Oral History Program Bertie Olsen Young Criddle Interviewed by Marci Farr 20 October 2008 Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Bertie Olsen Young Criddle Interviewed by Marci Farr 20 October 2008 Copyright © 2010 by Weber State University, Stewart Library Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. Archival copies are placed in Special Collections. The Stewart Library also houses the original recording so researchers can gain a sense of the interviewee's voice and intonations. Project Description The Dee School of Nursing was founded in 1910 to provide training for nurses who would staff the new Dee Memorial Hospital. The first class of eight nurses graduated from the school in 1913 and the school continued to operate until 1955, with a total of more than 700 graduates. A new nursing school and home located just east of the hospital was completed in 1917 and all nursing students were required to live in the home during their training. This oral history project was created to capture the memories of the school's alumni before their stories disappear in the same way the Dee Hospital has disappeared. The oral interviews focus on how the women became involved with the school, their experiences going through training, and how they used the training. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management Special Collections All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the Stewart Library of Weber State University. No part of the manuscript may be published without the written permission of the University Librarian. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed to the Administration Office, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408. The request should include identification of the specific item and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Bertie Olsen Young Criddle, an oral history by Marci Farr, 20 October 2008, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, Special Collections, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Bertie Olsen Young Criddle Application Photo January 6, 1948 Graduation Photo Class of 1951 Bertie Olsen Young Criddle September 16, 2009 Abstract: This is an oral history interview with Bertie Olsen Young Criddle. It was conducted October 20, 2008 and concerns her recollections and experiences with the Dee School of Nursing. The interviewer is Marci Farr. MF: This is Marci Farr. We're interviewing Bertie Olsen Young Criddle at her home at home in Kaysville, Utah. It's October 20, 2008. She graduated from the Dee School of Nursing in 1951. Could you tell us a little bit about your early life, your family, where you went to school and why you decided to become a nurse? BC : I was born and raised in the small town of Morgan, Utah. I attended Morgan Elementary and Morgan High School and graduated in 1948. When I was 17 years old I became ill with Rheumatic Fever. I was bedridden for most of my senior year. Through the months the toxic effects of the Rheumatic Fever traveled to my joints and finally to my appendix. I was rushed to the Dee Hospital for an emergency appendectomy on April 1, 1948. At that time all emergencies at the Dee Hospital were met at the back door and then transported to the 4th floor. When I arrived a group of nurses were waiting at the door for me. I was carried from my father’s car and placed on an operating table. The nurses quickly began removing my clothes, my watch and ring and the Bobby pins from my hair. Everyone was busy working so fast. I was very impressed. I was then transported to the 4th floor and was quickly prepared for surgery. The nurses were all so kind to me that it was then that I decided I wanted to become a nurse. MF: That's a great story. I love to hear stuff like that. Why did you select the Dee? Because it was close to home? 1 BC: No. The reason I selected the Thomas D. Dee Memorial Hospital School of Nursing was because my step mother, La Mar Criddle, had graduated from there. And also my sister, Evelyn Olsen, was receiving her nurses training there at that time. MF: When you were going into nurse's training did you have to take any tests? Were there any assessments or did you just have to apply for the training? BC: In my recollection I had to take comprehensive college entrance exams in order to be accepted. MF: What were your first impressions when you first entered your nurse's training? BC: I was excited yet fearful. Of course, it was a real change for me to go from living in a tiny town to living in a city. Everyone and everything was strange to me so I was filled with anxiety. MF: Had you ever been away from home other than when you were in the hospital? BC: No. MF: So that was your first time away? BC: I had visited my grandparents who lived in central Utah and in Salt Lake City but no, I had never lived away from home. MF: What were some of your first duties you had to do when you were in nurse's training? What were some of the first things you learned to do? BC: In our Nursing Arts classes we learned 'everything'....the various methods of how to take a persons temperature, how to take blood pressure, how to give an enema, how to catheterize and all about giving injections. While we were learning those things it was required that we dress as nurses. We wore our 2 crisp, white uniforms, white nylons, white shoes, and white cap. Our very first duty was to go to the hospital and give A.M. Care to patients. MF: Tell us about that. BC: We had to enter a patient’s room, gently awaken the patient, explain our purpose which was to wash their face and hands, roll up the head of the bed and prepare them for their breakfast. That first day for me was so frightening that my teacher literally had to push me into the patient’s room. We did not know what to expect ... was this patient going to be a crotchety, old man, or was it a little lady that was