Hyacinth Rose

A academic dean meets an old student after twenty years.

Late Night Philosophy Series

Hyacinth Rose

Recently I had major spinal surgery.

The surgeon was young and efficient like most of them are nowadays.

Soon after recovery I found myself in a nice hospital room trying to get comfortable.

I do not like having to adjust to new surroundings, especially when I am in pain.

Still, there I was with people moving about all around me.

They were efficient too.

I have noticed that no matter how often people attempt to reassure you that everything will be fine, being away from home is a very uneasy experience.

Nothing is yours and you are at the mercy of other people’s kindness.

So I settled in and hoped for the best.

My roommate was an eighteen year old young man who had fractured several bones in his back while pole vaulting.

He was in a lot of pain, but still managed to smile and give me a slight wave.

Instinctively I told myself to “man up.” If this young man could be so brave than an old guy like me could as well.

I lay back and waited.

It was not long before the head night nurse stopped by to check in on me.

She walked into the room while reading my paperwork.

“Hello” she shouted out in the most soothing Jamaican accent
“I am Hyacinth Rose, your head night nurse.”

Hyacinth Rose! Now that’s a name you could not soon forget.

As she approached my bed she looked up and I could see the surprise in her eyes.

“Dr. Joe, is that you?”

I recognized her immediately too.

Hyacinth Rose had been a nursing student at one of the universities where I was the Academic Dean.

She had come to the United States to pursue her dream of being a nurse.

Originally she had trouble adjusting to her new environment and to the school.

While not our best student, she was certainly one of our hardest working.

In this particular university pre-nursing students were required to take two science courses in Anatomy prior to entering the program.

Students had to earn a grade of “B” or higher in each to move forward with their studies.

Hyacinth Rose had difficulty with not only the course materials, but with the language.

I was saddened to see her struggle.

One day in the hallway I saw she was particulate down. She moved slowly along and when I asked “Are you ok, Ms. Rose,” she simply looked up and gave me a little smile.

I asked her to stop by my office anytime that day so we could speak.

When she did she confided in me that things were not going very well. She was overwhelmed and she was lost in class.

I asked her if the material was too difficult or if the language was the main obstacle.

She said a little of both, but mostly the language is what was holding her back.

I told her I would see what we could do to help.

I gave her a candy bar and sent her on her way.

I walked down to our Learning and Tutoring Center to speak with our Director.

Here’s a silly question I said.

Do the textbooks we use in the Anatomy classes come in other languages?

My Director said she did not know, but would find out.

The next day she came to me and informed me that indeed they did.

We checked the availability of languages offered and discovered that Patois was one of the languages in which the texts was published.

I asked her to order two and asked her to see if any of our tutors spoke Patois.

She ordered the textbooks and found a tutor for Hyacinth Rose that spoke her language.

Hyacinth thanked me and over the course of the next few weeks it was good to see here moving forward.

She now had a fighting chance.

Hyacinth completed the two required courses with a “B” in each one.

She would now be required to take two preliminary nursing courses, after which, a final determination would be made as to her eligibility to enter the program.

The way the program worked was that the students would be evaluated in these courses.

The specific details of this evaluation were quite complex with more weight for example being given to clinical skills as opposed to classroom work.

My Program Director had refined and honed the system over the period of the thirty years she had headed the department.

Once all evaluations were completed and analyzed each student was given a class ranking.

An oddity here was that the state in which this university was located had at one time put a limit on the number of nursing students a university could enroll.

It was from the need to comply with this requirement that the Program Director and her faculty members developed the class ranking system.

That state had eliminated this limitation by the time I came to the Dean’s office there.

Still, the nursing faculty maintained the system as an effective assessment tool.

As the end of the semester my Program Director brought the list of the students she would recommend for enrollment in the nursing program.

I scanned the list of the thirty students.

I noticed that after the name of the last eligible student there was an asterisk.

I ask my Program Director what this meant.

She told me that whenever two students have the same class ranking a decision had to made on which of the two would be enrolled in the program.

