In this interview, Lorna talks about her life and career as a Queen’s Nurse covering a number of communities in the north east of Scotland. She discusses how district nursing has changed over the years, and the importance of developing relationships. Lorna indicates how for her, nursing in the community was about more than dressing…
oral history
Voices of Experience – Jessie Hayes
Jessie describes how she came into Queen’s Nursing by circumstance, but how she enjoyed the training, which included the many closes and tenements of the Royal Mile. She recalls the importance of health education, and how new innovations could be revolutionary. She describes the key difference between ward nursing and district nursing, in that on…
Voices of Experience – Catherine MacEachen
In this interview, Catherine describes her journey from Benbecula through Larbert, Glasgow, Falkirk, London, Taynuilt, Cambridge, Harris, North Uist, Barra, Eigg and back. She talks about how Queen’s training touched on everything, allowing the Nurses to become a form of social reformer. Catherine discusses the respect shown by the Queens, as guests in someone’s house,…
Voices of Experience – Murdina Buchanan
As with so many, Murdina had always wanted to be a Queen’s Nurse, and fondly remembers a QN delivering her young cousin. In this interview, Murdina tells her journey around the UK, with initial nursing training on Lewis, through Glasgow and Cardiff on her way to Queens training in Glasgow. She talks about her nursing…
Voices of Experience – Merrill Whalen
Merrill is not only a trained Queen’s Nurse, but was also a Trustee of the QNIS, and even a one-time Nurse Director of the QNIS, and this interview marks her out as a trailblazer. Working and training primarily in Edinburgh, this interview takes Merrill back through her formative years as a young nurse with an interest…
Voices of Experience – Sheila Bett
Sheila has the distinction of having not only trained at Castle Terrace, but also having taught at Castle Terrace, in what she refers to as “an icon of a building”. In this interview, Sheila describes a career which also took in Ayrshire, Fife, London and Glasgow, where she was the matron of the first Marie…
Voices of Experience – Kathleen Rourke
Kathleen describes here her training in Bath Street, Glasgow, and her varied and successful career that takes in Greater Glasgow along with spells in Southampton and Surrey before becoming Director of Nursing for Argyll and Inverclyde Community Health Services. Within her interview, Kathleen talks about the variety of conditions and ailments a Queen’s Nurse could…
Voices of Experience – Mary Hope
As a Queen’s Nurse serving the communities of Orkney, Mary’s story provides a window into island life. This interview covers Mary’s early years, her midwifery training in Newcastle and her many years working across the islands of Orkney. This account of Queen’s Nursing in the 1960s and 1970s is of particular interest for those with…
Voices of Experience – Adeline Reid
In this interview, Adeline describes her professional journey from initial training in Elgin, her Queen’s Nurse training in Glasgow and a varied career in Glasgow and the North East of Scotland. She talks about how the role of the District Nurse, and the relationship with GPs, changed during her career and describes the long and…
