18 October 2022
Article from October 2022 edition of INPractice
60 years a nurse at Whyalla Hospital, this ‘unique treasure’ shows no signs of slowing down.
Whyalla’s longest-serving nurse Shirley Carn recalls the days when equal pay was a pipe dream and young nurse attendants like herself would never dare speak to a Registered Nurse.
“We stood with our hands behind our back and we never spoke until we were spoken to,’’ Shirley says.
“You never went into the office if the registered nurses were there. When we went to lunch if the matron was there having lunch we had to wait until their half hour was up and then we could go.
“We had to take all of the flowers out every night and put them in the corridor, we had to clean the pans, we had to have the wheels going straight on every bed, we had to go to the kitchen and serve the patients’ meals up, we had to man the phones on the weekend.’’
Times have certainly changed since then. This year Shirley, 79, celebrated her 60th anniversary as a nurse, having started her career in September 1962, at the age of 19 as a nurse attendant at Whyalla Hospital.
Shirley has worked as a nurse attendant at the maternity, children’s, surgical and palliative care wards.
To quote one of her colleagues: “Her nearly 60 years of commitment to her patients, peers, the Whyalla community, and hospital is truly outstanding!’’.
Born in Port Pirie and raised in Whyalla, Shirley has worked at Whyalla Hospital her entire career aside from a few early months in Adelaide.
“I worked in a private (Adelaide) hospital for a little while and met my husband,’’ she says.
“He finished his apprenticeship, plumbing, we got married and we came back to Whyalla. He worked at the shipyard.”
Shirley and her late husband Wayne had two children. Shirley’s passion for nursing has been passed on to her daughter who works as an enrolled nurse at the Lyell McEwen Hospital.
“I have four grandsons, one of the grandsons in Adelaide is also an enrolled nurse. He goes out to people’s houses and gives them their medications and does their wounds and all that,’’ Shirley says.
Aside from giving birth twice, Shirley has only once been a hospital patient herself, for surgery.
“I’m on no medications. I have, touch wood, no illnesses and I’ll keep working for as long as I can. I really enjoy it.’’
Shirley says the introduction of 24/7 on-site (restraint-trained) security guards in June last year at the Whyalla Hospital has had a very positive impact on workplace safety and peace of mind for staff.
“Yes, it has, it really has. The best thing they ever did was to get some (security guards). Every couple of hours they’ll (security) walk around the wards and if you want them to take someone outside, they’ll take him out, it’s been so good.’’
Shirley’s commitment to nursing has been an inspiration to her younger colleagues.
“Shirley loves supporting, guiding and educating her colleagues and cares deeply for her patients and their wellbeing,’’ wrote one Whyalla nurse.
“Shirley is the only nurse I know that can run rings around the younger legs on the ground. She has taught me so much in my years of nursing and it has been an absolute pleasure learning from her and working alongside her,” wrote another nurse.
Shirley is renowned for going above and beyond for her patients, often staying back to provide emotional support to her patients and their families in times of hardship or difficult situations.
Over Easter she secretly brings in Easter eggs and even cuts a flower from the Whyalla Hospital Garden for every patient that passes away.
“I say to the young girls now, you have to take me as you find me,’’ Shirley says. “Because when a patient comes in, I’ve had that rapport with these patients for years and I can walk in and go ‘What, again? What is it this time?’.
“We have that good rapport. I can go in their room, I can come out and I know how many children they’ve had, what bills they owe. I can tell you everything because I’ve spent that time with them.
“I enjoy it (nursing) and I go there every day and when I come home I know what I have done for those patients that I hope - and I hope that if the time ever comes - that if I’m in there that I’ll be looked after.’’
This soon-to-be Octogenarian (she turns 80 next year) has no plans to slow down or retire anytime soon.
“I love my work and I always say it’s rewarding, and I’d recommend it to anyone,’’ Shirley says.
“It’s a challenging job but you can get somewhere in the long run. Once you’ve got that certificate you can move on, travel, go off into the big place (metros).
Pictured: Shirley Carn
“While I can do it I’m going to do it. The hospital has been good to me and I’m thankful for my managers.
“When we were in the old building we had palliative care rooms, and I enjoyed looking after the patients there and spending that journey with them.
“I got involved with a lot of families and I still see some of those families outside. And the same with some of the girls who came here from out of town to do their course. I still get a card from a girl in Coober Pedy thanking me for where she is now.’’
Shirley is also a strong ambassador for Whyalla. “I always say 20 minutes and you can go around the outskirts of Whyalla, so it’s a great place to bring children up,’’ she says.
“Well, it was in my day, when I brought my children up.
“Everyone knows everyone. If they don’t know you, they know someone next door. And it’s just a friendly place. I enjoy it, always have.’’
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