Karen Black Burgin - St. Francis (Pittsburgh) School of Nursing Memorial Site

KAREN BLACK BURGIN
Class of 1960

By Karen Burgin
August 2005

Right after graduating from St. Francis, I went to New York City to attend a 4 year college, where I majored in English. During my college years I worked as a Med-Surg nurse at Lenox Hill Hospital, part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer months. St. Francis had prepared me well to cover all the general Med-Surg areas. After college graduation I worked for another year at Lenox Hill while studying Japanese, as preparation for a year of graduate work in Japan. I was in Tokyo from 1965-1966, studying Japanese and getting steeped in the culture, which I love to this day.

I briefly considered going into Asian studies, but came to the conclusion that my real calling was still nursing. I began to work for St. Vincent's School of Nursing in New York in 1967, and worked there, with 2 maternity leaves, until 1979. I was a teacher of Medical-Surgical nursing. This school, like St. Francis, was a first-rate diploma school whose graduates were in great demand in all the NYC hospitals. During my time at St. Vincent's I earned an M.A. in Nursing Education from Columbia Teachers College.

Having 2 babies sparked my interest in natural childbirth and eventually in midwifery. The 70's were the era when consumers were asking for more woman-centered and family-centered birth experiences. I left teaching and took a post-partum job in Brooklyn for a year in the hopes of being accepted into a nurse-midwifery education program. Fortunately, I was accepted by the State University of New York (Downstate) in Brooklyn, NY, and graduated from there in 1981.

My midwifery career lasted from 1981 until this year, when I retired. During that time I practiced in several settings, including a large clinic practice at Bellevue Hospital in New York, a clinic practice in Brooklyn, NY, and 3 different private practices, also in Brooklyn. I was also an academic faculty member in the Downstate education program for 2 years. I practiced full-scope midwifery and delivered almost 1500 babies, not to mention the thousands of women I took care of in labor and in ambulatory settings. I found midwifery a most rewarding career, one that is very rigorous and demanding, but at the same time totally fulfilling. I loved precepting midwifery students and passing the torch to the next generation. I am still active in our local organization, serving on the Membership Committee and working on a newsletter to inform members about current issues that midwifery is facing today.

I thank St. Francis for an excellent beginning. I would like to be remembered to all my classmates and look forward to seeing you again at our 50th reunion in 2010! Hope to see news of you on this website!