Three nurses share their story of attending nursing school in the 1950s

Nursing school is certainly a memorable experience for many nurses–a pivotal time of hard work and new friendships. In fact, three nurses from New York who went through nursing school during the 1950s had such an notable time that they’ve written a book about it!

Mary Herbst, Maureen Ott and Maureen Weber trained at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y. together decades ago, and recently released the aptly titled Have Mercy: A Nursing Memoir about their collective experiences.

Under the direction of the nuns who worked at the hospital, the three women had a bit of a different school experience than many are used to–Herbst described it as a “boot-camp” environment when speaking to the Niagara Gazette. For example, a nun came by every day between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., which were study hours, to make sure the students were studying.

However, the book isn’t all about studying and regimented schedules. Stories range from humorous to personal as the authors recall their entire training experience.

It’s interesting which stories stuck out as memorable to the authors after all these years. What stories from your schooling experience would you include in a book a half a century after they occurred? Share them in the comments below.

If you are interested in reading Have Mercy, you can find it at Amazon.