A FAMILY AFFAIR

Celebrating the proud tradition of registered nursing

Alberta RN continues to feature stories and photos that members chose to share to honour their relatives and the proud tradition of the nursing profession.

Grandmother and granddaughter share a bond through nursing

"When I was little, Nanna didn't work anymore as a registered nurse, but for anything that hurt, or for wisdom or knowledge, I was told, 'Go ask Nanna'." I began to see her as the consultant, the giver of advice," says Deb Sterling-Bauer of her grandmother, Marion McBain. "My grandmother's hard work, character and values are instilled in our family. I'm proud to follow in her footsteps."

Deb graduated in 1990, nearly 70 years after her grandmother who graduated in 1933 from the Royal Alexandra Hospital school of nursing. Deb earned her RN diploma from the Misericordia Hospital school of nursing and two years later earned her post-RN degree from the University of Alberta.

Marion's initial career choice was teaching, but a memorable summer experience changed her mind. "My dad was a dentist," says Marion. "Each summer, he worked with the Alberta Travelling Clinic. When I was 16, I spent my summer holiday with the clinic. I observed and they let me do a little bit of everything." Two years later, Marion enrolled in nursing school.

She graduated during the Depression and there was little work. She performed special duty nursing until the Royal Alexandra Hospital finally hired her. She worked several years before marrying. "Then my career came to a grinding halt," says Marion.

Deb's early nursing experience in the 1990s has an uncanny similarity to her grandmother's. "I graduated during the cutbacks; there were few jobs. 1 worked in a doctor's office for four years. Every afternoon, I phoned the Grey Nuns Hospital hoping they needed me for a night shift."

Eventually, things turned around like they had for her grandmother. "I was offered a position in the University of Alberta Hospital ICU and worked there for four years." Today, Deb Sterling-Bauer teaches second year nursing students enrolled at Grant MacEwan College and she works casual in several hospital units during the summer.

Favourite stories are passed down from grandmother to granddaughter. Marion tells about the time she delivered a baby in her lace evening gown. "We just got home from a party when our neighbour came to ask us to phone the doctor because his wife's baby was coming. It had been raining so I put on rubber boots and walked down the muddy road. By the time I got there, the baby was ready to pop. The husband tied pyjamas around my middle, and I delivered the baby."

"Nanna and I often talk about how students today learn skills in the lab, practice on each other, and gather background before they work with patients in hospitals," says Deb. In contrast, Marion says, "We were in the hospital right from the beginning, fitting classes in-between times."

Marion recalls, "As students, we had to be in residence by 10, and were given four late leaves 'til midnight each month. When I failed my first anatomy exam, I lost six late leaves. Needless to say, I didn't do that again."

Marion's daughter, Joanne (McBain) Dunagin, is also an RN. She graduated in 1962 from the University of Alberta Hospital school of nursing and is employed as a school nurse in Louisiana. When she comes to Alberta to visit, she describes the care she provides students and the acuity of their conditions-trachs, ventilators-"Things you don't expect to see at school are now there," Deb observes.

Marion's sister, Donnie Heacock Gillett, now deceased, graduated from the University of Alberta faculty of nursing in 1939. Donnie began her nursing career with the Victorian Order of Nurses during World War II and was later hired by the Alberta Provincial Lab where she eventually became the head of the tuberculosis department.

"The important thread that goes through our family is that nursing is an opportunity. I'd like to take my master's," Deb says. "There is so much diversity; nurses can find their place. I tell my students, 'You're here to learn the basics. After this, you can do anything.'"

Copyright Alberta Association of Registered Nurses Apr 2005
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