The Evolving Role of Nursing
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The School of Nursing
By the time the School of Nursing (SON) closed in 1987, a total of 2,811 nurses had graduated. Although the SON is no longer graduating students, it remains an important part of MeritCare's history. This is a glimpse into the lives of SON students and a peak at one of their traditions.
Student nurses attended 12 hours of class each week and studied everything from post-operative complications to the Bible. Plus, in the early years of St. Luke's Hospital, nurses worked 12-hour shifts from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or vice versa. They were allowed a half-day off once a week and every other Sunday off after 10 a.m.
Nursing students undoubtedly worked hard, but still managed to have fun. The "last will and testament" for the SON class of 1927 stated, "$5,000 to be used for a new nurses' dining room – made with soundproof walls and at least one mile from the head nurses' dining room – have a jazz orchestra at mealtime and no restrictions on noise." This wasn't the only way SON students tried to keep life exciting.
Most SON students were ready to celebrate by their last day of clinicals. In the tunnel on the way back to the dorm, the nurses would take out scissors and cut their nursing uniforms to shreds. It's difficult to determine when or why this interesting tradition started, but 1976 graduate and current MeritCare employee Kathy Tinquist, R.N., Family Birth Center, said she was just happy to destroy her ugly dress.