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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
A fun read, especially as I have just finished my four years of nursing. Sometimes the author tends to brag about herself a little bit too much, but overall it was an easy and fun read and very interesting to look at nursing in the 1950's. Although some things have changed there was a lot of very apparent similarities.
Ever since I read the Sue Barton: Nurse books as a girl, I’ve been interested in reading books about nursing, particularly in the ‘olden’ days when there were Sisters and Matrons and nurses wore caps. (I’m sure some of my nurse friends would be horrified with my thoughts). This book appeared on Kobo and I had to have it. It tells the story of Jennifer’s training as a nurse at the Leeds General Infirmary in the 1950s – the highs, the lows and the friends. This book is very funny in places (eg. climbing up a rope ladder after being locked out of the nurses’ home) and very sad in others (eg. death of a baby, a colleague being diagnosed with schizophrenia).
It also highlights the differences in nursing today and back then – in Jennifer’s days, nurses did some of the cooking for the patients, cleaned the ward (including dusting) and were expected to be subservient to the ward sister and Matron. These days, nurses don’t cook generally (that’s why there’s kitchen staff) or clean (orderlies and cleaners are employed) and everyone’s pretty much on first name terms. I’m not a nurse, but being called ‘Sister’ in my hospital is a term that you’re one of the gang, rather than a sign of authority.
It was interesting to read that about 30% of the other students Jennifer (or Jenny) started with actually completed the course. Nursing seems like hard work – long day shifts, split shifts, night shifts – and then study as well. There was bullying of nurses and restrictions on dress, code of conduct etc. It was heartening though to read about the strong friendships made during her time at LGI.
Easy to read and well written, this is a good read for an insight into those times. Although it wraps up rather quickly and abruptly, it is still an interesting one.
It also highlights the differences in nursing today and back then – in Jennifer’s days, nurses did some of the cooking for the patients, cleaned the ward (including dusting) and were expected to be subservient to the ward sister and Matron. These days, nurses don’t cook generally (that’s why there’s kitchen staff) or clean (orderlies and cleaners are employed) and everyone’s pretty much on first name terms. I’m not a nurse, but being called ‘Sister’ in my hospital is a term that you’re one of the gang, rather than a sign of authority.
It was interesting to read that about 30% of the other students Jennifer (or Jenny) started with actually completed the course. Nursing seems like hard work – long day shifts, split shifts, night shifts – and then study as well. There was bullying of nurses and restrictions on dress, code of conduct etc. It was heartening though to read about the strong friendships made during her time at LGI.
Easy to read and well written, this is a good read for an insight into those times. Although it wraps up rather quickly and abruptly, it is still an interesting one.
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
I was really getting into the storyline of this book at the beginning, but by around the middle, it was a slog and kind of hard to get through the last third. It felt like she was a bit smug and self-satisfied by how great of a ward sister she was, that all of the nursing students and “perms” were looking to her as almost their friend, when really, she was their boss. I also didn’t like that some of the medical terms and procedures were fully explained in great detail, and others were just left there for the reader to have to look up themselves. If you are not in the healthcare field, you would be lost by more than half of this book even if you were paying close attention to some of the things the author outlines. I also get the sense that even though the author explained at the beginning that some of the stuff is true and some is manufactured (because FYI, no one’s memories are foolproof), a lot of things didn’t feel authentic to me (Nurse here by the way!).
And a big thing for me unfortunately is that I basically spoiled my neutral opinion of this author at the beginning of my journey with this book: I looked at her Goodreads page and she had rated highly and reviewed a book about climate change skepticism/denial and said it was a way to “ward off global warming religionists and the like, who are already getting on my nerves”. BORE OFF woman, PLEASE! It really tainted my experience of the book to be honest with you and I really did spoil myself even though this book wasn’t the greatest overall.
I think going forward I will definitely read books similar to this one ("Call the Midwife" like books about nurses set in the 50’s and 60’s) because although this one didn’t work, doesn’t mean that the whole genre/theme of the book didn’t work.
And a big thing for me unfortunately is that I basically spoiled my neutral opinion of this author at the beginning of my journey with this book: I looked at her Goodreads page and she had rated highly and reviewed a book about climate change skepticism/denial and said it was a way to “ward off global warming religionists and the like, who are already getting on my nerves”. BORE OFF woman, PLEASE! It really tainted my experience of the book to be honest with you and I really did spoil myself even though this book wasn’t the greatest overall.
I think going forward I will definitely read books similar to this one ("Call the Midwife" like books about nurses set in the 50’s and 60’s) because although this one didn’t work, doesn’t mean that the whole genre/theme of the book didn’t work.