Member Spotlight: Connie and Kelsey Singer

Connie and Kelsey Singer are a mother-daughter Registered Nursing duo from a prestigious family nursing lineage that transcends tradition, beginning in Quebec and having roots dating back to the first World War and the care of royalty. Connie, a recently retired grandmother, exudes tenderness and cultivated warmth and kindness on Unit 52 post-partum and the nursery at Foothills Medical Centre for almost 25 years. Kelsey, a passionate personality impressed upon a proficiency in care for expecting mothers and their children, is a practiced nursing professional currently working on Unit 51 in labour and delivery. An extraordinary enthusiasm for nature serves to maintain optimal personal health, fosters a powerful sense of gratitude, and forms an unbreakable bond between these two nursing leaders. Continually striving to better the lives of individuals around them, Connie and Kelsey are proud union advocates who can be found at the gatherings of UNA advocating for better conditions and safer environments, to maximize the delivery of the highest quality of patient and family centered care.

Where does the family’s nursing story begin?

(Connie) We come from a long line of nurses, the first of which is my great aunt Vivien Tremaine who served in the first World War. The lineage continues with my mother Patricia Tremaine, mother-in-law Dorothy Singer, aunt Jeanette Tremaine, and cousins Vivien Webb and Lesley Andrew. It includes myself before trickling down to my youngest Kelsey. That makes seven nurses over three generations.

What is known about great aunt Vivien?

(Connie) Vivien Adlard Tremaine was my mother’s aunt. Her family name, Tremaine, is British in origin.
Our ancestors are from Great Britain and worked as land surveyors. She was born in Montmorency Falls, Quebec but was English speaking. She was among the first group of nursing sisters to voluntarily enlist in World War I in 1914 and sailed from Quebec City with the first contingent to Great Britain. She began her journey with mandatory war training at Salisbury Plains training camp before being transported to Fort Gassion (Aire-Sur-La-Lys) close to the Seine river in northern France near the front- lines. Fort Gassion was previously a very old prison which was converted to the No. 1 Canadian casualty clearing station. The men literally lived in the trenches and the nurses were taking in the wounded right in the midst of this horrific situation. She got pretty good at what she did and developed a reputation as a strong nurse.

Any surviving stories of Vivien Tremaine from the war?

(Connie) I recently connected with a man on a forum who was trying to find the nurses who looked after his uncle, Vivan Dixon, who was a Scotsman and would’ve been around seventeen years old at the time. His uncle had kept a diary of his time in the war and it mentioned Vivien by name. The gentleman was from England and when we chatted he quoted me some of the things in the diary like when his uncle and his uncle’s nurse Vivien were joking about the “bran pie” he had to eat to prevent constipation while on bedrest.

In October of 1915 she was summoned to care for King George V. She was promoted to matron at this time. King George V came to visit the troops on the front-lines at Flanders France. He was on horseback and apparently it was very muddy when he arrived. The troops cheered so loudly when they saw him that his horse reared up. He fell and the horse landed on him and pinned him, causing him to break his pelvis. General MacPherson, who was a surgeon, chose two nurses to care for the King, one being Viven. One would work the dayshift and the other would work the nightshift. The plan was to care for the King on the frontlines until they could secretly arrange his transport back to England. They had to keep it secret because if the enemy found out that the King was there and injured, they would try and kill him. So she looked after him for several days on the front-lines before they were transported by hospital ship back to England. Many of the hospital ships at that time were being bombed, several of them full of nurses and patients on board, but they managed to secretly get away. They got to Buckingham Palace and she stayed at least five weeks caring for His Majesty on the night shift. In a letter from Viven to her brother Trevor she wrote, “I was terribly anxious for some time till we were certain he had so serious an injury, but he was frightfully bruised, he was in a lovely old chateau in France and he stayed there till he could be moved in 5 days all the time worried of Zeppelins and German spies or something happening. I thought my hair would turn grey, you can’t have any idea of the responsibility”.

