As a proud graduate of the St. Mary鈥檚 Hospital School of Nursing and a lifelong champion of the nursing profession, Maureen Fitzgerald believes that every tree needs strong roots to grow. Her roots, as well as those of 92 of the 1595 alumnae who trained at the school are explored in depth in a collection entitled With Hand and Heart: Memories from Student Nursing Days (1925-1972), edited by Mary Ann Morgan, co-edited by Maureen Fitzgerald, with the assistance of Gwendolyn Goring. Packed with anecdotes and illustrations of young women who came from all corners of the province and beyond to learn the art and science of nursing, the book is a fascinating historical record and an entertaining read.
As noted in the book鈥檚 prologue, 鈥淔or three years, we attended classes, worked without remuneration, followed a mandated curriculum, and lived in a residence under a set of prescribed rules before achieving a certificate of competence or earning a license to practice as a registered nurse.鈥� This professional apprenticeship model that trained nurses in residences attached to hospitals for decades ended in 1972, when the Quebec government transferred nursing education to the universities and the newly established CEGEP system.
While there has been an explosion of nursing knowledge and technological advances in the decades since hospital-affiliated nursing schools closed in the province, the fundamentals of nursing remain unchanged. These include a commitment to professionalism and to the ongoing pursuit of excellence, the importance of continued education and lifelong learning, the development of empathy and resilience, and the imperative to keep patients鈥� needs at the heart of healthcare.
It was these timeless values that Ms. Fitzgerald shared with BScN and MScN (Applied) students as an invited guest during the first class of the NUR1 222 course entitled Strengths-Based Nursing & Professional Practice. The students were intrigued by her presentation and inspired by her passion for the nursing profession.
Ms. Fitzgerald also described an initiative that she undertook with fellow alumnae Catherine McIninch Murphy, Judith Tisseur Norton and Brenda Noonan Brown to persuade the City of Montreal to honour the history of nursing in Quebec with a public art installation at the intersection of Pine Ave. and Jeanne-Mance Street, and to raise the necessary funds for this project. On September 29, 2022, the City of Montreal announced that the has been awarded to the collective La Soci茅t茅 des archives affectives (Fiona Annis and V茅ronique La Perri猫re M.) Their work will consist of three bronze elements reflecting the relationship of a nurse with her patient. The inauguration is scheduled to take place in the fall of 2023.
Copies of With Hand and Heart are available on ,听at the St. Mary鈥檚 Hospital Centre Gift Shop, or through Maureen Fitzgerald directly (maureenfitzgerald [at] videotron.ca) at a cost of $35 each. Proceeds will support nursing education. Here are two excerpts from the book:
Diane Stonecipher RN, PhD
鈥淥ur ability to show compassion is perhaps our best nursing skill, better than our proficiency with machines, computers, and even procedures. It may not be what we do, so much as how we do it.鈥�
Lorraine Hart (Class of 1968)
鈥�Early one afternoon, the call bell went off in my patient鈥檚 room. I was at the Nursing Station, so I went down the hall to answer the bell, not knowing who had requested help in that room, and instead of going into the room, I stood in the doorway and asked the men which one of them needed assistance. My young patient, who was bedridden, spoke up and asked for a 鈥榝lower pot鈥�. And I, innocent as I was, asked him from the doorway, 鈥楬ow big is your flower?鈥� At which point, the other three men erupted in gales of laughter, while my young patient turned purple with embarrassment. It was only then that I realized that he was actually asking for a urinal!鈥�
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