unable to move very much on her own or would it be a paralyzed patient? It was scary. MF: I'm sure that was so scary, I know we were talking to Sue Naisbitt and she said she was so scared; her first thing she had to do was to give a bed bath. BC: I can certainly relate to that. To give bed baths was challenging and our work was evaluated by our Nursing Arts teacher. She was very particular about the type of overall care we gave. We also had to document every single thing we did for each patient…on their individual charts. MF: Everything was put on paper? BC: Yes, it was. We wrote it out in 'long hand' in the Nurse's notes sheet. MF: Oh that's scary too. BC: We were taught 'Observation skills'. The moment we entered a patient’s room we were expected to see how that patient was doing and what was going on in that room. The nursing instructor would ask us specific questions about each patient. MF: So..major details? 3 BC: Oh, absolutely 'major' details. The Nursing Arts teacher would go into the patient’s room immediately after us to evaluate our care. The first patient I gave a bed bath to was a motorcycle accident victim. He was paralyzed and in a coma. We did not have what's called ICU back then. We were taught to carry on a conversation all the time we gave care to those who are unconscious. So I talked to him as though he was completely o.k. I'd tell him, "Now, I am going to raise your foot to wash it", etc. All the time I was bathing him I was shaking from head to toe myself from fright. But all went well. Thank goodness. MF: That would be so hard. Later it was probably just so natural, just something you did. Do you remember who your house mother was? BC: We had 2 house mothers when I was living at the Nurses Home. I'm not sure about their names. MF: That's what everybody's said this past group: nobody can remember who she was. BC: I recall one name. She was Mrs. McGraw. She was elderly and ornery. She didn't seem to have much patience with teenagers. But the other house mother was sunshiny and tolerant. Young girls have to have some fun. MF: Exactly, because you had a lot of rules. Who was your roommate when you were in nurse's training? BC: When I entered the Nurse's School my first roommate was Jean Waldron. She did not make the grades she needed and she flunked out the first quarter. However, she attended college and returned to Nurse's School the following year and she did graduate. She is deceased now. I had 4 other roommates. 4 Three of them flunked out and one graduated with me. Her name was Norma Vowels who is deceased. MF: What were some of the rules you had to follow while you were in nurse's training? BC: We had to keep our rooms very clean and organized. The Director of Nurses would come periodically to give a 'white glove' inspection. We were expected to be respectful and compatible with our roommate. And we had a definite curfew. The doors to the nurses home were locked every night at midnight. MF: Couldn't be out late? BC: No. However, occasionally we student nurses would be a bit late so we'd knock on one of our classmates windows and she would come to open the back door for us. It was risky to do that because we very well could have been expelled from the school if we were caught breaking the rules. MF: What were some of your favorite classes that you took while you were at the Weber College? BC: I liked the General Ed classes. We attended these at Weber State College the 1st two years of our training. Our Nursing Arts classes were interesting. I liked them very much. Our Nursing Arts teacher was excellent. MF: That's good. So when you learned every floor in the whole hospital when you were in training? BC: Yes. We, student nurse's, worked on every floor at the Dee Hospital. MF: How long did you spend on a floor? BC: We had to follow a specified schedule which was individualized for each one of us. I don't recall the exact amount of time we served on each floor. The 2nd floor consisted of medical patients with older people or those with chronic 5 illness's; the 3rd floor was for surgical patients..before and after their surgery. The 4th floor was pediatrics (babies and young children) and the new part of the 4th floor was for maternity patients. We served in the kitchen learning to make special diets, we worked in central supply for a short period. This is where we learned how to assemble various packets to be autoclaved. These were used in surgery and for various procedures. We served our time in the delivery room and in the nursery. MF: So you could get everything down. BC: Yes. Plus we served at 2 different Affiliations. We lived at the TB Sanitarium here in Ogden, took classes there and took care of the TB patients. MF: I know the later classes have talked about that. Virginia and Sue talked about that they had been to the TB sanitarium. BC: I was trained and worked there for about maybe 3 or 4 months. When that affiliation was over I was sent to Provo for Psychiatric training. It was not easy. MF: Everybody said that was one of the hardest things. BC: Yes. Working with psychiatric patients is very challenging. MF: That would be hard. They said you'd walk in there and there's a bed blocking you and the person and you just didn't know because the drugs weren't there to take care of the needs of the patient if they had a mental illness. Others have said that was the hardest thing. Trying to figure out what was wrong, what would work? What was something that you would do for fun if you had a night off? If you weren't working what was something you would do? BC: I dated quite a lot. We would go out to eat and to movies. We went roller skating and as much as possible we went dancing. 