So There I Was... - My hospital adventures

Agnes Light trained as a nurse in the 1960s and went on to become a midwife - helping to bring new lives into the world for over thirty years.

After fainting from shock at the first birth she attended as a student, Agnes grew to adore her job and the lifelong friends that worked with her on the maternity ward. In her enchanting memoir, she recalls how she struggled at first with the strict rules of hospital etiquette, and the expectation that she would always know the right thing to do - from dealing with hysterical fathers to miracle multiple births - Agnes quickly learnt she had to keep a cool head whatever the circumstances.

This is a heartwarming portrait of a thoughtful and compassionate midwife. Funny, poignant and rich with period detail, Midwife on Call traces Agnes's touching journey from squeamish pupil to assured professional.

Nurses today have very different lives and training from those who embarked upon this career forty years ago.

This is an account of the three-year training of a nurse set in a famous London hospital in the 1960s.

It is the story of one initially naïve student nurse and her colleagues as they struggle from their first days as the junior girls to the day they eventually hold the letter of professional competence in their hands.

In order to arrive at this senior status, they experience many highs and lows, from the day of their arrival in the nurses? home to their induction onto their first wards, where they face the often-terrifying domination of the ward sisters.

We walk with them through partings of ways and the reunions as they are seconded to other branches, while throughout the three years we get to know of not just the hard work and discipline involved but also the laughter, tears, and social dramas. Nurses in training today will probably be horrified at some of the seemingly medieval practices and discipline applied then, but I would be surprised if the modern-day student nurse was not fascinated by this story.

As the Swinging Sixties continue, Jane Yeadon is ready to start her training as a midwife. With general nursing already under her belt, it’s time for a whole new adventure – and another very steep learning curve.                                                           

When she arrives at the Royal Maternity Hospital in Belfast, Jane soon meets a host of new and intriguing characters. As well as the usual glacial matron who can turn tears to ice, Jane makes friends with fellow nurses Timid Marie, English Cynthia and Strong-minded Margaret, and together they tackle the challenges ahead and discover that there are very few straightforward births in the maternity business and an awful lot to learn. But it’s not all work and no play for the nurses as they spread their wings and find out that their new home has plenty of fun and games on offer too.                             

It Shouldn’t Happen to a Midwife! is a warm-hearted and uplifting account of the trials and tribulations of a trainee midwife in the 1960s. And as Jane Yeadon finds out, some things just shouldn’t happen to a midwife – but they usually do!

Rocky Lang and Dr. Erick Montero offer up more than 200 firsthand accounts of emergency room dramas along with bizarre and insightful medical facts and stats inside Confessions of Emergency Room Doctors. Sample entries include:

* Strange Disease Fact: A melcryptovestimentaphilliac is someone who compulsively steals ladies underwear.

* Dr. Brown, Chicago Hospital, writes: A woman came into the ER, ready to give birth, followed by her husband and about ten kids. Their last name was King. We took her to the operating room and soon I came out and announced that he was the proud father of a baby boy--I told him his wife said that he should name the little one. Mr. King scratched his head and said, Gee I just don't know, I've just about used up all the names I can think of. He glanced up at a sign that read, No Smoking. That's it, he says, I'll name him Nosmo--Nosmo King.