Four Graduates Recall HUP’s School of Nursing

Clockwise from upper left: Candace Stiklorius, Beverly Emonds, Ella Ryan-Meloni, and Julia Davis

The School of Nursing of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania opened its doors in 1886 and, over the next 90-plus years, educated thousands of nurses, many of whom continued their careers at HUP. We sat down with four of the school’s graduates, to learn what it was like . . . and the impact it had on their lives.

A Program Far Above Others

The School started as – and remained -- a diploma program until it closed in 1978, and it’s easy to see why. Thanks to its hands-on clinical component, its graduates hit the ground running. “We could go anywhere and take care of any patients,” said Candace Stiklorius, MSN, RN, nurse educator, who recently retired after 44 years at HUP. “HUP’s three-year program was far above others at that time.”

Equally important, at a time when the average family made $8,000 a year, the low tuition of a diploma program – and the free room and board -- made it more accessible. “When I went, tuition was $1,200 the first year, which included my uniform, books and other supplies, and it went down each of my last two years,” said Julia Davis, MS, RN, RVT, technical director of the Vascular Lab. At the time, Penn’s tuition for its School of Nursing was $5,000 a year.

From the start, HUP’s student nurses put in 40-hour work weeks between classes and clinical work. As they progressed from year to year, their class work lightened, and the clinical responsibilities grew. “By senior year, you were in charge at night,” said Beverly Emonds, MSN, RN, CHCR, manager, Talent Acquisition. “Registered nurses were able to cover multiple units when the nursing seniors were in charge. One instructor would round to check during your eight-hour shift.”

Then and Now: Julia Davis (top row) and Candace Stiklorius (bottom row)

HUP’s students shared classes with students from the Penn School of Nursing. “The education in nursing arts and the sciences was at a very high level,” Stiklorius said. “We had anatomy, chemistry and microbiology with the same teachers who taught in the University.”

Instruction on the units came from doctors, residents, and staff nurses. “We wrote down all procedures, step by step, even simple tasks like handwashing,” Davis said. They learned not only the correct procedure but also the scientific principal associated with it. For example, “Why do you need to rub your hands together when washing? Friction kills the microorganism.”

As apprentices at the hospital, students not only benefited from their instructors’ textbook knowledge but their life experiences as well. “Let’s say a patient was yelling at you and you were struggling. The instructor would go into the room with you in tow and show you how to de-escalate the situation so you knew how to handle something like this,” Stiklorius said. “I learned during my three years in training what today’s newly graduated nurses learn during their first year working.”

Students in HUP’s school had to know their patients “inside and out,” said Ella Ryan-Meloni, MSN, RN, patient flow coordinator for The Admissions Center. “We went into the hospital the night before to get our assignments for the next day and we’d read about both the patient’s disease and treatments.”

“One thing that stands out for me about my education is always being a patient advocate and the emphasis they placed on so many of today’s hot topics -- hand washing, infection prevention -- and focusing on all of the patient’s needs … physical, psychological, social, spiritual,” Davis said.

Nurse, Respiratory Therapist, Nutritionist: Wearing Many Hats

Then and Now: Ella Ryan-Meloni (top row) and Bev Emonds (bottom row)

Long before electronic medical records, all patients on a unit had an index card with a diagnosis, medications and treatment, based on the physician’s orders. They also had their own medicine card with the dose and times they received each medication. “We filled little cups with each patient’s meds and stayed in the patient’s room until the medication was taken,” Davis said.

Nursing students not only had to learn to mix all IV solutions but also calculate the drip rate. There was no such thing as an IV pump! “We used a conversion formula to calculate the rate and then counted the drops per minute using the second hand on our watch,” Emonds said.

The students also performed respiratory therapy and used unit sterilizers for glass syringes and reusable needles. They even took care of the patients’ dietary needs. “Food was delivered to the unit but we had to put it in bowls on trays and take to the patients,” Meloni-Ryan said.

Uniforms were required at all times when in the hospital. They consisted of a light blue cotton dress with white apron, cuffs, and bib, a student cap, white shoes and stockings. Students had to wear a certain type of watch, with no other jewelry. Interestingly, though, “you couldn’t wear your nursing cap on the street. You had to carry it in a box and put it on as soon as you entered the hospital,” Emonds said.

“The rules were very strict at the School. Decorum and professionalism were expected at all times,” Stiklorius said.

Armed with a solid foundation, many of the school’s graduates continued their nursing education to earn advanced degrees and go on to leadership positions. “The graduates of the HUP diploma School of Nursing were taught to be leaders from the time they entered the School and, hence, functioned as leaders upon graduation,” said Victoria Rich, PhD, chief nurse executive of Penn Medicine. “Their spirit and dedication will live on in all the nurses they have coached and mentored.”

“We were taught respect for the past, responsibility for the present and readiness for the future,” Emonds added. “The program blended technical ability with a theoretical basis that has served me throughout my professional life. Any accomplishments, awards or accolades are truly rooted in my nursing education starting with HUP.”

2010 Photo Credits: Scott Spitzer