Swisher graduated in 1955. By the end of the year, the new center wing of Deaconess Hospital was completed, bringing the total number of patient beds up to 253. Swisher said patient care strategies were different at that time. A nurse was able to spend more time with patients because their length of stay was so long. It didn't matter if patients were acutely ill or not.
Care given now is much more intensive than it used to be.
Commitment to Patient Care After graduation, she went back home to Troy to work at a doctor's office. The job required her to perform a variety of duties along with her regular nursing responsibilities, from home care and lab tests to X-rays. In 1956, Swisher returned to Spokane and completed her bachelor's degree at Whitworth. She then became a staff nurse and a faculty member at the Deaconess School of Nursing. Swisher worked as a nurse in several areas throughout the hospital, including pediatrics, obstetrics and the neonatal intensive care unit.