I Was Working In The Hospital As An Orderly

1 I Was Working in the Hospital as an Orderly Oral Histories of the Alexian Brothers Hospital School of Nursing Graduates

Susan A. LaRocco PhD, RN, MBAProfessorCurry College Milton, MA

1The Alexian Brothers2A monastic order founded in Germany during the 14th century

A nursing order caring for the diseased, the insane, and the rejected poor

Expanded in Germany and to BelgiumExpansion to the United States3Large German population in Chicago

An American congregation founded in Chicago in 1866

First Alexian hospital in U. S. established the same year restricted to care of men and boys (in 1962 a 25 bed female ward opened)

The Nursing School41894 annual series of 24 two hour lectures by physicians

1898 Alexian Brothers Hospital School of Nursing incorporatedFifth all male school in the USTwo year programOpened to male religious and lay studentsThe Early Years51901 lay students excluded

1925 accredited by the state of Illinois(second school in state to receive accreditation)

1927 a few lay students admitted

1935 only professed brothers matriculated

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Photo Credit: Diaconian, The Yearbook of the Alexian Brothers Hospital School of Nursing

The Middle Years71939 affiliation with DePaul University; three year program; lay students admitted

1941 lay students draft eligible

1942-1946 conscientious objectors worked at the hospital; some became nurses

1952 National League for Nursing (NLN) accreditation

1960s The Declining Years 8Decrease in vocations

Financial deficits

Changes in the educational environment

Declining enrollment; men admitted into other nursing programs

Students not used as manpower for the hospital; away on affiliations

Closing the School91966 decision to close the school

1966 hospital closes in Chicago; new hospital opens in suburbs

1969 last class graduates (21 nurses)Total number ofgraduates 779

Photo Credit:Alexian Brothers Provincial ArchivesPresent Position of Graduates10A 1966 StudyAnesthesia 42.1%Administration 24.3%Armed Forces 21.7%Head and staff nurses18.4%Industrial and psych nursing12.5%Clinical instructors 5.9%Surgical nursing 5.9%Other 1.9%11Oral History a research tradition that records an individuals account of events that he or she experienced; these recollections are placed into a social and cultural contextOral History 12Advantages adds life to historical facts

Disadvantages reliance on an individuals memorymay be influenced by a desire to enhance ones imageMethodology13Interviews were conducted in person usually in the participants homes

Interviews conducted between 2005 and 2009

Audio-recorded, transcribed, and reviewed by the participants for accuracy

MaxQDA used for data management Participant Profile1423 men were interviewed

Graduated between 1952 and 1969

Age at matriculation ranged from 17 to 27

2 were religious brothers(one of these later left the Brothers)

21 were lay students(one of these later became a Brother)Participant Profile158 came directly from high school

7 were in the military prior to entering

12 became Certified RN Anesthetists

Themes16Low cost of education

Influence of family member who was a nurse

Desire to be a nurse anesthetist

Exposure to hospital workLow Cost of Education17The total cost for three years of nursing, including room and board, books, tuition, uniforms the whole kit and caboodle was $375 and I got a scholarship that paid $200 of that so my total nursing cost, outside of blood, sweat, and tears, was about $175.Gene (Class of 1959)

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Gene Tranbarger Class of 1959 First man elected president of the Illinois State Student Nurses Association

Photo Credit: Diaconian, The Yearbook of the Alexian Brothers Hospital School of NursingLow Cost of Education19He said well how would you plan on paying for your education. Well, Ill tell you what, Brother, right now Ive got about maybe 10 bucks but Ill tell you what I would do. After I graduate from high school, Id like to come here to the hospital and work as a patient care attendant and I said I will work my way through the school cause I would really want to go there. Vince (Class of 1959)Low Cost of Education20In August we got a lettereverybody in my class got a letter from Brother Vulgan, the Registrar at the School, informing us that the tuition for the three years had been increased from $900 to $1,100; the Brothers had an arrangement, sort of a scholarship type thing, where if you agreed to stay on as a graduate one year after graduation your whole tuition was waived. Tom OM (Class of 1964)

Influence of Family Member Who Was a Nurse21My father actually graduated from the Alexian Brothers School of Nursing in St. Louis in 1934 and my mother was also a nurse; I worked in a factory for a year where my father was the industrial nurse and got to see a little bit of what he did on the job. I enjoyed watching what his work entailed.Tom C (Class of 1962)

Influence of Family Member Who Was a Nurse22My fathers sister was an Army Nurse in World War II and she influenced my oldest sister and my oldest brother, both of whom are nurses. My oldest brother preceded me at Alexian Brothers by 10 years; he went to ABH School of Nursing specifically to become a nurse anesthetist.Steve (Class of 1968)

Influence of Family Member Who Was a Nurse23If my brother [class of 1961] had never gone to nursing school, neither would I have chosen nursing as a profession.Wayne (Class of 1962)

Desire to be a Nurse Anesthetist24I went through x-ray school with the Air Force and I became interested in anesthesia when I was stationed in Greenland for a year. I used to go in [to the OR] when they did orthopedic cases to take x-rays and I was always interested in what he [the anesthesiologist] was doing Joe (Class of 1961)2425

Joe MorinClass of 1961

Administered anesthesia in a rural hospital in Maine for 30 years

Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Nurse Corps

Photo Credit: Diaconian, The Yearbook of the Alexian Brothers Hospital School of Nursing

Desire to be a Nurse Anesthetist26I was working at Rochester State Hospital as an orderly and they had me work on the surgery unit. They had a school of anesthesia there. We were able to stay at a mens dorm, and two students in their anesthesia school also stayed there and I got to know them and just got interested in anesthesia then. Jerry (Class of 1963)2627

