Maureen pictured with Steph Cooke MP.
Maureen O’Grady began her nursing career in 1963 at the District Hospital, when in those days it was 4 years on the job and living in the Nurses Home with a 10 pm curfew. They rotated through all areas of the hospital and did regular long rosters on Night Duty. Practical teaching and demonstrations were done by Tutors in the adjacent Brennan School of Nursing, dormitory-style living in a house with nurses from Temora, Narrandera, Gundagai, and Tumut attending also.
The local GPs of the time gave nurses lectures on Medical, Surgical and Pharmacology in the evenings. Final exams taken in July 1967 with Merit Pass and registered with the NSW Nurses Registration Board in August 1967.
“I had some fun times living in the Nurses Home….one particular instance springs to mind in that I was late getting in on curfew and climbed through a downstairs window, miscalculating my friend’s room and ended up in the Matron’s flat. She had a flat at the eastern end of the Nurses’ Home. And many a poor nurse was scared half to death by the white sheet-clothed figure jumping out from behind the Morgue as they came off evening duty in the dimly lit, sometimes dark path leading to the Home.
“In the cold, wet winters, we sometimes had to cross the little footbridge over the Muttama Creek between the Home and Hospital Building with water flowing over it in our bare feet, carrying our “Halls” nurses’ Shoes and Stockings.
Maureen was always drawn to Emergency and Operating Theatre nursing, and after 2 years of General Ward duties and night duty, was appointed In Charge Theatre and A&E in 1969 and has worked in theatre for the past 56 years, 43 years of that as Nurse Unit Manager until going part-time as RN Theatre.
“For many years, I was on call 24/7 and in the days before mobile phones, we carried beepers which had quite a long distance range. No 8 hours off before coming back on duty, as is the case now.
“To ensure I was delivering best practice in the workplace, I undertook postgraduate Certificates in Operating Theatre Nursing, Anaesthetics and Recovery, First Line Management and Sterilising Technology. The first 3 aforementioned Certificates were through The NSW College of Nursing Distance Education with Study blocks at the College in Glebe, Sydney and work experience at Wagga Base Hospital. The Sterilising Technology was from the Australian Council of Sterilising, with on-site training at Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney.
“As my role of NUM included the Emergency dept, further studies were FLECC (First Line Emergency Care) and TNCC (Trauma Nursing) through the American Trauma Nurse Federation, with practicums at Wagga Base A&E.
“I was admitted as a member of the NSW College of Nursing at a very impressive ceremony in a ceremonial gown in the Great Hall of Sydney University on 12th October 2001. Networking with so many alumni was inspirational. An evening and night I will always remember.
“I really enjoyed the Theatre and Emergency work and many years of working with Dr Miller, Dr Perera, Dr Datoo (anaes), more recently Dr Scholtz, and visiting surgeons from Wagga.
“I chaired the Committee which worked towards the hospital’s first achievement of Accreditation a number of years ago. All departments and Medical diligently did their part, and we were so proud of that big framed Blue and White Certificate from the AHAC. Of course, the hospital undergoes Quality Assurance and Accreditation, which is successfully ongoing. Other professional achievements include developing a uniform manual of best practice guidelines in the Area Health Regional Operating Theatres. This entailed many hours of travel to Leeton, Narrandera, Tumut and Wagga, mostly at night for meetings after a day’s work.
“With General Ward NUM Sue Hickey, I set up a PreAdmission Clinic for scheduled theatre cases a number of years ago, and this continues today with some “tweeking”, of course.
“I could not have managed the study, the on call, 2 children, Pony Club, Royal Shows, and Eventing with the children and their horses if it were not for a marvellous husband, John Simpfendorfer and both sets of Grandparents.
“I have seen many changes over the years, of course, some that come to mind are Paramedics and Helicopters now, where in the past Dr Datoo and I would be in the back of the Ambulance, sirens blaring on the rough road to Wagga. More specialised fields of surgery are done only in Base hospitals. Anaesthetics are more specialised too, of course, and the smaller hospitals have GP anaesthetists, of which we are extremely lucky to have Dr Fry and Dr Offermeier. Technology, of course, is in everything we do.
“I have worked through 4 name changes of Area Health and the amalgamation of the Cootamundra District Hospital with the Mercy Hospital to become the Cootamundra Hospital, and seen the changes in administration from Matrons, CEO’s, Board of Directors to the current admin of Facility Manager, Cluster Manager up to Area Health CEO. I am sad to be leaving this honourable profession and will hold the memories dear. I retire as what is believed to be the longest serving RN in NSW and indeed in Australia.
Matthew Stadtmiller
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