Meeting My Best Friend

An event occurred yesterday which triggered all sorts of memories about nursing school so I decided to do a series of blogs about my adventures in nursing school. Some of them are just plain funny now but were not at the time. Some of them will reflect the nursing culture of the time and some can be used in current life. I see my best friend from nursing school, Gena at least four to six times a year. She always says to me I don’t know how you remember this stuff. Yet I cannot remember what happened yesterday. I have been told many times I should write a book. I find that way too overwhelming, plus I cannot spell and I have syntax issues so my legacy will be my blog.

So it was April or May of 1985 and I had been accepted into Lutheran School of Nursing. I had toured the dorm and the school. I had a friend who was attending at the time as well. However, that year Lutheran decided they would not accept any financial aid. This was a huge roadblock for me, as I qualified for financial aid and planned to use it. So I found myself scrambling for another nursing school. I do not remember how I found out about Deaconess College of Nursing but I applied and was accepted. I remember meeting with the lady that would be my pediatric rotation instructor. I should have ran out right then but then I wouldn’t have all these stories to tell.

Although Deaconess was thirty minutes from my house, I planned to live on campus. I did not have a car so commuting was not an option. I remember specifically requesting a roommate that did not smoke. Yes back in those days we put smokers together in hospital rooms so they could smoke. Anyway my roommates name was Kathy and although she did smoke we lived together through first semester of second year until she had to commute to save on tuition. Sadly I lost touch with her shortly after graduation but have thought of her many times over the years.

That first night the boys had a party. Oh I digress. The male nurses had their own house about two blocks away. They were not allowed to live in the girl dorms and all males had to be signed in and out. Also all males had to leave by ten pm. If you were caught with a boy overnight you were expelled from nursing school. I am sure a couple girls pulled it off but I was such a rule follower there was no way I would ever attempt that. So at this lame party I would meet Gena and Leah. They both lived on my floor as well. St. Elmo’s Fire had come out that summer and Gena reminded me of Mare Winningham. We became instant friends.

School would start the next day in which anything lower than a seventy-six percent was a fail. I just knew every single day for three years that I was going to fail out. So much pressure and it hasn’t changed much over the past thirty-five years. Of course I did not ever fail a class and actually never made less than a B. I must say my self confidence has not improved much over the years.

Mole Moral ~ Last minute change led to an incredible friendship.