biographies

Matson, Thelma Jean (1928 - 1990)

OAM, DME RN RM

Born
6 July 1928
Victoria, Australia
Died
15 April 1990
Victoria, Australia
Summary

PREPARED BY; Ann Westmore PhD


Thelma Jean Matson worked at the Royal Women’s Hospital for much of the period, 1951-87. Early in her career she helped introduce the first organised education and relaxation classes for expectant mothers in Australia. She later taught, or oversaw the teaching of, midwifery to nearly 4000 students from 1960 to 1987, and had a profound influence on midwifery practice in Victoria.

Described as a peace-maker among the nursing staff and a diplomat in relations with the medical staff, she gained the respect and co-operation of both groups in developing a workable program of midwifery training.

Details

Thelma Matson was born on 6 July 1928 and grew up in Swan Hill, northern Victoria. After General Nurse training at the Swan Hill District Hospital she completed midwifery training at the Women’s Hospital in 1951.

Her nursing records described her as “a splendid nurse”, “capable of a high standard of nursing care without supervision”, “thoughtful of her patients’ welfare at all times”, “most efficient” and possessed of “a very pleasant manner”. She was also said to be “neat and tidy” and to have “above average” initiative.

She worked at the hospital as the Anaesthetic and Relaxation Sister with Dr Kevin McCaul from 1951 until mid-1953 and then spent six months in the Delivery Suite. With McCaul she established education and relaxation classes for expectant mothers, based on the premise that mothers who were less fearful and anxious would feel less pain during childbirth. It was a radical innovation at the time, as antenatal education was not well developed in Victoria.

From the beginning of 1954 until March 1956 she worked at the Swan Hill Hospital and at the Footscray and District Hospital, gaining practical experience as a theatre sister. She returned to the Women’s Hospital in April 1956 where she was appointed Charge Nurse in one of the Delivery Suites. Two years later she gained a Hospital and Charities Commission Scholarship to undertake a Diploma in Midwifery Education.

In 1960, with the diploma completed, she was appointed RWH Midwifery Tutor. It was a job with the potential to have a far-reaching impact given that the hospital was responsible for training approximately 40% of all nurses presenting for the state midwifery examinations.

An inspiring teacher
Jean Zemel, a colleague who was a midwifery teacher during much of the 1970s, described Matson as the embodiment of the professional nurse, clearly-spoken and measured, regardless of who she was addressing. She also found her to be approachable and supportive to student midwives, and a good leader and role model, sharing her midwifery knowledge with other teachers and blending clinical information and theory masterfully. “She communicated with compact, precise and relevant information, designed to have the maximum practical application,” Zemel said.

Another nursing colleague, Margaret Corkill, noted Matson’s accessibility to students as a result of living in the Brookes-Gillespie Nurses Home throughout the week. Student midwives and colleagues often sought her out and she gave of her expertise and time generously, happy to chat or to organise loans of books and magazines from the nurses’ library.

Mrs Netta McArthur, Director of Nursing from 1982 to 1997, sat in on some of her lectures and found them “inspirational”. “She transmitted the essence of midwifery,” McArthur said. “She made it real for the students, understandable but not complicated. And she did it in a humane way that put the woman having the baby first and communicated the philosophy of midwife care and the place of technology to students.”

Mediator, diplomat, advisor
Another role that Matson often played, according to Corkill, was as peace-maker between the Director of Nursing, Betty Lawson, and the Principal Nurse Educator, Erna Begg. They clashed when “the staffing needs of the hospital and the learning needs of the student midwife created different priorities for each,” Corkill said. “She [Matson] always had the welfare of the student and patient in mind and refrained from any power play.”

Matson’s tact and diplomacy not only helped smooth troubled waters within the nursing body, they were also important in keeping relations between midwives and medical staff on an even keel. Dr (later Professor) Norman Beischer, who knew Matson for decades from 1957 when he joined the Professorial Unit as a resident medical officer, described her as “broad-minded, smart and a team player”. Obstetrics was unique in medicine in requiring the utmost cooperation between nurses and doctors, he said. “At the same time, there is always an inevitable conflict between midwives and doctors because both want to deliver the baby. Thelma Matson understood the relative roles of doctors and nurses and ensured that deliveries were a co-operative, team activity.”

A practical person, she also gave thoughtful advice which was highly valued. In the mid-1970s when the hospital acquired new premises for teaching nurses, there was a need for extensive remodeling. According to the hospital’s Administrator, A.J. (“Jim”) Cunningham, the design, equipment and furniture were “primarily ideas put forward by Thelma Matson”, and the Board of Management acknowledged her contribution to the very successful unit that resulted.

