The long tradition of nursing at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) is being highlighted by a new display of graduation photos spanning seven decades.
The photographs taken at the annual graduation ceremony for nurses at the hospital have been placed along the walls of the link corridor connecting the main hospital building to its Dunmore wing.
The photographs are now on permanent display to coincide with International Nurse's Day that took place earlier this week.
The Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts organisation supported the restoration, reframing and relocation of each of the photographs to form the historical archive.
The HSE has said that from its opening as the Ardkeen Chest Hospital in 1952, through its functioning as the regional hospital of the South Eastern Board to its latter day development as the HSE's UHW serving the south east region, on-the-job nurse training has featured in the day-to-day activities of the hospital.
Launching the display of photographs, Niamh Sheehan, Director of Nursing at UHW, said they were "delighted" that that the contribution of nurses to the hospital and to healthcare more widely was being recognised.
She said the montage of photographs would include accompanying captions of the names of those pictured.
Ms Sheehan said: "To date, we had some of them on the walls in the nurse education section in a part of the building not accessible to patients and visitors.
"The space afforded by a non-clinical environment like the public link corridor to the Dunmore Wing will allow people to see our collection, which begins with a photograph from 1968 featuring the nine nursing graduates and their tutors.
"Reflecting the growth of the hospital in the meantime, for instance, the 2004 photograph shows 55 such graduates."
Ms Sheehan added that the display would be a source of interest to visitors to UHW in that there will be so many connections between the viewer and those in the photos.
She said: "We look forward to adding annual UHW nurse graduation photographs to these corridor walls into the future.
"Through time, now and into the future, nurses perform a vital service as part of a multi-disciplinary team in promoting and maintaining the health of individuals, families and communities and in systematically caring for those who develop health problems and supporting them to live their lives to their maximum potential."
The restoration and reframing work was carried out by photographer and framer, Tom Quilty, who is also one of Réalta's art installers at UHW.
The project was supported by Réalta curator, Aisling Kennedy as well as assistant administrator, Ann Murphy.
The Réalta team worked in collaboration with UHW's General Manager, Ben O'Sullivan and Nurse Practice Development Co-Ordinator/Assistant Director of Nursing, Nora Flynn.
Curator Aisling Kennedy said: "The collection beautifully documents the changing faces, styles and traditions of nursing graduates in Waterford across the decades, while celebrating the enduring contribution of nurses to healthcare in Waterford and the south east."
In recent years, modern degree-level education at the South East Technological University's (SETU) Department of Nursing and Healthcare features clinical placements at UHW.
SETU's BSc (Hons) in General Nursing and BSc in Nursing Studies for Clinical Practice sees students complete 80 weeks of clinical placement at HSE healthcare facilities in counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and south Tipperary, including a 36-week continuous internship in their fourth year of studies.
