Sue Barton, Staff Nurse

Sue Barton #7

by Helen Dore Boylston

Nothing ever stands still in Sue Barton's household. Just when Sue thinks that she has everything under control, with Tabitha at school, the twins and baby Sue in good health, bang comes the discovery that Dr. Bill, her husband, is in trouble. He comes down with pneumonia on a fishing trip, and when they get him out of the woods he is ordered off to a sanatorium for six months. The emergency brings all of Sue's energy to the surface: she applies for and quickly receives a job as staff nurse at the Springdale Hospital, where she had once been Director of Nurses. She returns to the hospital feeling like an old fire horse, forgetting her troubles in the happiness of the old routine - temperatures, bed making, medicines, all the care of sick and frightened people. Sue enjoys working directly with patients far better than executive work, and it isn't long before she is involved in staff personalities and problems. Not all of those deal strictly with nursing. There is the love affair of a student nurse and a fancy-free intern which need an expert prod from Sue. Sue Barton's talent for getting into and out of a tangle of human relations propels her through her personal and professional ups and downs in this final tale of the enchanting red-headed nurse from New Hampshire.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Nursing, Medical

204 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

An only child, Helen Dore Boylston attended Portsmouth public schools and trained as a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. Two days after graduating, she joined the Harvard medical unit that had been formed to serve with the British Army. After the war, she missed the comradeship, intense effort, and mutual dependence of people upon one another when under pressure, and joined the Red Cross to work in Poland and Albania. This work, often in isolation and with little apparent effect, wasn't satisfying. Returning to the U.S., Boylston taught nose and throat anaesthesia at Massachusetts General for two years. During this time Rose Wilder Lane read Boylston's wartime diary and arranged for it to be published in the Atlantic Monthly. - Source

- More information

Series:
* Sue Barton
* Carol Page

Reviews

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sue's life is turned upside down when Bill is taken ill on a fishing trip and has to go into a sanatorium. Trying to juggle looking after four kids and finding a job to pay the bills while Bill is gone keeps her busy and she is quickly employed as a staff nurse by Kit. Sue is determined to be seen as a nurse and not just Bill's wife, helping both patients and staff.

It was nice in this last book to see Sue back to being a nurse who deals with patients. I felt the series lost its way a bit when she became an executive at the hospital but this was back to Sue as we first met her. I liked all the stories from the ward, the way Sue tried to help the nurses with their personal problems, and had to deal with a very unsettled home life as a lot of working mothers do.

With Bill recovering from illness, there were none of the dumb petty fights that annoyed me in previous books, so that was a good thing! We only got a few pages of the annoying Marianna, and we see plenty of Kit who now has the job that her skills are suited for. I liked the plot and some of the patients were quite entertaining. I don't want to give away too much of it in case I spoil things for other readers.

This book had a mixture of humour and drama on the wards, dealing with personal issues and the ups and downs of relationships. It was the perfect book to finish off Sue's story as she finally finds a place in nursing where she is suited and comfortable. This series may be outdated in some ways, having been written in the 1930s, but I still found it to be a good series to read again.

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final book in the “Sue Barton” series and takes place about a year after the last one. It was fun to see Sue back in a nursing position as I enjoy her interactions with the patients and other nurses and doctors. Her family life is not forgotten and we get to see all the children again, and Bill.
There are one or two swear words and it is not a Christian book.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biggest surprise in this series for a modern woman may be that the main character Sue Barton Barry is fulfilled by her work as a nurse instead of just waiting for the day that she can get married and give up her career. At one point in this last book, Sue even chafes at the idea her working may be the cause of her daughter's misbehavior. The modern outlook was unexpected, but it made some of the corny dialogue more palatable.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This final installment in the Sue Barton series finds Sue back at Springdale Hospital, this time pounding the linoleum as, a—you guessed it—staff nurse. It's a nice, comforting book in which nothing major happens (well, aside from Bill's stay at the sanatorium, but that's just a setup so Sue can go back to work). I enjoyed it.

