A 50-year nursing career at Mackay Base Hospital is a testament to Florence (Flo) Pitt’s dedication, resilience and passion for people and healthcare.

She has witnessed firsthand the evolution of nursing practices from hospital-based training in the mid-1970s to the integration of technology and digital health in modern care.

Flo’s career has morphed as much as the Mackay Base Hospital itself. She trained onsite as an enrolled nurse, worked in the emergency department, and then moved to outpatients, where she stayed for 30 years. She has worked in elective bookings for the last 15 years.

As one of eight children born and raised in Mackay in a Torres Strait Islander family, Flo started at the hospital straight out of high school.

“We didn’t have so many career options back then and I could either go admin or the medical field,” Flo said.

“I couldn’t see myself working as a receptionist, so I applied and started my hospital training in 1974.

“It’s been my whole heart; it’s been wonderful and I can’t imagine working in any other field.”

Flo started her career in a different time; when stockings and starched white dresses were ‘so stiff they stood up by themselves’, staff were addressed by their titles including ‘matron and sister’, there was a focus on precision and detail in tasks such as bed-making, and hospital staff rode to work on bikes or lived in quarters onsite.

“Back then the hospital was an old wooden building and there was a superintendent’s house overlooking the river,” she said.

“When I first started everything was done on paper. Appointments were booked into diaries, emails were non-existent and there wasn’t a computer in sight.

“Sometimes I sit and think to myself, who would have thought when I first started that today I would be sitting in front of a computer doing work?

“There’s been a lot of change in the hospital system. But you’ve just got to go with it and embrace it.”

Processes, paperwork and patients have changed considerably in 50 years. Long gone were concertina cards packed with patient details, folders full of medical records and bulldog clips of referrals stored under desks filed alphabetically. Today records are all digitised.

“The change to ieMR was massive, but it was a godsend really because, in bookings, we'd need access to old medical records to look stuff up,” she said.

“Back then medical records had to be searched for by staff and were brought up to us by trolley because they were all stored down the back of the hospital. People often had more than one file too and you'd have to go way back to look at their health history when making bookings.”

Advances in technology and digital health had expanded the scope of nursing practice, Flo said, allowing for care in various specialities and settings, including community-based care.

“There are definitely a lot more nurse specialities now, but I’m quite pleased really that when I was in outpatients I got to work with so many different people across so many specialities,” Flo said.

“I had varied experiences, like when the neurosurgeons came down from Townsville and when Barry Kotchevatkin came on board at the Base and had new equipment to do carpal tunnel procedures and nerve conduction studies.

“It was very interesting and quite exciting; back then there were only two nurses doing everything. I think we had to do and see a lot more. Outpatients is quite different today.”

Flo has many fond memories of working alongside practitioners, nurses and operational staff who she considers colleagues as well as friends. Respect, rapport and teamwork were always important in the hospital, she said.

“I recall getting a phone call at home one day from Dr Peter de Jersey. He was leaving and just wanted to thank me for all I’d done for him over the years which was just unheard of,” Flo said.

“I have worked with so many wonderful doctors including Dr Davies and Dr Vigna and I recall often reminding a young Dr Westcott about ensuring his handwriting was legible when he first started here.

“I’ve also enjoyed training many younger staff – I even trained Katie Young who is now the boss and service manager for elective bookings.”

Flo took an extended leave from her elective bookings role in April last year to care for her husband Richard as he battled cancer. Sadly, he passed away in July.

Flo attended the Length of Service recognition event at the Base Hospital on 3 June to collect her 50-year Length of Service pin and gift. She enjoyed reuniting and reminiscing with colleagues including Heather Skien, Dr John Hadok and Dr Adrian Westcott.

After 50 years at the Base, Flo now plans to officially retire in September to take Richards’ ashes home to the Torres Strait and continue to care for her grandson and son who live with her.

“It’s gotten to the point where the children of the children I’ve cared for are coming back to have babies and they say ‘are you still here?',” Flo said.

“But I tell them that I’ve been happy and fulfilled here or I wouldn’t have stayed for 50 years.”