When asked about her most memorable experiences at the Medical College of Georgia, two names spring immediately to Joan Walton Lawson’s mind.
The 1959 School of Nursing alumna fondly remembers founding Dean E. Louise Grant and Professor Leilee P. Ault as strong, intelligent and dedicated leaders.
“They helped us to develop our curiosity and knowledge,” said Mrs. Lawson. “I don’t think I will ever lose my love of nursing until the day I die.”
After graduating, her first job paid $325 a month, “and even then it was a low salary. A lot of us went into the profession not for the pay we got, but because we loved what we did.”
For her husband, Dr. Quentin Lawson (School of Medicine, ’55), MCG is where he first laid eyes on the nurse who stole his heart. The year was 1960.
“Joan was a beautiful young woman on (the pediatrics floor) with long blonde hair and a great personality,” said Dr. Lawson, who was at MCG as a urology resident after completing a tour of duty with the U.S. Air Force. “She was eating a cone of ice cream and I fell in love with her the first time I saw her.”
“He had asked class="MsoNormal">Word traveled through the nurses’ dorm that night, and soon, Dr. Lawson called to clarify things and ask the young lady to dinner. A few months later, the smitten man proposed, and in October, the couple married.
Forty-five years later, the Lawsons have three sons and eight grandchildren. They’ve both retired – he from a urology practice in Valdosta, Ga., and she from administration in the Southern Training Institute, where she trained nurses’ aides for nursing homes throughout the state via the Workforce Investment Act.
They’ve both committed to MCG’s financial future to help others attain the education and opportunities they received.
“I felt like it was a real privilege for me to be able to attend MCG,” said Dr. Lawson. “I felt it gave me a better life to go there and graduate. It was a long way to go from Hahira, Ga., to medical school, and I was proud when I got there. I decided to give to MCG to provide some of what has been provided for me over the years.”
Their generosity also springs from their perspective as patients: Mrs. Lawson is a two-time survivor of breast cancer.
When asked what advice they would like to pass on to the next generation of health care providers, both noted the importance of respect.
“Medical school graduates need to be compassionate with their patients and should spend as much time as possible with them,” Dr. Lawson said. “Communicate with them and never feel above them. Above all, show patients the respect they would like to receive themselves.”
“Be sure you love what you are doing, because that is the key in any profession,” Mrs. Lawson advised today’s nursing students. “I’ve seen nurses who seemed disinterested in their job, and I think that’s the biggest tragedy. You have to have an intuition and sensitivity to the patient because there is more to learn than just the technical problems. Face-to-face contact, touch and respect are important to healing.”
Ellen Jones