The Beatles were top of the charts, Jean Shrimpton was modelling the minidress at the Melbourne Cup and Australia was at war in Vietnam when Janet Ezzy began her very first shift as a trainee nurse.
She was just 17 years old when her nursing and midwifery career began back in 1965 and today the sprightly 77-year-old grandmother of five is still caring for patients in need at Mater Private Hospital Mackay.
Ms Ezzy is believed to be the longest-serving nurse in Australia, having spent most of her career working at Mater hospitals in Townsville and her hometown of Mackay.
Her energy, empathy and enjoyment of nursing are still as strong as ever.
“I have loved every minute of nursing and being a midwife over the past six decades, it is such a rewarding career, and I really enjoy helping people,” she said.
When Mrs Ezzy became a nursing cadet in the mid ‘60s, she moved into the nurses’ quarters, where the curfew was a strict 10pm.
Ms Ezzy remembers it as a time when there were no epidurals or ultrasounds for birthing mothers - and no air conditioning.
Hospital beds were surrounded by mosquito nets, portable screens were in use, and electricity use was limited overnight.
“I remember not being able to turn the electric lights on until 5 am, having to sponge bath patients by lantern light and boil urine with Bunsen burners to test protein levels,” she said.
“Thank goodness for the ’70s!”
Since then, nursing and health care in Australia has evolved and been revolutionised by advances in science and technology.
“I do like technology, but I also like the human side of nursing,” Ms Ezzy said.
“I think it’s important to use your senses to help diagnose patients and understand what’s going on. You can often pick something up before the monitor does.”
Mrs Ezzy trained on the job in the mid-60s, but throughout her career she has continued learning and expanding her knowledge.
This includes completing a ‘prescribing for midwives’ course at Griffith University in 2013 when she was in her mid-60s.
“We trained on the job when I started, so it was an eye opener doing a university course,” she said.
“I really enjoyed it and gained a lot of experience, and I’m always interested in expanding my knowledge, and Mater has given me many opportunities to do that.”
Today Ms Ezzy works part-time at Mater Private Hospital Mackay as an Assistant-in-Nursing (AIN), lending a helping hand across its wards and maternity unit.
Mater Private Hospital Mackay General Manager Karen Wade said Mrs Ezzy has dedicated her life to improving the health of her patients and has cared for generations of Queenslanders for more than 40 years.
“Janet is the gold standard of nursing; she is caring and compassionate with her patients and a great role model and mentor to our younger nurses and midwives,” Mrs Wade said.
“We are very fortunate to have her working here in Mackay, she brings so much experience and knowledge to the job and we thank her for her 60 years of nursing.”
Mrs Ezzy been married for 55 years to husband Barry, a former Telstra technician, is a mother of two, grandmother to five and a great grandmother to one.