I asked who the student was who had finished in a dead heat for thirtieth place.

She said it was Hyacinth Rose.

She then gave me all the raw data, the evaluations, and the final class ranking of all forty five students would had sought enrollment into the programs.

From the scores it was clear some of these students would do more for healthcare if they didn’t become nurses.

I was still confused though why one student was moving on and the other not, considering their final scores were equal.

It also bothered me a little that the student chosen was the stereotypical looking nurse with blond hair and blue eyes.

I said to the Program Director “didn’t the state drop the enrollment limit requirement?”

She said yes they had dropped it.

So why aren’t we moving both students forward.

I knew she had the resources because I had increased her budget by $20,000 just a few ago.

She said there was nothing stopping us if we wanted to do so. They just always went by the process in these cases.

I asked if there was any legitimate or special reason why we shouldn’t then move Hyacinth Rose along as well.

She said no, but that she had spoken to both student already and they were fine with the decision.

I asked her to please speak with
Hyacinth Rose and tell her you and your faculty have decided to give her a opportunity to enroll in the program as well.

I also asked her to meet with her faculty members and give the overall ranking system another look. Maybe we could make it even better.

That was the last I heard about the situation.

Now some twenty years later into my hospital room was that same Hyacinth Rose.

She was not the same person.

She was the night head nurse and she told me someday she would be the Director of Nursing.

I believed her.

We talked a little while longer and then she went off to complete her duties.

About thirty minutes later two patient care technicians entered the room.

They said hello and then began to move my bed.

I didn’t know what was happening. Maybe another set of tests?

We moved down the hall past several doors and then into a room.

I have spent some nights in five star luxury hotels and they had very little on this room.

I was moved into a very luxurious bed.

It was heavenly.

Now I was really confused.

My confusion would be cleared up fairly soon.

About ten minutes later in walked Hyacinth Rose.

“Like the new room Dr. Joe?”

Was I promoted to king and nobody told me?

She just laughed.

Someone will be in later to explain all the niceties this room offers. She will bring you a hot chocolate.

After you talk get a good night’s sleep.

Niceties of the room was an understatement.

The menu rivaled any Michelin restaurant.

For breakfast I could select from the normal fare such as pancakes or French toast or select something a little fancier such as eggs Florentine or eggs Benedict.

Lunch and dinner included shrimp, lobster, and salmon for fish choices. There was chicken cordon beau, beef Wellington, prime rib, and several other delicious choices.

Soups included everything from simple broths to Vichyssoise.

I could sample a whole array of desserts including mousses, parfaits, and pastries.

Not only that, but someone was sent up from the kitchen before every meal to take my order.

There were “specials of the day” as well as homemade cookies.

The television seemed to have unlimited channels.

The room also had a surround sound system.

There was a mini-bar and a little card on top of it provided me with a twenty four telephone number just in case I needed something not in the mini-bar.

The sheets, also very soft and comfortable, were changed every day.

I kind of felt I didn’t belong there, but I enjoyed everything including the extra attention.

It turns out Hyacinth Rose had placed me into a “big donor’s” room.

When Hyacinth Rose came into my room a few days later I told her I didn’t know how to say thank you enough.

She said “oh no Dr. Joe, it is I that owes you.”

Why I asked.

“Dr. Joe we both know you were the one that told them to move me on.”

I told her we all discussed it and everyone agreed you had earned it.

She just smiled and said “Dr. Joe if it wasn’t for you I would be waiting tables at some IHop somewhere.”

I said no. Hyacinth Rose you would have found a way to fulfill your dream to become a nurse. Nothing could have stopped you.

She smiled and said good night and told me that I was being discharged the next day before she was back on shift. She said if I needed anything to just ask.

I thanked her for everything.

After she left the room I just sat there. I was kind of overwhelmed. I never expected anything like this to happen.

It is indeed a small world where university deans run into former students, but every once in awhile it is filled with pure happiness.

I reached to turn off the light when I thought “well maybe one more chocolate mousse.”