as you are struggling with nursing school, here is something for you to consider about those nursing students who have traveled this road before you.

there is a beautiful youtube video that someone made about their grandmother's diary comments while she was in a hospital based diploma nursing program in the 1930's. it truly is precious. i attached a link to the videos called "a nurse in training - parts 1 & 2"

part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p14eyohdbiu

part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3f3bw2zehg

part 1 is more about getting into the program and part 2 is more about the day-to-day activitites as a student nurse.

at one time, almost all nursing programs were "diploma programs". you would work at the hospital and the hospital would train you to be a nurse. the ladies (almost all were ladies at that time) lived in dorm like housing at the hospital. it really was a neat process.

from what i recall, it was a 2 or 3 year program. don't get the idea that this was inferior training or easier training, these ladies were well trained. it was tough and fairly militaristic.

hope you enjoy!

P.S. Really curious about your thoughts about the videos.

What did you think about the doctor just leaving her (a student) to deliver the baby in Video 2? What did you think about her working in the same hospital for 50 years? I just really thought the videos were cool and would love to hear your comments.

Those videos were beautiful! Thank you so much for posting them. There's such a sense of history with the nursing profession, which I love.

I have also heard that the nursing schools "back then" were tough, and like you said, rather militaristic.

I loved her story, and the photos were amazing too. Thanks again for showing us this!

I'm glad you enjoyed the videos. I thought they were amazing. I hope everyone will take 5 minutes and at least take a quick look. 50 years as a nurse in the same hospital! Just think of the things that she saw from the 1930's through the 1980's.

It's so important that we look at where we've been so we can understand where we're going.

I really enjoyed them. I cannot believe she was just left to deliver the baby and then to have it stillborn to boot. yikes! Really tells the story of her life, and nice to see the path of those before us. Thanks for sharing

I always find the past very interesting. I love to talk with my grandparents and hear them tell stories of their past, during the great depression, from their eyes. It's very enlightening.

It's also pretty cool to see how nursing school was back then (not always in a hospital but in many different settings). It's also very neat that we get to see how treatments have changed (like the TB ward on the roof of the hospital).

Thank you for sharing these! It makes me want to write a diary so my grandchildren can discover it one day!

I think it would be a really neat idea to keep a diary all the way through nursing school like she did. That's the only reason that her grand daughter was able to do this video. She took the comments from her grandmother's diary.