UCC SONM 25 Year Book

UCC / School of Nursing and Midwifery

St.Finbarr’s No1 Presentation of certs Feb.’58 (L-R): Mary Browne, Nancy Kelleher, Lil Kelly, Phil Burke, Agnes Brazil, Sister. M. Ignatius (Tutor)

St.Finbarr’s No 2 Preparing for the annual Christmas party 1957 (L-R): Mary Browne, Rita O’ Mahony (Midwifery Tutor) Sister Roche, Lil Kelly, Rita Fitzgerald & Back Row Gentleman Evan Flynn

nursing roles emerged. For example, in 1966 the first Central Sterile Supply Department in Cork was opened at St. Finbarr’s Hospital under the direction of a Nurse Manager (Mr. E. Higgins). This marked the end of ward and theatre-based sterilization with the stated aim of lessening the workload of nurses and making patient stay in hospital safer. This time also marked a significant turning point in the role of nursing in many other areas. Ward Auxiliaries were recruited and trained to alleviate nurses from many non-nursing duties which heretofore were carried out by nurses especially student nurses. By the early 1970s many regional medical specialties were introduced at St. Finbarr’s Hospital and included cardio-thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, genito-urinary surgery, neuro-surgery and plastic surgery as well as gastro-enterology, neurology, endocrinology, cardiology, renal and metabolic diseases, gerontology and dermatology. In fact, St. Finbarr’s developed the nucleus of most of the major specialties that exist at Cork University Hospital. Nurses worked to support these developments.

St Finbarr’s 50 Anniversary celebration 1978 – seated back row (L-R): Nora O Donoghue, Mary (Kelly), Margaret Staunton, Breda O Leary, Hannah Fitzgerald Front row Mary Murphy, Kay Lordan, Sr. Killian, Nora Mary Morley, Kay O Sullivan

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