When did she return home from the war?

After caring for the King she she returned to the No. 1 CCCS field hospital in France until she was transferred to Granville Canadian Special Hospital in Ramsgate, Kent, England on January 7th, 1917. This location was a requisitioned Victorian Spa Hotel on the cliff top overlooking the sea and specialized in treating shell shock, nerve, joint and bone injuries. It was shortly after that she returned home where she did some supervisory work at what they call the port nurseries which were located in Halifax, Montreal, and St. John. These places received women, children, and babies that were being transported away from the war to keep them safe. Over 15,000 women came through the ports to escape the war in Europe. She would welcome these women, children, and babies into Canada and make sure they were safe, healthy, and got to a safe home. Canadian families took these women in and helped them integrate into Canada and to be safe until the war was over. That’s the one connection I see between Kelsey, Vivien and I is that we’ve all helped young mothers and their babies. After the war she was awarded with the Royal Red Cross medal, the Mons Star, and the Royal Victorian Medal. You can actually find the medals she received and the connection to the Canadian Red Cross seaboard nurseries online.

Did King George V ever reach out to her afterwards?

(Connie) He did. He came and presented the medals to her in Canada. He also gave her a private gift. It was a necklace that eventually made it to my mom. It’s really lovely.

What was her training like being so close in time to Florence Nightingale?

(Connie) I remember two readings about the expected duties of nurses back in the late 1800’s. One was the Florence Nightingale Pledge and the other a description of the duties of a trained nurse in those times. I imagine Vivien’s training in the early 1900’s would be very similar, ie; very strict in nature, upholding a philosophy of selflessness to provide the best possible care, and extremely hard work. Slightly before her time nurses were expected to sharpen the doctor’s quill pens, maintain the fireplaces, wash linens, clean rooms and fill the kerosene lamps, while balancing all the medical work. My mother trained at a catholic hospital in Montreal and her instructors were catholic sisters. They worked 6 days a week, only being allowed to attend church on Sunday, and starched the nursing supervisor uniforms as part of their duties. I watched my mom do shift work. She actually worked with some of the holocaust survivors at the Jewish General in Montreal. Florence Nightingale was woven within everything the nurses did from my great aunt Vivien to my mother, and her ethics continue with nurses to this very day.

It would appear there’s a family calling to nursing...

(Connie) The history certainly has had an impact. My mom really encouraged me into nursing. She did a lot of what they called “specialling” back then which was private nursing. She always said to me that nursing was a respectable job and a good long term career. She said it would be hard and that I’d hate shift work but that I’d do well with it.

(Kelsey) Both my grandmas were nurses. Both of my parent’s mothers and my own mom. I felt like it just ran in my blood. Like it was instantly part of me.

Tell me about your nursing education?

(Connie) I was born in Montreal and lived a good portion of my life there until young adulthood. Right out of high school I pursued a nursing education at John Abbot College in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue in Quebec. It was called CEGEP which stands for collège d’enseignement général et professionnel, which means general and vocational college. It was a two year diploma program plus an extra year which was the equivalent of a university year. I trained at seven different hospitals in Montreal in a number of different areas. My first rotation was in geriatrics at a veterans hospital. We were taught to have an immense amount of respect for these men because they had been through mustard gas and all sorts of terrible things. As we got into our second year we did pediatrics and obstetrics, and surgery later in the third year. The bonus to the entire situation was that me education was free. We only had to pay for our uniforms.

(Kelsey) I pursued nursing through Mount Royal University right out of high school. It was still a college but nursing was the first degree they offered and I attended the very first year the degree program was offered. My education was not free.

Where was your first job as a Registered Nurse?

(Kelsey) From nursing school I started as a grad nurse in children’s palliative care working at the Rotary Flames House. I started there as a health care aide, then got a job as a grad nurse, before writing and passing my CRNE and becoming an RN. It was a very challenging job to deal with the loss of children.

