Patricia McPherson (Part 4) – A Pioneering Life

Patricia McPherson finished a decade of work from 1962 to 1973 in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, first as a sister at the AIM Hospital Fitzroy Crossing, and then as the pioneer of itinerant nursing in the Aboriginal camps. She was physically, emotionally and intellectually drained. She left the Kimberley both depleted of energy and without financial resources after years of being on a nominal ‘mission’ wage. 

But Pat McPherson’s Kimberley experiences had left her with two life-changing consequences. One was her realisation that she wanted to dedicate her professional life to community health. 

The second consequence was the meeting between Sister Pat, a legend of a nurse, and Luke McCall, the legendary outback stockman. Their lifelong friendship endured across the continent of Australia and across time.

FURTHER EDUCATION

Her immediate challenge after leaving the Kimberley was to replenish her inner resources, principally through further education.

“The pioneering work was over, new people with new skills were needed to take it to the next level and I was very tired and completely empty. I knew if I wanted to be a contributing person in the 1980s I would have to ‘fill up’, so I returned to Victoria, recovered, then took myself off to University and undertook an Arts Degree for four years, majoring in Sociology and Politics. 

I loved being at University as I found study very energizing. In fact the 70s was my favourite decade. The latest phase of the feminist revolution was in full swing which saw legislative advances in public policy that benefited women, such as equal pay, equal opportunity and anti-discrimination – all heady stuff which I found challenging and stimulating.”

 

 

PIONEERING PROGRAMS FOR THE RDNS

Pat’s plan to dedicate herself to community health was realised when she joined the Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS), the pre-eminent not-for-profit agency for community health nursing. During her years with the RDNS, she was able to plan and pioneer new clinical programs that introduced specialist clinical nurses to meet the challenges of treating existing health problems in the community such as diabetes, and new health perils such as AIDS.

“After Uni. I was invited to join the Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) in Melbourne where I spent 14 years working in Centre and Regional Management and then in 1987, I enrolled in a Masters Degree in Nursing Studies when it was offered for the first time in Victoria. This was a part-time course which I completed in1991 following which I was appointed as the Policy and Planning Officer for RDNS.

Planning involved developing new clinical programs which only became possible after the introduction of a new career structure for nurses that was one of the outcomes of the big nurse’s strike in the 1980s. The existing career structure only catered for nurse administrators and nurse teachers. The new one opened up opportunities for clinical nurses. New programs involved our specialist clinical nurses in AIDS care, leg ulcer management, continence management, 24 hour care, palliative care, Cystic Fibrosis home care, wound care, homeless person’s health care and a Diabetic Teaching Program.”

DIABETIC TEACHING PROGRAM

“The Diabetic Teaching Program (DTP) came about because I felt that there was an inordinate number of diabetic patients on the books for years in order to receive daily insulin injections and blood tests (finger pricks). I couldn’t see why most couldn’t learn to do this themselves. Not only that, they needed to understand all about their tablets and/or insulin, its administration, side effects and the equipment. They also needed to learn about (and manage) all other  issues related to their diabetes – diet, activity, care of teeth/eyes/feet and monitoring control. The Director of Nursing (DON) accepted my recommendations and together with the best of our nurse educators/clinicians we put together a complete DTP incorporating all of the above.  When this became established practice, 90% of new diabetic patients admitted were discharged because they had learnt to manage their own diabetic care.”

 

AIDS EPIDEMIC

Pat played a critical role in developing an effective community nursing response during the AIDS epidemic.

“The AIDS epidemic caught all health care organisations unprepared and there was a mad scramble to find a treatment. RDNS came into the picture when treatments began to save lives and young men were being discharged to home care and this project became mine to handle. It started with one nurse (who had undertaken self-directed learning)  and the first patient who became a test case. Every issue that came up (i.e parents/partner/gay community relationship, undertakers requirements, non-availability of normal in home supports) was worked through. This pioneer nurse was on call 24/7 but as more men were discharged home, we educationally prepared four more AIDS nurses, one to each region and as the numbers increased even further. AIDS care was devolved to the area nurses who were educationally supported at all times. Regarding the lack  of care from other community agencies,  we set up a joint project between RDNS and Victorian AIDS Council Home Care Unit (a group of gay volunteers who organised themselves into a strong home care team).  It was very successful collaborative (and sustainable) outcome which lasted throughout the AIDS epidemic.”

 

 

 

FRAMING POLICY FOR THE RDNS

“Policy involved keeping on top of federal and state legislation and policies relating to health, aged care and nursing, writing position papers and submissions as required, well over a hundred if I remember correctly.  At the same time, together with a very gifted consultant and technical writer, we re-developed all the Agency policies and procedures within the framework of the Australian Health Care Standards by which the Agency was accredited. 

In my last year I prepared the agency for compliance with the new Commonwealth and State health privacy legislation.”

“In 1999, I had a particularly interesting experience when the head of RDNS education department obtained an AusAID grant to develop a Primary Health Care Plan for the island nation of Tuvalu (formerly Ellis Islands) – nine coral atolls stretched for thousands of miles along the Equator. This was a requirement when the nation signed up to the Health For All By Year 2000 Movement of the World Health Organization. She asked me to go with her because I had done my Masters thesis on the development of this movement and had a full grasp of the WHO framework and requirements.

