#YourStory – Nursing is a calling for Matron Howard
I will nurse until my last breath'
Ms Joyce Howard (68) from Primrose Hill has been a matron at St Giles since 2005.
“I have been nursing for 51 years now and looking back, nursing has really deteriorated compared to the old ways of doing things. There is no commitment. A lot of young people went into nursing without the passion for it but doing it just to make a living,” said Matron Howard.
“I started my nursing career in 1966 at the age of 17. I did my training for three and a half years at Germiston Hospital. Nursing was very strict in our days. The length of our uniform and the appearance was different,” said Matron Howard.
“Nursing taught us discipline. You did not walk through the door if there was a senior before you. It taught us the necessary respect for our seniors. It was a huge and exciting challenge. Nursing was always something that I wanted to do from a young age. We worked very hard and long hours,” said Matron Howard.
“The sisters in charge were very strict back then. Before you handed over in the morning, the beds had to be changed and cleaned. We didn’t have computers; we wrote in a counter book. You had to know who was in hospital and for what,” she said.
“Unfortunately I became ill and ended up retiring. I had an open wound for 18 months and I eventually had to leave my job. I continued injecting myself twice a day with antibiotics. Because I am a nurse myself it was difficult to let people nurse me as I felt that they were not doing it right,” she said.
“After my health condition deteriorated I resigned. I went on retirement but I almost went crazy because of staying at home.
“That is when I decided to join St Giles as a matron. Coming to St Giles was challenging at first because the residents come here when they are already old. One needs patience,” said Matron Howard.
“I do not have parents or children. St Giles is my home too. I love my job. I will never retire. I will nurse until my last breath,” said Matron Howard.
