The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1938-07-11

'SPPCh-
CHAPTER "
For the three months that fol-
lowed Tran continued 10 be gem
orally knows as Utility"
Which means that, by misfor-
tune of being the junior proba-
toner in the training schOOl--if
only by three days-she cOntinu-
ed to be- at the beck and call Of
every one.
But after her talk with Miss
Armstrong, she ran errandS and
did chores with the glowing en-
thusiaSm of Il religious fanatic
IL Is true that at times she light
ened her laborS with visions of a
radiant future-the day when DR..
Stephen Sargent. entering his
operating room - white capped
and and gowned and rubber-glov-
ed for actiOn-would look about
him and demand in that lord-of-
creation tone which one of the
Older nurses had told Tran simply
made YOU shake in Your shoes.
but where is Miss Dearborn |
specifically asked for Miss Dear
born for this operation. did | not"
Find Miss Dearborn for me at
once"
On those rare occasions when
she passed him in the corridors
striding along with that way he
had of knowing that the world
was his oyster, and looking, AZ
always, almost Spectacularly fresh
and scrubbed and vital and eff
eient-Tran. mindful of Miss
Armstrong; advice. made herself
as ncOnSpicuOuS as possible.
Not that life for Tran WAS all
made an Of running cvrandS.
There were classes: anatomy,
chemistry, biology. psychology.
Tran took these courses in her
stride. although scholarship here
was q much more cxacting bust
ness than during her earlier school
dayS-at Miss Brands, OF during
those later years when Aunt Clara
had left her casually u year at
school in Germany or in France
or in Italy. ITO ground you
in languages. my dear. No gentle
woman is really educated unless
she speaks at lras: three foreign
tongues"
But learning from books had
always been easy for Tran. . e.
If it were all as simple as that :,
If il were not for remembering
not to notice things that We're
funny, tor Instance.
II was the demonstration class
with Miss Philbin that She liked
best.
The demonstration room was
complete ward in miniature. with
cubicle bed, SterliZer, cabinets full
of ali the necessary paraphernalIa
Of nursing. Even u patient
the long-Sufferiug dummy. whom
practitioners Of former years had
named "Griselda" because of the
Spartan fUrtitude with which she
underwent the most narrowing or
deals. Griselda's eyes were blue
and staring in her pink wooden
face. and she met clumsy student
assaults upon her padded person
with set Smirk of forgiveness.
In the demonstration class you
learned 10 make 4 bed SO that the
sheets lay smooth and tight, with
neatly inferred corners, the closed
end of the pillows turned toward
the door. and the casters parallel
with the head and boot of the bed.
With the Stolid cooperation of
GriSelda, you learned to move and
battle a patient in bed. You learn
ed how 70 prepare Il patient for
various types Of medical eXami-
nation, how TO give hypodermic,
how 10 prepare trays Tor the
most eXacting physician.
You learned everything, in fact,
that you would later be required
to do for living patients. e.
Above all, you learned the mean
ing OF surgical clyanlinesS-whlch
is as much hevond ordinary clean
illness as the heavens are above
the earth.
Then there were the glOrifled
hours when-under the supervi-
sion of u graduate nurse, you
were allowed to go into the wards
and help in little humble proba-
tionary ways - like getting beds
ready for either patients. for in
stance, or carrying trays To con-
yaleScentS. Once or twice Tran
was allowed 10 help one Of the
graduate nurses prepare Il patient
~ ~
This was standing on the threSh-
hold of the great adventures
near as she could hope TO get for
months. Not until the end of a
student nurses first Year did
Saint Vincent's permit her TO go
into an operating room.
On such occasions Tran walked
on air-and almost burst with UNI
spoken questions: for asking queS-
tons in the presence of patients
was not tolerated. And there
were some of the senior nurses
who did not encourage it at any
time. Tran wondered sometimes
If that was because even they
did not know quite all the an
swers. Miss Miller did, of
course; but the icicle" was one
who believed that probationers
should be seen and not heard.
And how, Tran wondered, was
s girl to get along in this strange
world unless she could ask ques-
tiOnS? Needless to say she did
10 such an extent that before long
the nickname of Utility" began
to give way to The Elephants
Child"
Once or twice she managed to
slip into one OF the rooms where
the eases of shining, wickcd-iOUE-