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LIFELONg INSPIRATION
Nurse has seen change and 50history over a
year career
By Denny Angelle
As she approaches a monumental milestone of work at The Methodist Hospital, Norma Salahshour asserts that very little has changed since she was a fresh-faced graduate beginning her first job.
In July, Salahshour will celebrate 50 years of working at Methodist, every second of it as a nurse. Is it even possible to hold the same job for 50 years? Just a few years ago even Salahshour would not have been able to answer that question. “It has always been about helping people when they need help the most,” she explains. “That has never changed, as far as I know.”
Although The Methodist Hospital and the nursing field have evolved radically over the years, Salahshour finds the same inspiration to come to work today as she did five decades ago. “It all starts in your heart,” she says. “I have always been interested in helping people.” Fifty years as a registered nurse is incredible enough, but five decades working at the same hospital is an even greater achievement. “Being a colleague of Norma’s has been one of the most significant gifts I’ve had in my career as a nurse,” says Ann Scanlon McGinity, Ph.D., RN, chief nursing executive for The Methodist Hospital. “Norma is a wise, compassionate and knowledgeable woman who has continuously influenced our nursing organization on its journey towards excellence. … She is the spirit and heart of what we all aspire to be as leaders of nurses,” she says. Salahshour has been a nursing administrator virtually all of her time at Methodist. A native of Nederland, Texas, she came to Houston in 1961 to seek work as a nurse in the Texas Medical Center. “At that time, a female only had a few choices if she wanted to work,” she says. “You could become a secretary or a teacher, or if you wanted to go to school for it, you could become a nurse.”
She was inspired to become a nurse by a childhood friend, who in first grade asked Salahshour if the two could become nurses together. “That stayed with me all of my life,” she says. “My friend did indeed go into nursing, and I did too.” Upon graduation from Beaumont’s Baptist Hospital/Lamar College nursing program, Salahshour and two of her fellow graduates sought out the best-paying nursing jobs they could find. The search led them to Houston and The Methodist Hospital.
The Methodist experience
After working as a staff nurse for two years, she was promoted to head nurse of Methodist’s cancer treatment unit in 1963.
Norma Salahshour
Today she remains the nursing director of the hospital’s Main 8 Northwest cancer unit, consistently one of the top-performing hospital departments for patient satisfaction and quality care. “I just believe that everyone who comes to this floor deserves the best care we can give them,” she says. One wall of the nursing unit is covered with framed photographs, plaques and other keepsakes from the families of patients who were treated on Salahshour’s floor. One day recently, a man appeared in her office doorway — he was the husband of a cancer patient who was treated there and died 17 years ago. “I don’t really know why they come back. I think they remember the nurses and the care they received, even if the outcome wasn’t what they wanted,” she reflects. “We make a very deep personal connection with our patients.” With Salahshour’s blessing, staff members have occasionally organized special parties or events for patients who have grown close to the nurses. Last year, the unit’s nurses staged a surprise baby shower for a patient who had her baby before she began receiving chemotherapy to treat cardiac sarcoma, a rare form of cancer where tumors grow in or around the heart. Salahshour is often involved in getting members of the Houston Astros and the Houston Texans to visit patients on her unit. “We had a patient here a few years ago, and we were able to get a couple of the Astros to visit because he was a big baseball fan,” Salahshour recalls. “When the players were in his room, the patient began to cry because he was so pleasantly surprised. He died about a week later, and I am really glad we were able to create such a happy moment for him.”
The nurses and other staff on Salahshour’s unit are inspired by their director, and they reflect her deep compassion and dedication. Many of the staff have worked for Salahshour for many years — Melva Perdido, a nursing manager who has worked on the unit for 25 years, has been a nurse for 44 years. When nurses new to the profession or new to the hospital begin work on Salahshour’s unit, she tells them two things: One, get to work on time. And two, always follow policies and procedures. Salahshour swears she’s always gotten to work on time. However on number two, she has bent the rules a bit. “There used to be a rule that small children couldn’t visit patient rooms. … We had a patient who was dying and wanted to see his kids one more time. They were able to visit,” Salahshour says. “And before we had pet visits, another patient wanted to see his dog. … I told the family to bring the dog after hours. How can you tell someone ‘no’ when they are in that position?” Salahshour has never considered seeking another job for a more prestigious position or more money. “Like any job there have been ups and downs, but I know that I could never come up with a good reason to leave Methodist,” she explains. “I don’t feel that I have made any sacrifices. I feel the same today as I did when I started in 1961: This is the place where I can do my best.”
Evolution of nursing
Half a century at work is a great vantage point to witness change, and Salahshour has certainly seen the role of nurses evolve over the years. “Nurses have become more accountable and responsible for patients’ care, and physicians depend on nurses more than ever for patient care,” she says. The science of nursing has matured to keep pace with the evolution of the science of medicine, Scanlon McGinity says. “Skills of nurses have moved further into research and technology, which has created a greater demand for the knowledge and intellectual offerings that nursing can contribute,” she explains. “Nursing contributes to the community far beyond just caring for folks in hospitals.” As the importance of quality and patient safety have become a major focus in health care, nursing has been identified as a vital factor in maintaining a high level of quality care. “Because of that, nurses have many more responsibilities than they did in past decades,” Scanlon McGinity says. “Today’s nurses have more opportunities to move into administration and education. Nurses are involved in the addition and use of technology, and have an important say when units are being built or renovated.” For example, Salahshour was involved in the creation of Methodist’s Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, which is now housed on the same floor as her unit. In the late 1970s, she also wrote a proposal for a novel use for two four-bed wards on her 30-bed nursing unit. “I suggested we use the space and beds in those two wards as an outpatient unit,” she says. “It was Methodist’s first dedicated space for outpatients.” What keeps Salahshour at Methodist? “I’ve never really wanted to work any place else,” she says. “This really is a great place to be.” In 1968, Salahshour’s son Jeffrey was born at Methodist, and her three grandchildren were born at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital. “All of the people I’ve worked with, and still work with each day, are like a second family to me,” Salahshour says. “Believe it or not, I still enjoy getting up and coming to work every day.” n
Nurse Norma Salahshour consults with Dr. Dan Lehane in this 1980 photo.
