94-05-09 Love of Medicine Knows No Age Limits LOVE OF MEDICINE KNOWS NO AGE LIMITS At 65, James J. Finnerty has the distinction of being the oldest person to walk down the Lawn May 22 during graduation at the University of Virginia. A former chief of obstetrics at an air force base hospital in Nelis, Nevada, who was in private practice for nearly 30 years in Watertown, New York, Dr. Finnerty came to Charlottesville in 1990 as an assistant clinical professor in U.Va.'s obstetrics/gynecology department. He chose Charlottesville for two reasons: "I wanted to teach--and I figured the winters had to be better than those in New York." Through his work in OB/GYN he became involved in teaching clinical ethics with Joann Pinkerton to third-year medical students. He enrolled in an "Introduction to Clinical Ethics" course taught by John S. Fletcher, director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at U.Va. He became so involved in the subject that he decided to pursue a master's degree in religious studies enrolling in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences in 1991. Since that time, he has typically worked in the OB/GYN clinic from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. while taking six to eight hours of credit each semester. He admits his first papers were "poorly done. I found I had to resurrect my abilities to study and write papers." He has no plans to retire; rather, he is looking forward to teaching more ethics courses. He has also devised a way to test how medical students' views of ethical issues change during their stay in school. He recently gave a presentation about the test at national meeting of the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics. (Andrew Shorr, a graduating medical student, is co- author of the study.) Dr. Finnerty can be reached at his home, (804) 296-9959, or through his beeper, (804) 961-1497. At 62, Marjorie W. Eggleston has the distinction of being the oldest person to receive an undergraduate degree during U.Va.'s 165th graduation ceremonies. She will earn a bachelor's degree in nursing. "Nursing is my love. It's the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I'd do it even if I never got a paycheck," said Eggleston, who graduated in 1953 from nursing school at James Walker Memorial Hospital in North Carolina. Shortly after she became an R.N., she married, and eventually had four children. Although earning a bachelor's degree was important, "school became a lower priority than my children," she said. In 1976 she became the health occupations teacher at Nelson County High School after earning a teaching certificate, and helped to train nursing assistants. Following 13 years of teaching and one year after her youngest graduated from college, she quit her job, and enrolled in courses at Piedmont Virginia Community College. She completed her preliminary courses at PVCC, and entered U.Va.'s program in 1992. "Almost everyone thought I was working on a Ph.D. because of my age," she recalled. "I have achieved my life goal," Mrs. Eggleston says with satisfaction, and she can't wait to walk down the Lawn. "When my husband graduated from U.Va. Law School, he chose to have his diploma mailed to him, and I never forgave him because we didn't get to see him walking down the Lawn. Now, I can forgive him," she said. "There is something sacred--a kind of privilege to know you are joining thousands of others who have walked down the Lawn," she added. She plans to hang her framed diploma on the wall--and not work full-time. "My husband is ready to retire from his law practice, and the last thing he wants is for me to work at something full- time." She will not stay at home, though. She has renewed her emergency medical training certificate and plans to work actively with the local rescue squad and Hospice. In addition, she'll probably teach PVCC courses in Nelson County this fall. Reflecting on her experiences at U.Va. and PVCC, Mrs. Eggleston said, "I am committed to the idea of a lifetime of learning." For more information, she can be reached at (803) 263-5782. Betty Moreno has truly been in school a lifetime. She started to school when her youngest was one; that daughter will graduate at age 18 from high school just four days before Moreno receives her bachelor's degree in nursing from U.Va. A 1969 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Moreno was just 18 when she married for the first time in 1971. Although she had two children, she went to school to become a licensed practical nurse. After graduating from Obici School of Practical Nursing in 1978, she worked as an LPN while attending Portsmouth General School of Nursing. She graduated from there in 1983 as an RN. She came to Charlottesville on a honeymoon with her second husband, Raul Moreno, and the couple decided to settle here. When she decided to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing while working full-time, an advisor told her it couldn't be done. "It was like a red flag went up. I became determined to do it," she remembered. While working 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. in U.Va.'s pediatric intensive care unit, she enrolled in prerequisite courses at Piedmont Virginia Community College. She successfully passed two days' worth of national nursing achievement exams, which gave her 52 credits toward a bachelor's degree. That allowed her to start U.Va.'s nursing program in 1992 as a fourth-year student. Often she would only have time to catch a four-hour nap between work and class. "I was exhausted all the time. I lived for breaks," she recalled. "But I feel indebted to the hospital. They supported me," she added. After completing her final exam, Moreno thinks she will have to learn to relax. "I haven't read a trashy novel in years," she joked. She has collected 19 hours of graduate-level course work and would like to pursue a master's degree at a pediatric nurse practitioner school. "I want to take an active role in health care reform, and I particularly want to help in preventing childhood diseases," she said. For now, however, she and her husband plan on doing more photography together. They both enjoy shooting weddings. "I feel like my husband deserves half of this degree. He's been my biggest fan, continuously giving me inspiration when I've been down," she said. Her husband was cook, housekeeper and grocery buyer while she pursued her degree, she said. Reflecting on her years of education, Moreno said, "I used to pass out at the sight of blood. No one could believe it when I first started studying to be a nurse." Her children have become accustomed to the idea of her being a long-term student. "When I went to pick up my daughter, she introduced me to her friends by saying, `this is my mom, a Wahoo.'" For more information, contact Moreno at (804) 286-4249, home, or (804) 982-0206, work. May 9, 1994 Karen A. Castle University News Office kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu (804) 924-7116 [Submitted by: Karen A. Castle (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu) Wed, 11 May 94 09:21:21 EDT]