. Not being the best student I could have been, I felt quite sure that I had no chance of passing the exam. Unfortunately, the nursing school felt otherwise.
I can still remember the shock on my face as I opened the letter that would chart my path for many years to come: “We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Cumberland Hospital School of Nursing and look forward to seeing you at the beginning of the 1968 school year.” And that was the beginning.
