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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-12-05, Page 22Nurses in the North wog station has rightly be described as the backbone et the Northern Health Service. They are highly operational - ostly trailer units - like the one at Orwwdrift, a small Indian com- Aaity on the eastern arm of Great Slave Lake in the North- west Territories. . Over the whole of Canada there are at the moment over 200 of these stations located in Indian and Eskimo settlements with a population range of 150 to 1,000 people; some 41 per cent are in remote areas. Grise Fiord on Ellesmere Island in the High Arc- tic is a good example. They are equipped with out patient facilities, in-patient beds for the severely ill and living quarters for the staff. Generally they are manned by one to three nurses. The average is two nurses to a station. As for the nurse herself she must wear many hats and wear them proficiently. The job is not for the faint-hearted. The north- ern nurse must render emer- gency treatment at all hours of the -day and night. Gunshot wounds, knife wounds, fingers severed by an axe, drownings, eye injuries, broken limbs and facial lacerations are the injuries most often treated by the nurse. She has to be a good diagnosti- cian, be versed in preventive medicine and be skilled in mid- wifery. Many of the nurses in charge of northern stations are British, Australian and New Zealanders and they adapt very well because most of them have a background in midwifery. Cana- dian nurses are now acquiring these qualifications. The north- ern nurse must be able to extract teeth when the occasion de- mands, take X-rays and glean in- formation from them, perform minor laboratory procedures and, most important, she must pos- THE INDIAN AND Eskimo people of Northern Canada seek nursing services for their communities. The Northern nurse has proven valuable by rendering emergency treat- ment around, the clock. Gunshot and knife wounds are quite.. prevalent. Broken limbs, fingers severed by an axe, drownings and facial lacerations are also frequent occurences. sussskills and aptitudes, selling individuals with ,enie- tional problems. She w harm to deal with day-to-day situ not found in any job deocriPtion and that will demand great tit and forebearance. A good she of humour is required (for she would be lost without it), . soma political knowledge, a consider- able tolerance of the frailtieii of others and an understanding of alien cultures. She must have a warmth of personality which is half the battle in dealing with people who are shy and initially suspicious of her. Above all she must have 'common sense in dealing with cases that don't, ne- cessarily demand the "book" answer. Rose -Marie Mills is one of these northern nurses and is in charge of Snowdrift station. The commu- nity consists of 200 Indians and 12 whites and although it lies only 118 miles east of Yellowknife there are no connecting roads. The only way is by air except in the summer when there is access by water. Radio telephone communica- tions with Yellowknife where the nearest hospital and doctors are situated is very poor, a common fault in the north, because of at- mospheric conditions. On occa- sion it may be difficult or impos- sible to consult with her medical supervisor by telephone and, because of weather conditions, impossible to evacuate a serious- ly ill patient by air. Therefore she is or can be called upon to make life or death decisions on the spot. Apart from the "casualty ward" emergencies, many of her cases involve respiratory dis- eases such as chronic chest colds among children, that often de- velop into bronchitis and pneu- monia. Gastro-enteritis and al- lied illnesses are common due to poor water supplies, one of the North's biggest problems. There are skin diseases such as eczema because proper hygiene is diffi- cult to maintain in the kind of liv1 ing conditions found among some people living in isolated locations in the North. There is undoubtedly a chal- lenge in this type of work for the right person. There are only about 200 nurses in the Northern' Service and the turnover is heavy. . Nurses like -Rose -Marie are ambassadors in the North. Their relationships with Indian and Eskimo communities may well govern the attitudes of these native peoples, towards. the health services in the remote regions of Canada. 1 INDIANS AND THEIR CHILDREN are known to have a high tolerance to pain and many feel that medical attention is superfluous. They invariably hesitate in giving consent to hospitalize a child for fear it might cry. .Knowledge of the ti native cultures bringsabout a better patient relationship. Here nurse Patricia Crimean distracts an Indian baby at the Frobisher Bay hospital. Health highly TYPICAL NURSING STATION in Arctic Bay, NWT. This highly operational ensemble consists of three trailers joined and Welfare together. They contain the nurses' living quarters consist - Canada ing of bedrooms, combined living room and kitchen. PERSUADING NATIVES to leave their homes and be admitted moa hospital for close medical supervision is very difficult, even for just a few days. Nurse Louise Maimachuk examines an 82 year old Eskimo woman. Another area holds the store room and administrative section; a third section contains the waiting room and clinic. NORTHERN SERVICES personnel have evolved over the years. At one time the nurse worked alone, but now a hus- band and wife team occasionally accept a northern posting. Here, Chris Lemphers and his wife, Kelly, both registered nurses, are based at Massett in the Queen Charlotte Islands. HOUSE CALLS GIVE the "feel" of what is going on in the community, and also establish close personal contact. One must be ready for all situations, either in the field or In the clinic. Here, Doctor Philip Dale sets out .on his "m0t'ning rounds" from the Beren's River, Man„ seaplane' base.