It was full of highlights not the least of which was having to bribe a baggage handler at Suva airport to get our gear onto the plane. We were told we could go, but not our luggage which contained all of our teaching equipment. But twenty Australian dollars and a bottle of gin soon fixed that.” 

 

 

LUKE McCALL

“The best reward that came my way (in the Kimberley) was meeting someone who was to become my best friend and soul mate. 

In late July 1967, I was waiting on the Fitzroy Crossing airstrip to put an Esky of pathology specimens on the DC3 mail plane en route to Derby when a tall handsome man, dressed entirely in black, came down the steps nonchalantly carrying a saddle over his shoulder, much as a city guy would carry a sports coat. He tipped his hat and said ‘Good morning’ in a plummy voice. 

His name was Luke McCall, a legendary stockman from the Queensland Gulf country who’d arrived to take up the position of Head Stockman on Jubilee Downs station.

I was working in the Jubilee camp later that morning and met Luke at lunch and was quite taken with his quiet dignity and manners. I was a bit blown away actually.

The muster (herding cattle and trucking them to the meat works) started soon after Luke arrived and I didn’t see anything of him until one day as I was returning to town after my weekly visit to the Jubilee camp, I came across a small tree bough placed across the track. Intrigued, I followed the way it was pointing through the scrub and came across the musterers’ dinner camp.  Luke and I had a chat and a drink of coffee and off I went. From then on, I would come across a bough across the track from time to time that would lead to Luke’s dinner camp for another coffee and chat.

During next year’s mustering season these meetings graduated from ‘smoko’ to ‘supper’ when the stock camp was camped not far from town on Jubilee’s No. 4 bore.  I would buy a packet of bacon, half a dozen eggs and a tin of pineapple juice and we would dine by the camp fire under a million stars, serenaded by horse bells and the low mooing of cattle. It was very romantic I can tell you.

At the end of that season, Luke decided that the Kimberley wasn’t for him and returned to the Gulf. He began writing to me and our friendship developed through letters.

1972 when I completed my work in the Kimberley and returned to civilization to recover and undertake years of study, Luke visited me wherever I was during his wet season break. When I got on with my career and bought a house in Melbourne, Luke could stay for the duration of the Wet. He took to holiday life in the southern capital like a duck to water; charmed my family, friends and neighbours; developed a passion for fine dining and learnt to ride a tram. 

Our friendship lasted for over 50 years, sustained by letters, phone calls (when Telstra came to the outback), holidays and Christmases. When we had both retired we made annual road trips to celebrations/reunions at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame in Longreach and the Drovers Camp at Camooweal on the Queensland/Territory border, meeting up with Luke’s old friends and acquaintances along the way.

In his 86th year Luke became very unwell so I brought him home to my place and became his carer. I was with him every day until he ‘left camp’ on 9^th November 2018.” 

Read Pat’s stories in WomanGoingPlaces about Luke McCall’s life as a legendary Australian stockman of the outback.  And about their annual trip to the iconic Drovers Camp Festivals held every year to commemorate the droving tradition when Camooweal Queensland was the centre for the largest cattle drives the world has ever seen.

 

 

RETIREMENT AND REFLECTIONS

Pat retired to Bairnsdale in Victoria in 2002.

“After twenty-five wonderful years with the RDNS, I retired to Bairnsdale at the end of 2002 to enjoy the natural beauty of East Gippsland as a bird watcher, a bush walker, a land carer and a field naturalist  It is refreshment for the soul. And at long last, I have started to make long desired trips overseas”.

In the tough, isolating environment of her life and work in the Kimberley, Pat McPherson had found the strength and resilience she needed to face almost insurmountable challenges. She recognised that her work was of value, but it was her faith that provided the essential support she needed throughout those years.

“My years in the Outback were a time of rich spiritual growth. I found myself in an alien situation where all the props were gone. The church was no longer nailed down on the corner, accessible every Sunday and providing an uplifting gospel reading and a feel good homily for the week.

The AIM conditions, workload and challenges at Fitzroy Crossing so overwhelmed me that I couldn’t do it with my own strength and I needed help. I got it through a personal (direct) relationship with the Lord rather than one mediated by a Minister. I lived by prayer and when the chips were down (seemingly daily) I always got the help and the strength I needed which sustained me – that is my reward.”

And the rugged beauty of the Kimberley with its harsh seasons embedded itself in her heart.

“An unexpected reward came despite all the vicissitudes of the climate that I lived through i.e. the sub-zero nights and dusty, desert winds throughout the Dry season; unimaginable heat in the last three months of the year in the build-up to the Wet; shattering storms followed by stifling humidity when the rains came. 

By contrast, brief times of sweet coolness, colour and quietness at dusk and dawn and then the glory of the ever lasting stars at night brought refreshment for the soul and renewal. 

Along the way, the Outback became my ‘heart country’ and still is.”

PATRICIA MCPHERSON’S ENDURING CONTRIBUTIONS

Pat McPherson’s pioneering spirit and character together with her care for community and country have been consistent features of her life. Her innovative thinking, meticulous planning and application of solutions in community healthcare have fundamentally improved the healthcare system and saved many lives.

Her enduring contribution was recognised when in 2001, as part of Australia’s Centenary of Federation celebrations, Patricia McPherson received the special honour of being included on the inaugural Victorian Honour Role of Women – Women Shaping the Nation.

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