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By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Staff Correspondent
Hundreds of thousands of women
and men throughout the United
States are celebrating a special
event this week, ‘National Nurses
Week,” from May 5 through May 9.
Since the time of Florence Night-
ingale, women and, in recent years,
men have been dedicating their
lives to taking care of the sick and
invalids wherever needed.
Well-trained as these nurses have
always been, there have been many
changes over the years and this
week, Sheila McKeown and Patricia
Michaels, both of Dallas, ‘discuss
place in the nursing profession over
the years.
Sheila is a registered nurse, who
studied nursing in the Mercy School
of Nursing in the three-year pro-
gram. She applied and was
accepted in the program following
her graduation from high school.
Most all of the students were young
and out of the 60 in her class, only
five .of them had gone to College
Misericordia before coming into the
nursing profession.
At that time, all nursing students
had to be single and for the three
years they trained the students
stayed at the hospital. During the
first year, the students did some
floor work but spent a lot of time in
classes. After dinner, they had two
hours of study, then had to be in bed
by 10 p.m.
“We worked six days per week
and had one day off. We could go
home that day if we wished. After
the first six months in the program,
we were allowed one late night each
week, a night we could stay up till
midnight,” said Sheila.
During their second year of the
program, Sheila and her classmates
spent more hours doing floor duty
and in their third year, they spent
most of their time on the floor
working with the patients.
While in training, each student
had a book of procedures and she
had to know all the procedures in
that book before she graduated.
During her training, all nurses wore
the white uniforms and caps were a
must. The only color worn were the
striped student uniforms with the
overall white aprons worn in some
of the hospitals. The RN’s wore all
white and all of them had to wear
their caps.
Sheila, who is now an RN at
Nesbitt Memorial Hospital, said she
believes that the four-year nursing
students get more education in
theory than the nurses in the three-
year program did. She believes they
get more knowledge in the field of
drugs - their indications, counter-
indications and possible reactions.
Sheila is presently studying for her
BS in nursing.
“We have some excellent nurses
out of the three year program and
also from the four year program,”
said Sheila.
She explained when she first went
into nursing, they did everything
but clean the floors. There were no
disposable instruments and supplies
as we have today. Everything was
stainless steel and every nurse
spent a certain amount of time in
Central Supply, cleaning instru-
ments and other items, wrappign
and sterilizing them. They also ster-
ilized the beds after each patient
while today most hospitals have a
cleaning staff.
Sheila explained that at Nesbitt,
they have modular nursing con-
sisting of an RN, L.P.N. and an
Aide. The RN assigns a certain
number of patients to the L.P.N.
and takes so many herself. The RN
is the supervisor and is responsible
for her module. The L.P.N.s at
Nesbitt take a medication course
and are qualified to administer oral
medicines and injections, but not
intravenous.
The RNs are responsible for
patient teaching which they were
not years ago and as supervisors
they are responsible for the end
result in their unit.
She enjoys working at Nesbitt
Memorial Hospital. She said there
are still many requirements to
follow but they are not as formal as
years ago. Today, nursing students
may be married and have families
and a large percentage of those
enrolling in the degree programs
are older.
Sheila worked for eight years
after passing her state boards
before she stayed at home to raise
her two girls, Kelly, junior at
Bloomsburg; and Katie, senior at
Dallas, who will enter Penn State
University following graduation.
After 15 years, Sheila returned to
nursing and has been back for the
past six years. Her husband,
Eugene, is Director of Wilkes-Barre
General Hospital Auxiliary.
Patricia Michael of Dallas and
her brother, Frank, Jr., are both in
the senior class of the nursing
program at College Misericordia.
They are members of a nursing
profession family. Their mother,
Polly, is a nursing instructor at
College Misericordia, and their
older sister is also a nurse. Frank,
Jr., however, plans to enter the U.S.
Navy after graduation.
Patricia, in her senior year, is
working in the community psychiat-
ric field. She has also done a
semester in Home Health. A student
in the degree program, she believes
that nursing has a different aspect
today than it did years ago.
Psychiatric specialization is more
widely recognized than in past
years and since the four year
degree students must take an all-
Liberal Arts Course, Patricia
believes this will help the future
nurses to deal with the different
groups of people with whom they
will be dealing.
As freshmen, the students spent
all their time in liberal arts classes.
During their sophomore year, they
studied fundamental and basic nurs-
ing and spent 16 hours weekly in
clinical work. As juniors, they spent
16 hours in clinical work and 16
hours in class study each week and
in the senior year, Patricia
explained that it was the same.
The students spend semesters
working in pediatrics, obstetrics,
medical-surgical, psychiatrics, lead-
ership and independent work. They
work with staff preceptors, where
they get their ‘street smarts’.
Patricia considers herself fortun-
ate and said that she has learned a
lot through her family. They discuss
the work they have done and what
they believe they could have done to
improve it.
