{"id":261,"date":"2010-11-15T22:23:04","date_gmt":"2010-11-15T22:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tmcldev.wpengine.com\/mcgovern\/2010\/11\/15\/collection-reflects-changes-in-nursing-school\/"},"modified":"2022-03-30T18:37:33","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T18:37:33","slug":"collection-reflects-changes-in-nursing-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/library.tmc.edu\/mcgovern\/2010\/11\/15\/collection-reflects-changes-in-nursing-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Collection reflects changes in nursing school"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brenda Gunter, MLIS<\/strong>
\narchives intern<\/em>
\nGunter processed the Connie Brady collection as part of her practicum at the McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center.<\/span><\/em>
\n <\/span>
\nConnie Brady was a nursing student at the Shannon West Texas Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in San Angelo, Texas, from 1960 to 1964. The nursing school in San Angelo was affiliated with the hospital of the same name and now operates through Angelo State University. Nursing students completed their clinical training at the hospital.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nA collection of Brady\u2019s handwritten diary and notes, school publications, and nursing publications became part of the HAM-TMC Library McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center in 2010 after it was purchased in an online auction. Although the collection is tiny, about 1\/4 cubic foot in size, it is rich in information, offering a glimpse of how nursing schools operated during the mid-20th century.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nItems in the collection include a 1964 diary Brady wrote for a nursing course, school-related correspondence and papers, school publications, and nursing publications. The material is in good to very good condition.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nThe school employed the \u201cbig sister\u201d system, in which senior and junior students mentored the younger ones. A typed paper lists initiation rules for young women attending the school. (Although the materials do not state whether men could attend, they were written for an audience of young unmarried women.) The requirements are similar to fraternity or sorority rules, with an expressed purpose of making students feel welcome and familiarizing them with school traditions.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nFor example, Rule 13: \u201cP.C.\u2019s (freshman students) using the coke, candy, or cigarette machines or the water fountain must address the object in the following manner: \u201cMr. Coke, Mr. Candy or Cigarette machine or Mr. water fountain [sic], I so earnestly desire to partake of your refreshing repast.\u201d While reciting this, the P.C. is to bow three times.\u201d<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nConnie Brady Student Nursing Papers<\/span><\/strong>
\n <\/span>
\nExcerpts from the Shannon West Texas Memorial Hospital Shannon Memorial School of Nursing Bulletin 1961-1962:<\/span><\/em>
\n <\/span>
\nBecause of the difficulty for the student to adjust simultaneously in a professional and marital status, the faculty of the School of Nursing advises all students to postpone marriage until completion of the three year course.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nStudents may be permitted to marry and remain in the school upon the approval of the Guidance Committee. Every case will be considered individually by these committees and such things as class averages, nursing skills, emotional maturity, professional and social attitudes, and study habits of the student will be considered.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nMake-up should be moderate in amount. Make-up should not be applied in the dining room. Perfumes or colognes should not be used.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nChewing gum on duty is unprofessional and should not be indulged in.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nExcerpts from diary of Connie Brady, 1964:<\/span><\/em>
\n <\/span><\/em>
\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em>
Brady's diary.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n <\/em>
\n <\/span>
\nMarch 13, 1964<\/span><\/strong>
\nToday things were very gay and the patients had a very nice day. After feeding the patients we had morning exercise, then group singing, and then a patient dance, which was enjoyed by all. After lunch we had a remotivation group where the group was very attentive and alert. Then came afternoon nap. This was a very enjoyable day.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nMarch 14, 1964<\/span><\/strong>
\nToday I spent in the dorm washing clothes and recopying notes. I enjoyed a movie Saturday night with a very nice boy.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nMarch 18, 1964<\/span><\/strong>
\nDear Diary,<\/span>
\nToday I realized how attached you could become to some of these patients on Ward 14. Most of them are real sweet and starved for affection.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nMarch 20, 1964<\/span><\/strong>
\nToday was our last day on Ward 14 and realized [sic] what these patients had become [sic] to mean to me in the last two weeks. \u2026 In the afternoon when it was time to leave our patients cried, this gave us the feeling that we did give them something even if it was only two weeks short. What a pretty day for the first day of spring, but what a sad way to end it.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nWednesday, May 6. 1964<\/span><\/strong>
\nI still can\u2019t figure out what these girls have because I still haven\u2019t got passed at [sic] by the doctors. I\u2019ll have to practice on a come hither look just acting normal doesn\u2019t work [sic]. Oh well I won\u2019t worry about it. Written in red ink, in a different hand, on the line following this post, a comment reads: \u201cDon\u2019t you DARE \u2014 \u201d<\/em><\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nWhile the profession may have come a long way, baby, since the days when Connie Brady attended nursing school, her diary ably demonstrates that caring is central to it<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brenda Gunter, MLIS archives intern Gunter processed the Connie Brady collection as part of her practicum at the McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center. Connie Brady was a nursing student at the Shannon West Texas Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in San Angelo, Texas, from 1960 to 1964. The nursing school in San Angelo […]<\/p>\n

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