(Connie) My first job was in Ontario in the health centre of the Ontario Correctional Institute. The job was six months duration via a program called the Ontario Career Actions Program. Corrections was a very eye opening experience. Following that I jumped into a full-time position at the Mississauga General Hospital in the premature newborn nursery.

What brought the family from Quebec to Alberta?

(Connie) It was a romantic choice. I met my future husband Lee in Calgary. We carried a long distance relationship for a year then I took the plunge moving out west. The search for a new nursing job was easy. I had two offers in one day! One at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and other other in the NICU at Foothills. Pediatrics won me over. After seven years at the ACH I ventured over to a new position in postpartum at the Foothills Hospital, staying there for nearly twenty-five years to retirement.

Where did the interest come from in caring for babies?

(Connie) At that time it was what was available but my mother had a little bit of obstetrical experience which kind of trickled down to me. I always had an interest in pediatrics so I chose to work at the Children’s and I loved it. I worked there for seven years. Alberta Children’s at that time had clusters which were designated to different age groups and specialities. My first years there were very informative years in terms of learning and picking up new skills. Later as my family came along, I decided to go into obstetrics and started working at Foothills and ended up staying on Unit 52 in the post-partum and nursery area for almost twenty-five years.

(Kelsey) My mom was in postpartum at Foothills and I always had a relationship with the post-partum nurses. They kind of felt like family to me. So I applied and got a job in labour and delivery on Unit 51 at Foothills and have been there ever since.

Tell me about the nursing world of obstetrics at Foothills...

(Kelsey) Obstetrics is the umbrella term that covers our three main units including antepartum, labour and delivery, and post partum. We are the level 1 trauma centre which means we have to accommodate the highest acuity patients from all over central and southern Alberta. We take anyone who is high risk and under 32 weeks gestation. Although the job is often filled with joy and excitement, we also see some very challenging things and care for very sick mothers and babies. Unit 51 is our labour and delivery unit, which also has two operating rooms for both booked and emergency c-sections/procedures. We see young babies anywhere from 24 weeks and up. Unit 51 also houses two high risk beds specifically for patients that, prior to or after delivery, are in need of more extensive medical monitoring, like in instances of pre-eclampsia, HELLP syndrome, postpartum hemorrhage, or following a hysterectomy or other incase procedures. Previously we were only taking patients anywhere from 20 weeks and above in gestation. We have recently expanded to include 12-20 weeks if they’re cases we feel we can manage. Our antepartum unit is where I say we try and keep people pregnant. We also have private rooms available where we may care for early pregnancy losses and see them through postpartum as well. We take a lot patients who are pregnant with significant medical issues such as placental previa, organ failure and other life threatening diseases, premature rupture of membranes, gestational hypertension and diabetic management, major fetal anomalies, antepartum hemorrhages and much more. Some patients are admitted for a short period of time and others are there until they deliver. One of the typical ones we keep until delivery are monoamniotic-monochorionic twins, often referred to as mono mono twins. They share one placenta but have two separate umbilical cords and there is a huge risk of cord entanglement. Our job is to monitor them and their babies. If we have to deliver them early, we do it for them and their child’s safety otherwise we try and keep them pregnant as long as we can.

What is the best analogy you’ve heard to describe the physical experience of giving birth?

(Connie) Early on in my career an older nurse told me that being in labour is like playing four quarters of a football game without a break, in terms of energy and output. Then at the end, you deliver the football.

(Kelsey) People often use the comparison of delivering a baby to that of passing kidney stones yet I’ve heard people say kidney stones are worse.

What’s the average length of stay on the post- partum unit after delivery?

(Kelsey) A typical stay is two nights after a c-section free of complications. After a vaginal birth it’s one night.

(Connie) Back in the 80’s it was three days for a vaginal birth and five days for c-section.

How do nurses help vulnerable birthing mothers and those experiencing domestic violence?

