‘We were like sisters’
VGH nurses, Class of 1972B celebrate 45th reunion in Valley
This group of VGH nurses recently gathered in Kings County to celebrate a momentous milestone. Reuniting is a special gift. On Sept. 15, 39 nurses arrived at the Old Orchard Inn for a weekend of celebration to honour their 45th reunion with trepidation and excitement. It was a weekend of catching up amidst a funpacked agenda of activities.
On Friday evening there was a wine and cheese party followed by a bon fire and pizza under the stars. On Saturday, the group browsed the town with many lunching at the Wolfville Market. In the afternoon, participants went on a tour of Benjamin Bridge Winery and were educated on the many intricacies of producing fine wines. In the evening they enjoyed a banquet followed by a lively few hours of music by Jon Hemingway, where all feet were on the dance floor.
The nursing profession has changed constantly over the years. In 1970, the VGH training school introduced a two-year training course and this group was the first at that school with 134 graduating in 1972. They became 1972B because the last three-year group was also class of 1972. The VGH continued training two-year grads until 1995, after which all nurses were required to attend university to get their bachelor of science in nursing.
The VGH School of Nursing started in 1890, according to historian Gloria Stephens, who is writing a book on the evolution of health care in Nova Scotia. In the 105 years the VGH school was in operation, just short of 5,000 nurses graduated from it.
In the early days only poor people were admitted to hospital while people of means had private nurses come into their homes. Conditions in the hospitals were poor, according to Stephens. Over the years private rooms were set up in the hospitals for people of means, while the poor were kept in large wards. In the early 1900s, trained nurses were called graduate nurses until 1922 when the Registered Nurses Legislative Act allowed them to be called RNS.
In the years since 1972, change has continued. Hospital-trained nurses were considered trained, not educated. Hospital nurses were subsidized by the government and the training cost only $400 tuition for each of the two years. In the mid-70s, training hospital programs all over the country, including the Halifax Infirmary School, closed down while the VGH school held on until 1995. Nurses wore starched uniforms and to receive the black band on the cap was considered an honour. In 1980 caps and uniforms were discontinued and more and more nurses were acquiring their BSN degrees.
Nurses from the 1972B class have spread their talents in many directions. Some went on to get their degrees while others became public health nurses, nurses training instructors and occupational health nurses - to name a few. Some changed careers altogether, or didn’t nurse at all. Of the 39 nurses who atteneded the reunion, half are still doing some form of work in the health field. Some of our former classmates have died. It is always sad when we have our get-togethers to hear of the deaths. We were like sisters all living together in the residence and receiving our black bands together.