One of our largest assignments for this semester is our "English Lives" oral history project, which required us to interview an older resident of York, and then write a short article about their lives, and its relation to something in twentieth-century English culture or history. I was paired with one other student, and we were assigned to interview Miss Vanessa Ward, a retired nurse. This was an absolutely incredible experience, because we got to hear about what nursing school was like year ago in London. Below are some selections from my "English Lives" paper that pertain to Miss Ward's specific experience.
When my partner and I met with Miss Vanessa Ward we started our conversation with some light small talk about nursing. This conversation ended up with her asking us, “What led you two to nursing school?” I flipped the question back on her, which led to a wonderful discussion about what drew people to nursing school in the 1950s. Miss Ward recounted, “At sixteen, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. I just knew.” She added that it was through God’s guidance, even though she didn’t know it at the time, because she didn’t truly understand what it meant to be a Christian.
Vanessa Ward began her training at Guy’s Hospital in London in 1956. As one of my other sources for this paper, I found a memoir by Jennifer Craig about her time in nursing school and as a nurse in Yorkshire in the 1950s. She recalls how a “sister” (an older nurse) greeted them on their first day of school: "The reasons you chose nursing are many and varied but what you must understand is that we require girls with dedication and strength of character and who can obey orders. Mistakes can cause the death of a patient... Most of you will prove to be unsuitable. I doubt if even half of you will finish training... You must make many sacrifices for your patients and be prepared to make nursing your whole life. If you do not possess these qualities, you will be asked to leave."[1]
Just as in today’s nursing school, all the students were required to work on different specialty floors to see where they wanted to work in the future. Miss Ward started on a urinary men’s floor. She described this as quite eye-opening if one didn’t have a brother. The young men on the floor would tease them, but she was grateful for the practical experience right away.
The “home sisters” were older nurses who supervised the dormitories where the nursing students lived. Miss Ward had a very strict tutor, also referred to as a sister. She insisted that their dresses had to go down to their knees, and they were not allowed to wear makeup or jewelry. The tutor would inspect them before they got on the bus to head to the hospital to make sure the girls weren’t wearing any makeup. The sisters also enforced a 10:00 p.m. curfew. When recalling her experience in nursing school, Vanessa stressed that everyone was all in it together; there was always someone off duty when you were. It was tough work, but in their time off they would go to watch Shakespeare plays in town.
Nursing school in England in the 1950s was very different than what it is now. Miss Ward is quite sure that many of today’s students wouldn’t manage to keep going if they were in nursing school in England in the 1950s. They would find it too difficult. Nursing school was and still is difficult, but Vanessa’s long and successful career is proof that all of the hard work, the valuable skills learned, and the lasting relationships made during school, can bring a life of fulfillment.
[1] Jennifer Craig, Yes Sister, No Sister: My Life as a Trainee Nurse in the 1950s Yorkshire (Ebury Press, 2010), 9-10.
Photo source:
http://drefopicsl.pw/1948-women-50-of-population-before-NHS-women-not.html