A ‘calling’ that lasted 47 years
MAUREEN Ross, of Athlone, was only 17 when she walked through the doors of Groote Schuur Hospital to start her nursing career. Not only did she dedicate her life to the hospital, but she got more than she bargained for after serving as head of nursing there.
Ross, who recently retired after 47 years of service, became the first black head of nursing in the history of the hospital when she was appointed to that position four years ago.
She still recalls her burning desire to be a nurse when she was a child.
“I’m one of seven children and I remember being the only one in the family who wanted to become a nurse.
“They all wanted to be teachers and indeed all my siblings became teachers.
“I think having to take care of my sickly mother, who was often hospitalised here at Groote Schuur, might have inspired me to become a nurse.
“During my visits to hospitals I used to adore nurses so much.
“The compassion they demonstrated and the white uniforms were so fascinating to me,” she said.
The 65-year-old mother of two described her job as a “calling”, but admitted that working in the medical field during the height of apartheid was not without its challenges.
“During those times there were ‘whites only’ wards and wards for non-whites.
“As a person of colour I had to work in non-white wards and white nurses had to work in whites-only wards.
“Unlike today’s generation, we were taught not to be militant and to do as asked. So we didn’t question much.
“When a white patient refused treatment by a black doctor or nurse it would obviously hurt, but there was not much one could do except to report it,” she recalled.
But racial segregation of wards disappeared in the late ’80s when the new hospital block was built.
“As we were preparing to move into the new building, a lot of doctors and academics said they were not prepared to work in segregated wards.
“For me racial integration was one of the red letter moments in the history of Groote Schuur,” she said.
Not only did racial segregation and nurses’ uniforms change over the years, but the new generation of nurses also changed, she said.
“I don’t see the changes as something bad though… I think the old school nurses have something to teach the younger generation, but we can also learn from them too. I think nursing evolves just like other fields and we’ve got to learn from each other.”
Ross, who is working on a threemonth contract following her retirement, says she want to use her nursing skills to care for the elderly and intends opening a day care centre in her community when she finally goes on official retirement.
“I’m still passionate about nursing, so the idea is to get the elderly active and entertained to improve their lives.
“Life shouldn’t only be about staying at home and looking after grandchildren, but together with other nurses who just retired we want to create a centre where our senior citizens can get entertained and pampered by giving them manicures and pedicures and offering them cooking, and arts and crafts for instance,” she said.