Nursing skeletons of th e past

by Abena Beloved Green

Francene Cosman reflects on her life before she became a political pioneer

Nurse!

Francene Cosman

OC Publishing

Concerned that she might run out of time to record an important era in her life and in the nursing profession, Francene Cosman “put [herself] back into discipline mode” and penned Nurse! Penned it. Literally. “I don’t write creatively on a computer. I write it all longhand and then I dictate it back by reading it. That sounds bulky but my creative juices flow best when I have a pen and notebook,” she says.

Cosman’s memories proved vivid as she recollected her intensive nursing training at New Brunswick’s Saint John General Hospital in 1959 and career path thereafter.

While some readers will know her as the first mayor of Bedford, N.S., and for her time as an MLA in Nova Scotia, this book recounts her first calling.

She details the demands placed on student nurses in terms of knowledge, on-site application and personal presentation. From the description of uniform requirements and the coveted “whites” demonstrating the completion of a rite of passage in the nursing world, to high-stress and heartfelt encounters on different wards, Nurse! quite naturally pulls readers into the nervousness, eagerness, fatigue, precision and sense of accomplishment folded into the reality of bedside nursing.

Cosman did well to explain injuries, ailments, symptoms and procedures in detailed and accessible language so that anyone, regardless of knowledge of medical language, could understand and visualize the careful tasks that had to be done, whether it was testing blood or disinfecting a room. Additional reflections that add value to this book were those regarding rules around pregnancy while in nursing school as well as changes that have occurred within professional training over the decades.

I found myself moving through Nurse! rather quickly and looking forward to picking up the book. Cosman has animated her memories in true narrative style, pulling the reader into several mini-stories. She then zooms out and offers insight on the societal context at the time. It was easy to form pictures in one’s mind of the author rushing from class to the hospital to the dorm, and her cast of classmates and patients in various scenes. I cheered her on when she described anxious moments during surgery and the risks she took during school, as if the day-to-day duties didn’t apply enough pressure.

This memoir will give readers fresh insight into the gritty details of what nursing entails and leave them with a renewed respect for nurses (and laundry staff and cleaners). Readers are reminded that simple sanitization and bed-making alone is doing infection control and takes diligence, attentiveness and consistency.

Readers will relate to the uncertainty of having to decide, at some point, what paths to take in life and then moving forward on that path with steadfastness and hopefulness, despite its rigour and moments of occasional self-doubt. ■

Poet, writer and dancer ABENA BELOVED GREEN seeks to create, engage and elevate through words and movement. She teaches people to write stories of their own through workshops and coaching. Her first book of poetry, The Way We Hold On, was published by Pottersfield Press. Raised in Antigonish, N.S., Abena now resides in eastern Ontario with her family.