Mary Lewis student nurse.

Date:
1961
  • Videos

About this work

Description

The story of a young girl's three years' training to become a State Registered Nurse in London. 4 segments.

Publication/Creation

UK : Central Office of Information, 1961.

Physical description

1 encoded moving image (19 min.) : sound, color

Duration

00:18:48

Copyright note

Crown copyright, managed by BFI.

Terms of use

Unrestricted
CC-BY-NC
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 2.0 UK: England & Wales

Language note

In English

Creator/production credits

A Central Office of Information film for the Ministry of Health. Made by Rayant Pictures. Photographed by David A. Holmes, edited by Nicholas Gunney, produced by Edward Deason, narrated by Francesca Annis, written and directed by Sarah Erulkar.

Notes

This video was made from material preserved by the BFI National Archive

Contents

Segment 1 Opening credits. A girl, Mary Lewis, is seen doodling a picture of a nurse in a waiting room. She is waiting for an interview with a Matron for a place on the nurse training programme. She has her interview and gets a place on the course. She moves to the nurses' home and at the welcome tea meets another new student, Anne, and makes friends with her. Time start: 00:00:00:00 Time end: 00:04:51:02 Length: 00:04:51:02
Segment 2 Mary looks at the course outline and makes friends with Doreen, another new girl. The students learn to fold and put on their nurse's caps. They study basic subjects such as bacteria and anatomy, as well as exercise, bed-making and bandaging. Anne is seen practicing her injection technique on an orange. They visit a ward for the first time and learn how to interact with patients. Mary says her special interest is the baby ward, while Anne likes children. Time start: 00:04:51:02 Time end: 00:09:24:24 Length: 00:04:33:22
Segment 3 The nurses are seen in their spare time socialising, playing sports and listening to music. They have their first Christmas away from home and keep the patients company. As Mary works a night shift she thinks about how much she enjoys the course and being a nurse. They sit their end of year exams and the second year begins. The students discuss patient case studies and what treatment they would recommend. Time start: 00:09:24:24 Time end: 00:13:44:12 Length: 00:04:19:13
Segment 4 The students watch artificial ventilation being demonstrated. They learn about the use of bellows and x-rays, as well as spending time in the operating theatre. At the end of her course, Mary acts in an emergency, beginning respiration on a patient who has suffered cardiac arrest. She says she realises she is now a confident and valued member of the nursing profession. The student celebrate the end of the course with a dance, and the Matron's voice is heard describing the various specialisms such as psychiatric nursing or midwifery. A new class of nurses is seen entering the school and Mary says that she wants to tell them that nursing is 'not just a job but a whole new world'. Time start: 00:13:44:12 Time end: 00:18:48:08 Length: 00:05:03:21

Type/Technique

Languages

Permanent link