Another change she sees is the
concentration on prevention in the
nursing field. They attend clinics on
keeping healthy, prevention of dia-
betes, heart attacks and alleviating
stress.
There is more focus on nurses
getting degrees. Although a B.S. in
nursing is not yet compulsory,
Patricia believes that is the ulti-
mate goal.
The uniform is gradually chang-
ing. She said they do not have to
wear caps anymore. She said most
of the nurses wear whites but they
are trying to bring in color through
colored tops and white pants. She
does her clinical at Nesbitt Memo-
rial and the pediatric nurses and the
obstetric nurses may wear color.
They find it more soothing to the
children and less stark in obstetrics.
Patricia also believes as the stu-
dents go through school, it is impor-
tant that they work as a nurse’s
aide if at all possible.
“You see a lot of diploma nurses
coming back for their degree and
they're being a big help,” said
Patricia. ‘“There are also older
women and they, too, are a big help
to the younger students. They know
the answers to a lot of our questions
through their experience.”
The young nurses said she
believes most of the hospitals now
have the modular or modification
system and that hospitals are limit-
ing the responsibilities of the
L.P.N.’s to encourage them to go
into the RN program.
“Nurses are also encouraged to
have their own professional organi-
zations to work for new legislation,
legislation to aid them in becoming
independent practitioners,’’
explained Patricia.
There are many changes over the
years, both women agree, in all
areas, but not in the hours. They
also agree that most changes are
for the good of the patients and they
are certain more changes to benefit
the patients will come in the future.
Park slates
nature walks
Frances Slocum State Park,
Mount Olivet Road, Wyoming, if
offering environmental education
services to school classes, scout
groups and other organized groups
of children or adults.
Park Naturalist Jeff Smith is now
accepting group reservations for
guided walks on the parks scenic
trails. The educational walks, which
run from 1 to 2 hours in length, may
be scheduled for weekdays or week-
ends between 8 am. and 4 p.m. A
choice of topics include nature study
and American Indian culture, and
history of the area.
Groups are encouraged to sched-
ule guided walks at least two weeks
in advance by contacting Frances
Slocum State Park at 696-3525.
[Divorces
(The following Back Mountain
couple has filed a Complaint in
Divorce at the Luzerne County
Courthouse: )
JOANNE DOKUS, Plaintiff, 13
Carey St., Ashley, and ROBERT
DOKUS, Defendant, RR 1, Box 301,
Dallas.
THOMAS
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Opposite Natona Mills
Dallas-Harveys Lake Hwy.
Early
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7,1986
Dallas Post/Ed Campbell
remains in
A Wyoming man was slightly
injured early last Friday night when
he lost control of his vehicle and
rammed into two others.
David J. Connors, 163 Bunker Hill
Road, was traveling north on RT.
309 when he entered the private
drive of John Gorda, 52 S. Memorial
Highway, Trucksville. Connors said
that as he attempted to stop he felt
the brakes on the right side lock,
causing him to lose control of his
vehicle.
Connors received minor injuries.
-0-
A Dallas youth was charged with
driving at an unsafe speed and is
awaiting still other charges as a
result of a three-car accident that
took place early Friday night on
Hildebrandt Road.
According to reports John West-
field, 18, of 90 Claude Street, Dallas,
was traveling west on Hildebrandt
Road at a high rate of spped when
he passed a car driven by Cathy
Miller, 31, of RD 2, Tunkhannock.
After Miller’s 1980 Chevy was
forced off the road, Westfield’s vehi-
cle then hit it and continued west in
the east-bound lane where he struck
a third vehicle head-on operated by
Kimberly Higgins, 18, of RD 1,
Dallas.
Higgins was transported by the
Dallas Township Ambulance to the
Wilkes-Barre General Hospital
where she was taken to the inten-
sive care unit, suffering from head
and chest injuries.
Miller was not seriously injured
and said she would see her own
physician.
Westfield’s 1979 Camaro was
towed by Wesley’s while Higgins’
1979 Dodge Colt was towed by
Martin’s.
-0-
A Harveys Lake woman was
involved in two separate car acci-
dents within a half-hour span late
Saturday afternoon.
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In the first incident, Kathleen M.
Payne, 20, of RD 1, Harvey’s Lake,
was traveling south on a road near
College Misericordia when she
made a wide swing near Alumni
Hall and struck a 1980 Chevy owned
by Maria A. Pallante, 22, of 454
River Dr., Westville, New Jersey.
No one was hurt and neither car
Payne was involved in another
mishap on Ellsworth Hill Road.
According to reports, Payne was
traveling north on that road at the
intersection of Pressview Drive
when the vehicle ran off the north
bound side of the road and struck a
utility pole.
She was injured and taken to the
had to be towed.
: Wilkes-Barre General Hospital by
Approximately a half-hour later,
the Dallas Township ambulance.
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or with one of her favorite colognes
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NINA RICCI CALVIN KLEIN
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