Ellis Hospital School of Nursing

For people who have been asking about a website... there isn't one. I started this page because I couldn't find anything online about the old Ellis Hospital School of Nursing. Before the dorm and its annex was torn down. It's nice that people visit and are interested in a website. A website would help preserve the history of this nursing school and inform people what has been lost in nursing education. I've spoken to recent graduates from different schools of nursing and they tell me that today they can't actually take care of patients! They really don't have any real clinical experience until after they graduate! This is unfathomable to those of us who survived..er I mean--went through a 3 year diploma RN program! This would be a great place to share memories, pictures, anything from your days at Ellis. And if anyone wants to start a website, that would be GREAT!

Congratulations to Christine Gaudette-Barton, RN who just retired from a long nursing career at the VA. Ellis Hospital School of Nursing class of 1975.

Whitmore Residence. Our home at Ellis.

My friends Sally Story-Diffley, Christine Gaudette-Barton and I had a real old-fashioned nursing education. Though we took all our sciences at a college nearby, we lived and worked at Ellis Hospital, then the major hospital in the Tri City area. We worked 3 days a week, starting at 6:30 am listening to report with the staff, until 3:30 or so, giving our report at the end of a shift. We had 3 months in each area of nursing: med-surg, pediatrics, ICU, orthopedics, OR (we scrubbed and assisted), neuro, psychiatry... It was 36 months--straight through: no summer break! When we graduated we were fully prepared to assume the responsibilities of a Registered Nurse. It was grueling, and half the class didn't finish. But the school turned out excellent nurses. In 1977 or so, the school changed to a non residential two year associates degree program.

"The Annex" to the Whitmore Residence, where Ellis student nurses had classes. Student nurses lived in the Whitmore Residence and attended classes in The Annex. Both adjoined Ellis Hospital. Students' clinical experience was comprised of caring for patients in Ellis Hospital three days a week over a 36 month long program. The only breaks were two weeks off in the summer, four days off at Thanksgiving, a week at Christmas and a week at Easter. Other than that, student nurses attended classes in The Annex and SCCC and clinical practice at the hospital. In 1986 the program was shortened to 21 months, and the first Associates Degrees in Nursing were conferred in 1986.

"The Annex" to the Whitmore Residence, where Ellis student nurses had classes. Student nurses lived in the Whitmore Residence and attended classes in The Annex. Both adjoined Ellis Hospital. Students' clinical experience was comprised of caring for patients in Ellis Hospital three days a week over a 36 month long program. The only breaks were two weeks off in the summer, four days off at Thanksgiving, a week at Christmas and a week at Easter. Other than that, student nurses attended classes in The Annex and SCCC and clinical practice at the hospital. In 1986 the program was shortened to 21 months, and the first Associates Degrees in Nursing were conferred in 1986.