Earleen Allen Francis Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield
Earleen Allen Francis Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield
Earleen Allen Francis Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield
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Ehrleen <strong>Allen</strong> <strong>Francis</strong> 20<br />
f<br />
in trouble. They'd lock the doors and you'dhave tor' the kll. No<br />
way <strong>of</strong> biding it. No windaws to clirrb into or anythimg ike that. It<br />
was realay rough.<br />
Q. Mmt ms it like dter you =re no longer a probatimer?<br />
A. kll, just the sam -pt by that th you'd been in so m y classes<br />
you =re able to do sr;mething besides dirty mrk. You could give treaOnents<br />
and take blood pressures and give hypos and pass ~lledicines and bathe<br />
patients. And then you got to making beds, had special training in<br />
chmgbg a bed with a patient in it, and all that sort <strong>of</strong> thing. You<br />
advanced as you m t along.<br />
Q. And this w s 36 wnths strawt?<br />
A. Straight through, 36 months, with tm weks <strong>of</strong>f every sumer to go<br />
see yam family . Christmas<br />
-<br />
and Thanksgiving didn't man a thing. You<br />
were ri@t there and you stayed there. Those girls dm lived in Chicago,<br />
they wme all right. They could go ham, or their parents muld c m to<br />
see thern. But us gals fran elsewhere, w didn't have people around<br />
there. It w tough, it really rough.<br />
Q. So you say 17 out <strong>of</strong> your class <strong>of</strong> 80. . . ?<br />
A. Sewateen out <strong>of</strong> eighty graduated. Wlt I think they overdid it in<br />
that t-. They =re mean. If you ere Om minutes late etting in, yau<br />
tau@ hell for it. You Ere pudshed and yau had your ha K f-day taken<br />
away fran you and all that sort <strong>of</strong> thing. You wxen't allowd to do<br />
anything but say "yes man'' and ''no man.'' 'Ihey exploited us. They<br />
didn't have any graduate nurses on the payroll there, just ervisows.<br />
Che on avery floor to supervise. They used us. W wre abso T utely<br />
qloited. Used for cheap labor. After Wrld War 11 things changed.<br />
Q. thy did they change?<br />
A. Well, w =re wrkhg 7 to 7, tmlve hours a day. 'Ihe army m s doing<br />
the sarne thing, and they began to fight about it in the army. The chief<br />
rmsse mt to headquarters and said "You don't wrk your rn like that,<br />
so *y do you wrk yauw nurses like this?" So finally nurses got on<br />
three shifts, eight hours a day. W11, when the services all got on it,<br />
the public ddn't put up with it. That's w got eight-how days,<br />
during the fnkll:. Of course, I w s behind the Iron Curtain. I didn't know<br />
what was go* on until I got back.<br />
Q. Nut =re relations like bemen nurses and doctors?<br />
A. Wll, = as students didn't have rrauch relation with doctors until ve<br />
got to be a senior. 'Ihie supervising nurse talked with the doctors. She<br />
usually an old mid dm never got married and devoted her whole life<br />
to nursing. Wlen you got into youw sentor year, you could assum a<br />
little responsibility.<br />
Q. took care <strong>of</strong> medications?
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