Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 20/98) - Sylvia Malloy is among the first in the city to know when there is a serious accident.

An operating room nurse for 10 years at Stanton Regional Hospital (at the hospital for 15 years), Malloy is called whenever there's an incident that may require extra people in the O.R.

And, sometimes, she said, it's tough because people know a lot of people in a small town.

"Although once the surgery is started, you're so busy you forget," she said. "But, if I know someone is coming in, I'll make a point of going up on the floor (to visit). It's tough."

Other challenges of the job include the changing pace of nursing and the amount of training required to learn the new procedures.

"It's much more technical (these days)," she said. "It's a lot more stressful because things happen so quickly."

A graduate of St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon in 1964, Malloy has gone back to school several times to continue her education. She went back to university in the late '60s to get her bachelor of nursing and then taught at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Malloy said duty in the O.R. is different from any other kind of nursing. "Your patient contact is short -- perhaps it's not as rewarding because of that," she said. "We're in contact with patients, but you can't get into in-depth conversation."

But, despite this, Malloy still loves her job after more than 25 years of nursing.

And, one of the reasons she loves her work is the time it has allowed her to spend with her family over the years as she was raising three daughters.

"I think it lends itself for people with children," she said.

"You can pick where you want to work and your hours."