Updating nurse education
Matson represented the hospital at the 15th Quadrennial Congress of the International Council of Nurses in Mexico in 1973, after which she traveled to England, Scotland, Norway and Denmark investigating educational programs for general student nurses, and new teaching methods such as audiovisual aids and teaching program planning. A midwifery nursing colleague who made the same trip, Helen Ferguson, said they were both pleasantly surprised by how well the standards of the Royal Women’s Hospital compared with the hospitals they visited.

In August 1975, soon after returning to Melbourne, she was appointed Senior Nurse Teacher. Around the same time Begg fell ill, and Matson took on the responsibility and stress of Principal Nurse Educator, without the actual authority. This situation was short-lived, however, as she was appointed Principal Nurse Educator and Deputy Director of Nursing (Education) in February 1976, a post she held until her retirement in July, 1987.

For much of the same period (1976-85) she was the elected member representing midwives on the Victorian Nursing Council, the body chiefly responsible for maintaining nursing standards in the state. She made the most of this opportunity to oversee changes to the approved midwifery curriculum for the four midwifery student groups around Victoria, contributing to improved care for women during their reproductive years.

In her retirement year she was a member of the Taskforce on Midwifery for the Western Metropolitan Region of Victoria. One of its main recommendations - that midwifery education be conducted in a tertiary institution - came into effect at La Trobe University in 1992.

A difficult finale
During the last decade of her career, she was burdened with serious health problems but only her closest colleagues were aware of them. Throughout her adult life she had enjoyed the company of family members and friends at her Mornington home and took a great interest in the Collingwood Football Club, of which she was a member and avid supporter. She maintained these interests in her final years, to the extent that her health allowed.

Some found her a private and stoical person, such as her deputy for many years, Diane Mason who, with her colleagues, admired her dedication to nursing education despite suffering from cancer and its recurrence. Others remembered her as being lots of fun, having “a lovely wit and a penchant for a good joke over a beer”, generous with her time and support, and very helpful when asked for insights into the culture and politics of the hospital. McArthur described her as “one of the most dramatic and charismatic teachers” she had had the pleasure to watch and said she would miss her counsel and wisdom as “it was always based on good common sense and sound knowledge of life and people”.

In 1989 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of her services to midwifery education. She died on 15 April 1990, the year in which discussions with La Trobe University started about transferring midwifery education to the tertiary sector.


Sources;
Anon, ‘On Overseas Study Tour’, “RWH Bulletin”, vol. 6, no. 3, 1973, p. 2;

Margaret Mabbitt, ‘Article prepared for Thelma Matson’s memorial service’, 1990;

Anon, ‘Death of Thelma Matson’, “The Royal Examiner”, vol. 8, no. 7, (April, 1990) p. 1 (A1993/13/07);

Personal communication, Margaret Mabbitt, Netta McArthur, Jean Zemel, Margaret Corkill, Diane Mason and Norman Beischer to Ann Westmore;

Health Department Victoria Western Metropolitan Region, “Post Registration Nursing Education; Report of the Taskforce on Midwifery”, July 1988;

Betty Lawson, ‘One Hundred Years of Nurse Training at The Royal Women’s Hospital, 1862-1962: Address to Centenary of Nurse Training – The Royal Women’s Hospital Conference of Midwives, 10 May 1963’, A1996/25/171.

Archival/Heritage Resources

Royal Women's Hospital Archives

  • One Hundred Years of Nurse Training at The Royal Women’s Hospital, 1862-1962, 10 May 1963, A1996/25/171; Lawson, Betty; Royal Women's Hospital Archives [ Details... ].
  • Text of presentation at memorial service for Thelma Matson., 1990, A2000/46/08 part; Royal Women's Hospital Archives [ Details... ].

Published Resources

Journal Articles

  • Anon, 'On Overseas Study Tour', Bulletin, vol. 6, no. 3, Royal Women's Hospital, 1973, p. 2. [ Details... ]
  • Anon, 'Death of Thelma Matson', The Royal Examiner, vol. 8, no. 7, Royal Women's Hospital, Carlton, April 1990, p. 1. [ Details... ]

Reports

  • Post Registration Nursing Education; Report of the Taskforce on Midwifery, Health Department Victoria Western Metropolitan Region, Melbourne, July 1988. [ Details... ]

Prepared by: Robyn Waymouth

Created: 25 November 2006