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 Every
now and then during my nursing career I would hear the
half-witted remark that says 'if you can't get a man, get a
Mountie, and If you can't get a woman, get a nurse!' I had first
heard it as a Nursing Student and it
would pop up again from time to time over the years. By the time
I had been a Registered Nurse for twenty years, married to a
member of the Federal Police Force, the RCMP, or 'Mounties', as
they are commonly called, the remark would truly annoy me,
regardless of how hard I tried to ignore it. I knew how hard
nurses worked and I darn well knew how hard Mounties worked, and
the stressors both jobs brought into their lives.
But things have changed considerably and that remark is petty
and trivial to
nurses and policemen now. These days your Mountie who answers a
call or
stops you on the highway may be a woman, and the Nurse who cares
for you may
be a man. Women are Mounties, and men are Nurses, and it is
about time the
professions were open to both genders. Even starting out in my
career I was
of the mind set that more men should be involved in Nursing and
more women
in Police work. There was a need for the professions to have a
balance of
both men and women, and that was quite clear during the times I
had to sit
with a rape victim or battered woman who did not want to see a
man. In a
tiny community the Mountie's wife has often had to fill the role
of
'policewoman' in such cases. Yes, the police forces needed
women.
There seemed to be a very large number of Mountie/Nurse
marriages, and many
times a study of such attractions would be done, but no
conclusions ever
reached. For some marrying a Mountie is just having a bad case
of what I
term 'Scarlet Fever', and is bound to turn dark when reality
sets in, for
others it is a marriage of love and devotion, regardless of
their
professions. Times change, people change, and life goes on,
study or no
study.
Most of the hospitals I worked in had at least one other nurse
on staff
married to a Mountie and at one point there were four of us in a
small
hospital, all Mountie's wives. So naturally some annoying person
would spout
off that totally silly remark once they discovered that fact.
However, it is amazing how well people adapted to this change of
roles for
men and women once the change started to become reality. This
came flashing
through my mind last year when I received news from the hospital
I had
worked in for so long in Nova Scotia. Of course we all keep in
touch and I
received the news that a young nurse I had worked with, who
followed me
around so he could learn as much as he could from a senior
nurse, a fact
that caused me to tell him I was old enough to be his mother
(which caused
great laughs because it was true) was accepted into the RCMP.
 His name is Terry. He is close to thirty years old now, married
with two
beautiful children. His wife is a nurse also, and they had a
very busy life.
It had never occurred to me that Terry would ever want to leave
the Nursing
profession because he was so loved by the patients, and not just
because of
his immaculate white uniforms, his big brown eyes and beautiful
smile, but
because he truly cared for them. His patients received the best
of care, his
quiet, no-nonsense demeanor put them at ease and there was never
an issue
about his gender, even with the older ladies who we thought we
would have
difficulty accepting a male nurse.
Terry said nothing about becoming a police officer to anyone,
until he heard
that he was definitely heading for Training Depot in Regina, SK.
Canada. My
last day at work was spent with him, and I received the greatest
farewell
hug from him when I left, never dreaming of his plans. Terry is
exceptional,
and he is gives his best in everything he does.
A few weeks ago my friend called to tell me Terry had returned
from Regina,
and his RCMP training. He visited the hospital in his Red Serge,
looking
very dapper, accompanied by his proud wife and daughters. My
friend reported
there was not a dry eye in the hospital that day, everyone so
proud of Terry
and so happy for him even though they missed him as a nurse.
They all had
their photos taken with him and he reported where he was to be
stationed for
his first posting. His whole family was looking forward to many
adventures
with their Mountie husband and Dad in the future.
So, Nurse Terry has become Cst. Terry. He has taken his new
posting and is
as well liked on that detachment of the RCMP as he was as a
nurse in our
hospital.
So, the remark that was so upsetting is finally put to rest.
Terry is a
Nurse and a Mountie-so the line falls flat in the face of his
story. A proud
Mountie who was, and is, a proud Nurse also, is following his
dream. He is a
good person, and may the 'Force' be with him as he starts a
whole new life,
and no doubt he will be as well loved as a policeman as he was
as a Nurse.
The RCMP, like any large institution, has it's problems. But I
am sure with
young men and women like Terry carrying the torch for them, it
will move
ahead into a bright future. The motto of the RCMP is 'MAINTAIN
THE RIGHT'
and it is written on the badges they wear, the badge that Terry
now wears in
place of his name pin he wore as a nurse. May God keep him, and
all those
who serve, safe from harm, both the nurses and the Mounties, and
especially
those who are both.
ŠAll Rights Reserved. Story submitted by Bonnie Jarvis-Lowe
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