Veazie Ann is under-appreciated. It was kind of ironic that she was fussing about Sue and bringing her breakfast in bed, when Veazie Ann had been the one home with the kids all week, doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc.

I also thought it was odd that the kids never visited Bill at the sanatorium. Was it too contagious? Did he really go six months without seeing them? I would've liked to know more about Bill's daily routine at the sanatorium. It seems like it would be frightfully dull.

Frank seemed like a bit of cad, and I thought his getting thrown together with Margot came across as hurried and insincere.

I don't get what a "relief nurse" is. It seems Sue was assigned to a regular ward with regular hours. Does it just mean she worked the shift in-between the day and night shifts?

The ending seemed a bit abrupt. I would’ve liked to know whether Sue decided to continue working or not. Perhaps leaving it open was better, though. I also wish we could’ve had more about Kit. Will she just continue shadowing Sue for the rest of her days?

3.5 stars

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

And so, in the twinkling of an eye, Sue goes from domestic bliss to single parent working full-time. Of course, she does have the capable Veazie-Ann to help her, and she knows Bill is coming back, so it's not exactly the modern working mum situation. But it's certainly a change.

There is lots of nursing going on in this book, and it's great, a really good finish to the series. And on the home front, I love the vignette of Bill's return, and Kit not quite getting why actually, he's more than happy to come back to the usual family chaos.

I do wish there were more Sue books. I'd love to see her as a grandma. These books are a little dated in some of the attitudes they portray but on the whole they've aged well, and I imagine they were quite progressive for their time. I've lost count of how many times over the years I've read them and I still enjoy them. Thank you, HDB.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the final book in the Sue Barton series and I'm sorry to see it end. In this book Sue goes back to work at the hospital when Bill is diagnosed with TB and must stay in a sanitarium. This book is filled with the individual stories that made the previous books so enjoyable. It's so interesting to see the differences in training hospitals from when Sue was in training to approximately 20 years earlier. Doctors and nurses have lots more social interaction than they did back then.

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the last book in the series, we return to what interests me the most - Sue's work at the hospital. This book is a lot shorter than the others, and seems more like an afterthought than anything else. That didn't stop me from enjoying it though.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this bookends the series nicely, with Sue going back to work, at least temporarily. She always seemed the happiest and most productive when she's doing staff work, and I also prefer the variety of characters and situations we get to see when she's doing active nursing.

[Anne Federwisch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last in the series. Whew. Finally finished the series, Lauren!

Bolyston finishes strong with Sue back on the floor. Not great literature, but a nice slice of nursing history and mundane adventures.

[Connie Glasgow]

Loved this series, loved that my mom named me after the nurse, Connie. Sad to have it end. Hopefully my daughters will someday read.

[Cyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read as a young adult, inspiring series

[Ali Molenaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik las deze boeken voor het eerst als tiener, vrijwel kritiekloos, want wat weet je nou op die leeftijd. Nu, als 21e eeuwse volwassene trek ik toch wel even een wenkbrauw omhoog als ik lees over een schooljuf die mama de schuld geeft van een kind dat huilt in de klas. Want mama werkt. En ik trek nog een wenkbrauw op als ik lees over een dokter die weer terug naar huis komt vanuit een sanatorium waar hij maanden heeft gezeten. Want het is dan wel de bedoeling dat mama ontslag neemt uit de baan waar ze het uitstekend naar haar zin heeft en de kinderen weer gaat opvoeden. Ik weet het wel, jaren dertig en veertig waar het enige recht van de vrouw het aanrecht is, maar toch. Ik heb me trouwens toch wel geamuseerd met deze boeken hoor.

[cloudyskye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shedding a few tears since this was the last one of a lovely series. Good-bye, Sue and all the others! Good-bye, wholesome family and community life in New Hampshire!
I feel inspired to re-watch "The Waltons" now ...