6 MF: I know we were talking to Lois Murray. She graduated in 1947. She said that when they'd go out they'd wear their nurses uniform. They did this because then they didn't feel like they got hit on and they felt like they had more respect if they had their uniforms on. BC: Oh, really? I never wore my uniform except for nursing work and during our Nursing Arts classes. MF: That was during the war. BC: We didn't ever do that. We always wore normal clothes to go downtown or out for the evening. MF: It's kind of interesting to know what other people have had to say. BC: I'll bet it has. MF: Who were some of your instructors that you had while in training? BC: Marie Manning taught us a few classes. You've heard of her? MF: Yes. BC: Miss Manning was a good teacher. My favorite teacher was Miss Pace. She taught us all the nursing procedures.. .catheterization, how to gavage, all about giving injections, how to bandage. She taught us everything. MF: Oh good. So they just taught you how to act and how to do things, like you said to observe. Was she the one that taught you how to observe? BC: Yes. She was a superb teacher. MF: That's good because I don't think now they do that. Do you think so? I mean they come in and check the monitor and that's about it. BC: Yes. The nursing care in hospitals nowadays lacks quality. MF: And it's sad that they've lost that art. BC: It certainly is. 7 MF: Tell us a little about your capping ceremony. BC: We sent out invitations to our parents and other family members. My dad and my stepmother and my sister and her husband were in attendance for that special occasion. It was an inspiring evening. After the music and the doctors speech, our plain white caps were placed on our heads. That meant our probation period was over and we were well on our way toward our degree. MF: That was after you were in the program for six months? BC: Yes. We were probee's for 6 months. During our 1st year we were allowed to wear one vertical black stripe on our caps. During the 2nd year we wore 2 black stripes on our caps; the 3rd year we wore 3 stripes and finally we were able to remove the vertical stripes for a black stripe worn horizontally all around the top of our caps. These stripes indicated how much schooling/training we had had. We attended school summer, winter, spring and fall so those 3 years were equivalent to four years of college because we were never out for a summer. MF: Did you have vacation time at all? BC: No. We attended school and worked full time at the hospital. MF: Did you just have your day off, two a week and that was it? BC: Yes, that was it. And sometimes we were “on call.” MF: But it was probably nice though to have that schooling done, you know. BC: We received our academic schooling along with the 'hands-on' experience. Putting to work what we had learned in class helped us to retain the knowledge. It seems to me that the hospital nurses of today are not as efficient or as caring for their patients as in former days. MF: Who were some of your favorite doctors that you worked with? 8 BC: Dr. Dean Tanner and Dr. Lindsey Curtis were my favorites. Dr. Tanner was a skilled plastic surgeon. I worked with him in surgery. Dr. Curtis was one of our teachers. He was a gynecologist. They were both excellent doctors. The nurses were required to stand up whenever a doctor walked into the 'charting' room. We stood at attention all the while the doctor was in that room. MF: Really, even while they were writing all their stuff? BC: Yes.. .while they were talking or writing orders...we stood and waited. MF: Oh my goodness. BC: Even to this day when I see a doctor I feel like I should be standing up. MF: Oh that's interesting. BC: Didn't any of the other nurses tell you that? MF: They just said if you were in the room, you know, you just stood there and waited until they were done. BC: We did just that! And if a doctor needed a nurse to accompany him to see a patient he would look around the room and take notice of the 'stripes' on our caps. The doctor would then point his finger and say "I don't want to take you with me. I will take the nurse with 2 stripes." The selected nurse would then accompany the doctor...either to assist him or to be taught how to change a surgical dressing or whatever. Some patients in those days remained in the hospital for weeks and sometimes over a month until the doctor thought the patient was well enough to function without nursing care. We did not release anyone until they were well. MF: That's true. BC: Many patients nowadays are being discharged from the hospital way too soon. 9 MF: Stay and recuperate. BC: Yes. That is my belief. MF: That's interesting. Yes, we've heard those doctors names. We've heard they were wonderful men, great contributors to the hospital and people were able to get excellent care. That's wonderful. Tell us about what would have been one of your greatest challenges when you were in nurses training? Is there anything you can think of? BC: Psychiatry was my greatest challenge. While I was there I had some harrowing experiences. Strong college students were hired to protect us in the most disturbed wards. Patients were very unpredictable. It was downright frightening to work there. MF: That's so scary. BC: Working in the psychiatric hospital was a nightmare for me. MF: I'm sure you were glad when those two months were up and you were done. BC: Yes, I was relieved when the time there was up. However, we were there longer than two months. MF: You were there for six months? BC: We were there from January 1st to June 1st....five long months MF: Oh yes, that would be nerve racking. BC: It was especially bad since I had to work 'double duty' in the most disturbed ward. MF: That would be so hard, you'd never know what their reaction was going to be. How do you think your training at the Dee Hospital served you later on in life? What did you do with your nursing degree? 