The Cross Family Business

From left: Lindsay Gustafson, Jennifer Cross, Susan Oosterhoff, Cathy Cross

The women in the Cross family are part of a long tradition of nursing and nursing education that is intricately tied to Red Deer College. Jennifer Cross was the Associate Dean of the School of Health Sciences at RDC for three years, and an instructor for more than 30. Lindsay Gustafson (Bachelor of Science – Nursing, 2001), began her relationship with RDC as a toddler in RDC Child Care, then a student of the Nursing Program and is now an instructor in the Practical Nurse program. Cathy Cross (Nursing, 1979, Post-Basic Nursing, 2000, Nurse Refresher, 2004), completed the RDC Nursing program just two years before Jennifer began her teaching career, and returned to RDC a number of times. Susan Oosterhoff (Post-RN, Bachelor of Science – Nursing, 1988), completed her Nursing program at the University of Alberta Hospital, but took advantage of a number of professional development opportunities at RDC as the field of nursing evolved.

THE CROSS LEGACY IN NURSING began with their mother, Josephine, and their Aunt Betty, both of whom worked at the Red Deer Nursing Home – Josephine as a nurses’ aide and Betty as the Director of Nursing. All three of the Cross sisters worked as nurses’ aides at the Red Deer Nursing Home before finding careers in nursing, but the choice to pursue that path wasn’t immediately clear for any of them. “I didn’t have aspirations to become a nurse, but I thought I needed to do something,” says Jennifer. “So, I applied to Holy Cross Hospital School of Nursing and thought, ‘if I get in, I’ll go.’ Well, I got in. And it’s been a wonderful career.”

Cathy’s experience was similar. She had been working at a veterinary hospital but had bad allergies, so her supervisor suggested she try nursing. “I applied three days before the courses were to start at RDC. Like Jennifer, I thought, ‘if I get in, I’ll go,’ and three days later, I was in! I’d always wanted to be in a helping profession, so it really worked out.”

Susan notes that in the 1970s, there weren’t a lot of career paths available for young women. “Unless you were a science major or something, it was nursing or teaching. Almost all of my friends became teachers,” she says. The nurses she worked with at the nursing home encouraged her to pursue nursing, and she was accepted to U of A Hospital.

Susan and Cathy took Nursing at the same time, but through markedly different programs. Susan’s hospital-based program was, like Jennifer’s, based on the English system and modelled after apprenticeship. “In the 1970s, there was a report that studied the move to a more academic approach to nursing,” explains Jennifer. “The 70s marked a big change, and a shift toward the academic stream. Now, to become a registered nurse, the required qualification is a Nursing degree.”

Given that her career path began with the apprenticeship model of Nursing and she ultimately became Associate Dean of the School of Health Sciences, Jennifer has witnessed myriad changes in Nursing education. She has seen the evolution of nursing education from a practical, hands-on training model, through a lecture-based teaching model, and now into a more rounded academic study that includes practical experiences as well as education in sociology, psychology, sciences and arts.

“Critical thinking has always been important and has been an emphasis of the nursing programs at RDC, as has been the value of relationships in the provision of care,” says Jennifer. When Jennifer’s daughter, Lindsay, entered the RDC Nursing program, she was one of the first graduates of the context-based learning program, which Jennifer helped to develop.

“There have been a lot of changes in regulation, and the educational requirements of our nurses have changed in some ways, but so have their responsibilities. Nursing education is always responding to those changing needs. Both the Practical Nurse Diploma program and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing prepare students to enter the profession with knowledge and credibility,” adds Jennifer.

“Nursing has become quite specialized, so nurses can focus on a specific type of nursing in their careers, but as students, they need to be exposed to many different types,” says Lindsay “In my education, I got to go to surgery and other areas, which helped me to understand the continuity of care for our clients.”

Lindsay is passionate about equipping nursing grads with that breadth of understanding, and she feels lucky to have found a specialty of nursing that fits her: teaching. “You can’t just be a nurse and tell people about being a nurse, you have to be a teacher. It’s a different muscle, but I love it.”

Her mother, Jennifer, continues to contribute to health education, working as the Manager of Medically Supported Detox at Safe Harbour Society. Susan’s commitment to professional development and the profession of nursing led her to serve on the Central Alberta Committee for AARN, and work on life-changing projects, including trialing a drug that was proven to mitigate risk of breast cancer in high-risk patients. Cathy loves helping people, and is a caring nurse on the maternity ward at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.

Even with these unique perspectives, the Cross women all feel at home in the Nursing program at Red Deer College. Cathy continues to return to RDC for learning opportunities, most recently in 1999. Susan’s first experience at the College, upgrading to enter university in 1977, became the foundation for a rewarding career. Lindsay has found a career trajectory that inspires her, and she remembers her years in the RDC Daycare and later as a student with great fondness. Jennifer has made an indelible mark on the Nursing program at RDC and impacted decades of RDC Nursing alumni through her contributions to program development and her commitment to the profession. And their Aunt Betty? She’s living on campus at Bethany CollegeSide.

Read more about the individual stories of the Cross sisters at rdc.ab.ca/notebook/thenurses