At Think Research, our software solutions are created for clinicians, by clinicians. We are proud to have a number of nurses as part of our team and for this International Nurses Day we wanted to highlight one of their stories.

Myrna Eddison has had a long and dedicated career, working as a registered nurse (RN) for more than 50 years both overseas and in Canada. Born in Powell River B.C., Myrna moved to Northern Ireland in 1959 with her family. “At eight years of age, I was in the hospital for a week and a nurse’s kindness towards me led to my quest to be a nurse,” she says.

Myrna studied nursing in Belfast and graduated in 1967, then studied to become a midwife in London, England in 1969. Just a year later, she returned to Canada and put her skills to work making a difference in the lives of neurosurgical and neonatal ICU patients. Myrna now helps develop the best evidence-based clinical content at Think Research — something she’s done for the past 14 years.

We spoke to Myrna about her nursing career and how the pandemic has changed the profession. Here’s what she had to say.

What was training to become a nurse like?
In my Belfast years, we attended classroom lectures and practicum for three months each year and were then allocated to [hospital] wards; each rotation was three months and we attended day classes after night shifts and on weekends. Two RNs and three student nurses were on day shifts, and one RN and two student nurses were on night shifts looking after 50 patients. I don’t ever remember getting a break for a snack or meal at night. 

What’s one of the biggest changes in nursing you’ve seen throughout your career?
The advances in the last 57 years have changed nursing and medicine. However, staff shortages persist, nurses miss breaks and leave work exhausted and drained after dividing care between patients and families, technological equipment and documentation. 

Is there one patient or experience that really sticks out in your mind?
One of my most memorable nights as a student was when two male patients asked if they could help me make the breakfast for the patients after they had watched the charge RN and me care for three admissions, three deaths, and three cardiac arrests. It was a night of “the threes.”

One of the patients sang a sad Irish song while helping me boil the eggs and make the porridge. My tears waited until I reached the seclusion of my dorm room. There were many rewarding moments as well. The most special being part of a team that looked after sick newborns and seeing great outcomes from good care and teamwork.

How does the COVID-19 pandemic compare to anything you’ve seen before?
Nurses deal with crises on a daily basis and are now dealing with tremendous COVID-19 pandemic stressors. I am so proud to hear about nurses doing extra shifts in the hospitals and nurses returning to the profession after retirement to help get through this COVID-19 crisis. Capacity is stretched, however, resilience shines through. 

What’s your advice to aspiring or future nurses?
Do your very best. Be kind, treat everyone as if they were family, persevere through the hard times knowing that there is always going to be a better day, and always be willing to ask for help.

I am proud to be a nurse and would do it all over again in my next life if I could.