(Kelsey) It is part of our nursing responsibilities to ask the birthing mother if they live in a safe place and are the victim of any domestic violence. It’s on our admission form as well. We ask the patient when they are alone and we do it every chance we get. They’ll hear it five or six times and it’s important because sometimes it takes thirty times for someone to reach out for help. It’s one of the things I wish we had more opportunity to address.

Looking back, if you could give yourself some advice as a young nurse, what would it be?

(Connie) To be more confident. Face your fears, tell yourself “I can do this”, and keep learning. A nurse with confidence in their abilities fosters that confidence their patients.

(Kelsey) Continue to learn, grow, and try new things. Have respect for yourself as part the team. You matter!

What is your favourite thing to do in Calgary and the surrounding area?

(Kelsey): Anything outdoors. My mom and I are hiking buddies and we thrive off of the outdoors. Nature never judges and I feel at peace when I’m outside. The fresh air, the birds chirping, and the sights put me in a comfortable place. I also volunteer for the Cochrane Humane Society fostering kittens. I also have an interest in tattoos.

(Connie) Our love for the outdoors is mutual and enduring. Living on an acreage just outside of Bragg Creek, next door to the Rockies provides great hiking, camping and winter sports opportunities. I am passionate about nature, photography and immersing myself in outdoor activities. These passions came mainly from family camping experiences, working as a canoe tripper at YWCA Camp Oolahwan in the beautiful Laurentians, Quebec, and two Outward Bound Canada wilderness courses. In retirement I am more active than ever enjoying back country hiking, camping and cross country skiing. I did my first 15 km Loppet this winter and remain actively engaged with the Outward Bound Canada organization. One of the greatest revelations from these pursuits has been the positive impact on my life and nursing career. They have provided me with great direction in life, improved self confidence, compassion, resilience, courage and some leadership skills.

What is your favourite restaurant/book/tv show/ movie/place to shop?

(Kelsey) The Coup. I’m a vegetarian with vegan habits. My favourite book is called The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F%&!. I My favourite old TV show is Friends and my favourite new one is Stranger Things. My favourite movie is Tarzan. I loved the music. My favourite place to shop is Lululemon.

(Connie) Swiss Chalet. Huckleberry Finn. Call the Midwives. My favourite movie is Oliver Twist. Fagan is my favourite character. My favourite place to shop is Atmosphere Sports.

What is the greatest challenge Nurses face in the workplace?

(Kelsey) Staffing, the lack of understanding from the government and other leaders of our experiences, and the expectations that are placed on us.

(Connie) I would like to see nurses not lose what they’ve worked so hard to gain. They need better staffing ratios and a greater respect for what they do from leaders.

Any words of advice for Nurses planning their retirement?

(Connie) You should start planning at least five years before your retirement date. Start crunching numbers as to what your personal needs are for your projected lifespan which is pretty good these days. Healthy people are living well into their 90s. Take full advantage of the Employer- shared RRSP contribution. Mark sure you’re signed up for LAPP and the benefits plan through ARTA, both of which are recommended by UNA and are a really good fit. Invest your money when you’re young because you need a portfolio for yourself to supplement your pension. Really communicate with UNA, HR and LAPP. I wish I had done the workshops like the pre-retirement workshop offered through the Calgary District Labour Council and the LAPP workshop offered by AHS.

Why is the union important to you?

(Kelsey) My mom got me involved by taking me to the AGMs when I was a nursing student. I’m grateful for the awareness I’ve gained for what the union does for us, how they support us, what they offer, and for their response when I’ve reached out personally for support. They are nurses fighting for what they would want as nurses. It’s a like a family with similar goals and desires.

(Connie) The support I felt the moment I stepped in to my first AGM was incredible. I realized how strong Heather Smith is and the executive group working with her are. They do so much to help us and their relationships with other unions are so diverse. It’s everyone working together as a strong formidable force to help protect us and give us better workplaces.