{"id":46408,"date":"2013-10-03T22:41:49","date_gmt":"2013-10-03T12:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=46408"},"modified":"2020-12-11T15:27:01","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T05:27:01","slug":"nursing-was-the-only-life-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/10\/03\/nursing-was-the-only-life-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Nursing Was The Only Life For Me’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Lola Ashurst … \u00a0now relaxing after a nursing career that started in 1960\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lola at age 22 … complete with the old-style nursing veil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 4, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even when she was 10 years old, Lola Ashurst wanted to be a nurse: “I can remember it now.\u00a0We would be out travelling about and I would get excited when I saw a hospital. I was just attracted to hospitals …”<\/p>\n

Lola has been a part of South Burnett residents’ lives for more than 50 years; she has helped many come into the world and has been there for many others at the end of their life’s journey.<\/p>\n

“I have nursed three generations of one family …”<\/p>\n

Lola began her training as a nurse at age 18 (her father wasn’t keen on her starting any younger). She had been raised at Esk and attended the local Catholic school where she did her Scholarship year.<\/p>\n

She did her nursing training at Gayndah, Nambour and Gympie hospitals and graduated as a “double certificate” nurse (a registered nurse and midwife).<\/p>\n

That’s when her life in the South Burnett began.<\/p>\n

She moved to Kingaroy and took up a job at Nanango Hospital.<\/p>\n

It was 1960 and her qualifications were in demand.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Double certificate nurses were a bit scarce in those days,” she said.<\/p>\n

Two years later she married. Her husband Bev was a builder.<\/p>\n

Not long afterwards, Lola was approached by the Matron at Kingaroy Hospital and asked if she’d like to work there. As the couple lived only a short distance away, Lola agreed and soon afterwards she was working at Kingaroy Hospital, mainly as a midwife.<\/p>\n

She took a break from nursing around the time of the birth of her fourth daughter, a gap that grew to about 10 years. But even during this time she couldn’t quite stay away, sometimes relieving the matron at Nanango Hospital.<\/p>\n

Then one day she saw an ad from BlueCare seeking registered nurses.<\/p>\n

Lola applied and was given a casual job as a domiciliary nurse. This quickly became a full-time position and then a couple of years later she was appointed Director of Nursing.<\/p>\n

And along the way, she also nursed Bev who developed a terminal illness. He passed away in 1986.<\/p>\n

All up Lola was at BlueCare for more than 21 years, including 18 years as Director Of Nursing when she decided it was time to leave.<\/p>\n

But her career wasn’t over yet …<\/strong><\/p>\n

“After only about two months, the Director of Nursing at the (Kingaroy) General Hospital rang up. She said she had a job for me if I wanted. She gave me a couple of days to think about it,” Lola said.<\/p>\n

Thus began her career at Farrhome and another 13 years of caring for patients at all hours of the day and night, a job she was doing right up to the closure of Farrhome in March this year.<\/p>\n

She’s seen a lot of changes in nursing over the years … not all for the best.<\/p>\n

“When I first started we had to wear a big veil. Then it was a paper veil. Now there’s no veil, no respect,” she said.<\/p>\n

Her family, friends and colleagues gathered at at the Pioneer Room restaurant in Kingaroy on Saturday night to celebrate Lola’s career.<\/p>\n

And this time, she really has retired. <\/strong><\/p>\n

“I didn’t renew my registration because I knew if I did … ” her voice trailed away. \u00a0“It was one way of stopping myself.”<\/p>\n

“There wasn’t a day that I didn’t want to go to work. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the only life for me.”<\/p>\n

And what’s she doing now?<\/p>\n

“I’m just relaxing and enjoying my home.<\/p>\n

“I’m just so relaxed. I just do things when I want to. And there’s no shift work!”<\/p>\n