[Astrid Johanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atter i hvidt er den sjoveste bog i serien om Sue Barton, det er desværre også den sidste.
Flere steder var jeg ved at knække sammen af grin.

Bogen er utrolig sjov, sørgelige og spændende. Kort sagt er den simpelthen fantastisk.
Atter i hvidt var umulig at ligge fra sig. Jeg var så fordybet at jeg glemte tid og sted.

Jeg læste hele serien på under en uge. Det var sørgeligt at sige farvel til serien om Sue Barton. Men selvom jeg ville ønske at der var flere bøger i serien, så jeg kan fortsætte med at læse om Sue, hendes familie og venners liv.
Elsker jeg Atter i hvidts slutning. Den er en perfekt slutning på serien

[girl writing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored these books as a kid which is kind of interesting since I have never wanted anything to do with medical fields even back then. The old-fashionedness, Sue's true love of what she did, the stories in each book of the series of both hard times and good times, the positiveness woven throughout them all must have been what drew me to them. It's been fun to reread them as an adult, all in the series and in order. My library when I was young didn't have the whole set so filling in the pieces with the books I've found and collected over the years is satisfying.

[Vass · Rating 2 out of 5]

...

[Mai · Rating 5 out of 5]

And a great finish to the series! I've probably reread this the most because this book was the only one I owned as a child, the rest I just borrowed repeatedly from the library.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading the entire Sue Barton series as a child and loving them all

[Donna Tarver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice way to end the series, even though more would have been nice. This one was very good, but I did miss Bill while he was away. They did leave it up in the air as to weather Sue would continue to work or stay home now that Bill was home. I like to think she would have taken time off for the month that Bill would be unable to go to work, and then she would have kept working. I guess the author wanted everyone to draw their own conclusion. I loved this whole series. A must read if you like the old fashioned nurse books.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros:
Bill is absent for most of the book, having been sent away to a tuberculosis sanitarium.
Sue has gone back to nursing, so we don't have to hear too much about her other boring domestic problems either.

Cons: I can't find the swear words that another reviewer says are contained within (causing her to declare it "not a Christian book.") I think one of the characters is named Heck, so maybe that's what she's talking about.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things are going well for Sue Barton, that is until her husband Bill comes down with pneumonia which worsened quickly.
With a long spell in hospital ahead of him, Sue vows to fill her time wisely.
She turns back to her old nursing career and takes a position of staff nurse at Springvale hospital.
She loves the work and it keeps her busy but will she be accepted back as wife of a doctor or will she have to prove her worth as a nurse?
Great hospital drama with an old fashioned flavour.

[Beth Mosele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have read the complete Sue Barton books five or six times when I was growing up in the 1960’s. It was please to re-visit them. I credit these books in guiding me to my professional career as a hospital social worker. I thoroughly enjoyed taking a journey through medicine in the 1930-1940. Much has changed. I highly recommend this series

[Uuttu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aluksi kirjalle tuli irvisteltyä: sen verran äitelää oli Helenan kotielämä. Sairaalajaksosta kuitenkin pidin ja aloin myös lämmetä kirjan vanhahtavalle tyylille. Jos aiempia osia tulee vastaan, tulee niitäkin varmaan luettua.

[Alex Ankarr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not gonna set the world on fire, but a pleasant soothing read, bit of a 'Geoffrey Trease for adults' vibe. It's not quite dull in the way that I prefer: Trease or Agatha Christie do the job better for me, preferably along with an episode of Countdown, a cuppa and a well-stocked biscuit tin.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nursing parts were very enjoyable, but it did seem like her husband and children were quite disposable. Having the father gone for months and the mother working would have had some effect on the children and Sue personally, but that is mostly glossed over.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to stop!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book so much, I didn’t keep track of what page or chapter I was in, I just read it. It is very well written

[Nancy Householder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other Sue Barton books had a few pictures included. But this one had no pictures.

[Rachel Michel]

The only book in English in the Geneva free library but not mad