Jerry PierceClass 0f 1963Fall 2009

Estimates that he has done 35,000 anesthesia cases. Never got tired of it. Never wanted to do anything else. Photo Credit: Authors Files

Desire to be a Nurse Anesthetist28So thats the reason that I went into nursing, really, was to be an anesthetist. Out of my class I think there were close to 18 of us who were all going in for anesthesia.Jim C (Class of 1961)28

Exposure to Hospital Work29Joe showed me all the procedures in about the two weeks he had me and he showed me sterile technique, catheters how to catheterize. Along the line then I picked up a lot from the nurses there so that I was doing most everything, doing preps for surgery and giving enemas; the nurse would look over my shoulder it was a duty nurse and she said Jack, she said, youre really good at that. You ought to be a nurse. Jack (Class of 1958)

Exposure to Hospital Work30My Navy experience was great I decided that if I signed up for three years I could choose what field I wanted to work in, so after boot camp I went to [Medical] Corps School, and after that I went to Operating Room Technician School.Merle (Class of 1955)

Exposure to Hospital Work31When I was in high school I was working in the hospital as an orderly and all of a sudden I realized that the hospital was sort of a magical place.Mike K (Class of 1961)Why The ABH School of Nursing?32I dont really recall a lot of the process except that I did contact or apply to every school of nursing in the state of Wisconsin. And, of course, I was turned down by every school in the state of Wisconsin and you know the obvious reason. I was a male and was not accepted; there wasnt a school in the state that accepted men at that time. So we knew that that option was closed. Roger (Class of 1959)Why The ABH School of Nursing?33I couldnt get into the program in Sioux City (that was my home town), - that just threw em for a loop that a male had applied to go into nursing John P (Class of 1963)Why The ABH School of Nursing?34I did apply at 2 or 3 other schools and interestingly enough never heard back from them one way or the other .Mike R (Class of 1969)How Did They Find the ABH School of Nursing?35so I was at the library in Rochester, Minnesota asking if she had any listings of schools of nursing in Minnesota and if she knew if there was any way you could find out if they took male students or not Well, Brother Wendolyn, who was a physical therapist at Alexian Brothers Hospital in Chicago happened to be sitting at the table right next to us and overheard this question. He interrupted and said, excuse me, Im Brother Wendolyn from Chicago, Illinois and Im at the Alexian Brothers Hospital and they do have a school thats just for men. Jerry (Class of 1963)How Did They Find the ABH School of Nursing?36I was working at night part-time and at a golf course mowing grass and one day my mother was reading an article in one of the Catholic magazines about the Alexian Brothers Nursing School and you could go there for like $900 for 3 years and I said, well I think I could handle that. Roy (Class of 1963)

How Did They Find the ABH School of Nursing?37Sister Serephine, the cousin I referred to, was a very brilliant woman and she had a lot of networking and I told her what I wanted to do and then, of course, Sister knew of the Alexian BrothersPatrick (Class of 1962)

The Religious Brothers38I was a member of the Brothers of Mercy and that was a Nursing Order that took care of the sick and the poor and one thing led to another and my Provincial called me in and said were going to send you to Nursing School.John (Class of 1966)[left the Brothers several years after graduation ]

The Religious Brothers39Brother Daniel was Director of the School of Nursing when he interviewed the four of us. I remember distinctly asking him, When you say do you want to go into nursing school, do you mean do you want to go into nursing school or something else? And he said, I mean do you want to go into nursing school, period.So thats why I say, I think they decided that I should go into nursing.Brother Maurice (Class of 1952)[Director of the school from 1954 to 1969]

Brother Maurice Wilson (Class of 1952) in his office in 1955 Appointed Director of the School and Director of Nursing for the Hospital 1954

Photo Credit:Alexian Brothers Provincial Archives

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Was Nursing School a Stepping Stone to Medicine?41My desire was to be a pediatrician and I had a scholarship lined up for medical school but had to get through college on my own and discovered that, even though I went to a rather inexpensive college, at the end of one year I knew that I couldnt afford four years of college.Gene (Class of 1959) 42

Other Recognition includes: Fellow, American Academy of Nursing (FAAN)ANA Luther Christman AwardAAMN Luther Christman Award AAMN Member of the Year Photo Credit: Authors FilesGene Tranbarger (left) receiving recognition as the outgoing president of AAMNFall 2005

Was Nursing School a Stepping Stone to Medicine?43When I graduated [from nursing school] I went to college. I was actually in pre med I thought I was going to go to medical school and this family doctor of mine that got me interested in nursing school to begin with had told me when I was finishing nursing school that if I get into medical school he would pay my medical school tuition. Then while I was at college, he died.Jim H. (Class of 1961)

Was Nursing School a Stepping Stone to Medicine?44Before I went into anesthesia, I took a three year course in shock trauma at Northwestern University and I had a group of anesthesiologists that told me if I would go to medical school and promise to come back and work with their group they would pay for my education. Patrick (Class of 1962)45

Patrick DowneyClass of 1962

President of American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA)1983-841999 Agatha Hodgins Award for Outstanding Accomplishment2007 Ira P. Gunn Award for Outstanding Professional Advocacy

Photo courtesy of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists ArchivesAcknowledgements46The participants who shared their stories and photographs with me

Alexian Brothers Provincial ArchivesDonna Dahl, archivist

American Association of Nurse Anesthetists ArchivesKathy Koch, archivist-librarian

Curry College

My husband, Edward Quigley, for his many years of support