10 BC: I got married immediately following my psychiatric affiliation.. .while I was still in nursing school. After graduation and was a full fledged RN, I continued working at the Dee Hospital for approximately 15 months. I worked on the pediatric floor and loved it. My experiences there helped me when I was raising my own six children. I worked there at the hospital until I started my own family. Then when my youngest child was age 4, I took a 'refresher course' at a Salt Lake City Hospital and went to work in home health part time then went into public health full time. My work helped fund our children’s college and church missions. But it was challenging for me to return to work after many years. MF: That's true. BC: When I was working in home health, I remember feeling grateful for the nurses training I had had at the Thomas D. Dee Memorial School of Nursing. MF: Oh good. So your training probably served you well as far as being able to do anything. BC: I don't know about my being able to do 'anything' but I had confidence in my abilities as a nurse. My nursing education and nursing experiences helped me raise my family. It has proved 'valuable' to me. MF: That's good. We were talking about the impact of the hospital itself and the doctors and then your training as a nurse. It's just amazing how this community put out all the nurses and how much they have affected Ogden. BC: It is wonderful that someone chose this project and has been working hard at it. MF: You didn't work at the Dee just for a year and a half and then you just did your home health care and then you didn't do anything at the hospitals? 11 BC: As I said..I worked at the Dee Hospital on the pediatric floor for about a year and a half then I took a 'refresher course' at a hospital. I did not work for any hospital after the birth of my children instead I chose to work where I didn't have to do shift work. Home health and public health work allowed me to be home when my children were home. MF: When did you retire from nursing? BC: I retired in 1981. Some of my children were getting married and I needed to be home to make plans. MF: How do you think nursing has changed over the years? We've talked a little about nursing care. What do you think as far as technology? BC: I think technology has really bounded forward and I think that is wonderful. But the nursing care and how the nurses dress is very disappointing to me. Since they all wear sloppy-looking, loose fitting scrubs they don't appear one bit professional. To me it is difficult to tell who is a nurse from who is there to mop the floor. In past times, we all knew who the nurse was. Last year I had to spend time as a patient in various hospitals. It has been very disappointing. The nurses don't seem to have the skills they should have. I have wanted to call out to them, "Hey, that's not how you do that." MF: Exactly, because you know. BC: Yes, I just have to keep my mouth shut. If my husband happens to say, "My wife is a nurse." The nurse or whoever is caring for me seems to get nervous. MF: Then they're nervous because you will know if they do one thing wrong. BC: Well, in my opinion when a nurse enters a patient’s room they should be prepared. If a nurse is there to give an injection she should take notice of how the patient appears...is he/she comfortable or are the pillows crumpled behind 12 them in a lump, or are the sheets rumpled up underneath them, is the patient perspiring, does this patient need a soothing back rub before or following the injection. These type of thoughts should be circulating in the nurses judgement. I think todays nursing care needs some adjustment. MF: It is sad. BC: Somehow it should be corrected. MF: It's so interesting how much it has totally changed. You told me that you still get together with some of your classmates. BC: Yes, we try. MF: You get together once a year at least? BC: If possible. MF: It's probably nice to still stay in contact with them. BC: Our get togethers usually happen when classmates from out of town come into town. Then we attempt to meet for lunch. MF: So your most stressful experience was probably your psychiatric? BC: Definitely. Although there was a good teacher at the mental hospital and I learned a lot. I still remember the experiences there were awful. As a student nurse 'electric shock' therapy was performed in the Dee Hospital. It took from 4 to 6 of us to help hold the patient down during the grand mal seizure. It was not a pleasant experience either. MF: Was that for people that had mental illnesses? Is that what that was for? BC: Yes, it was. Medications for the mentally ill were not as readily available in those days. MF: So the medicine part has totally come a long way. BC: It has. But I think we have a lot of patients that should be in a mental hospital. 13 MF: It's hard and then that brings up the question of where would you put those people. How would you take care of them, who's willing to foot the bill. It's just sad that we don't have places for them where people that can take care of them. BC: My sister who became a nurse loved psychiatry. It was her very favorite nursing experience. MF: Really? BC: Yes. The psychiatric affiliation for her was in Wyoming. I think it was called Anaconda. And following my sisters marriage she chose to work with mental health patients. MF: Wow. See that's what Ruth Brown did. She did her Ph.D in that. BC: I realize that some nurses did enjoy working in psychiatry but not me. MF: Well, we appreciate you letting us come and visit with you. Did you have any other thoughts of things you've thought of about nurse's training? BC: It was a wonderful experience all in all. And I'm just glad I chose that profession. I have enjoyed being an RN. MF: It worked out for you. BC: It most certainly has. My nurse’s training has helped me in countless ways. MF: I appreciate you sharing that with us. We appreciate the pictures too, so thank you. BC: You are most welcome. And thank you for all your work on this historic project. 14