Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-01-08

The Requisites OF q Good Nurse.
The superintendent OF one of New
York's largest training schools says OF
the woman who desires to be q nurse:
''It requires an ideal woman to make q
| good nurse. She must be intelligent
refined. She must have a strong willin
/ order TO control her refractory patients
without friction. She must be able TO
hide any feeling OF disgust with the
most disagreeable cases OF illness. She
must invariably be cheerful. She must
command the respect OF her patients
/ and az the same time be sympathetic,
and in addition to all this she must
/ have a practical knowledge OF cooking,
Of arranging e bed, Of removing a pa
/ TENTS bandages, of the properties OF
medicine, their effect and a thousand
and one things that are only thought OF
as they come up in the practical work
[ OF a hospital ward. 10 addition 20 all
[ this there is a theoretical training
| so be gone through, by means OF lectures
/ by physicians and text book lessons re-
, cited to the training school superintend-
ent."
Women Of this sort is rare, so there Is
considerable difficulty in completing the
| classes at high standard training
/ schools. IL must not be inferred, how
ever, that the applications are numer-
Gus. In recent years the average mum
/ Der Of applications for admission to the
Bellevue Ttraining School received an
nually has been over thousand. or
/ this number about 800 nave been per-
ally interviewed by the superintendent
and thirty accepted on probation. An
odd fact about these nurses, which is
true Of all the schools connected with
I the large hospitals, is that very few Of
/ these accepted are residents or natives
I OF New York city. Most OF them come
\ from the inland cities or country VIII
! lagos in the surrounding Statss, and not
/ a small percentage comes from Canada.
| No applicant is accepted at a good
/ school unless she is over 81 years of age
| and under IS; % is the preferred age.
/ The superintendents seem TO have a
/ weakness for district schOolma' ANS. A
majority of the nurses seem to have
been previously in that condition Of
servitude. Unless she has been teach
| ing for too long a time, the superintend-
ents say that teacher makes the best
nurse, because, in the first place, she is
/ accustomed TO controlling others; and
/ again her education must be very good,
and, as in everything else, education
counts. Then her health is apt to be
better than that Of the shop girl or fac
tory girl Of %
But the question is, a young woman
/ having decided that she is fifteen for the
occupation Of trained nurse, what is she
/ 10 do next? She must write To the sup
/ erintendent, say of Mount Sinai Train
ing School, which is one Of the best in
the city. In reply she will receive a
/ printed circular, which will tell her
about the next stage. This document
/ states briefly that personal Interview
| is always desirable, but if, owing to dis
1 lance, il is impossible, the applicants
| should write agaia TO the superiHtend-
ent, when an application blank will be
| forwarded.
This blank is decidedly a formid-
able affair. 1t must be filled out in
/ the applicants own handwriting and
/ must contain accurate and full an
swers 70 the following questions: Are
You a single woman or widow? What
| is your present occupation? What was
your age on your last birthday? Where
/ were you born and~on what date? What
/ is your height, also your weight? Where
were you educated? Are you strong and
/ healthy. and have you always been so?
/ Are your sight and hearing perfect?
\ Have you any physical defects? Have
/ YOU any tendency TO pulmonary COM
/ plaint? III widow, have you children,
/ how many, aud how are they provided
/ for? Where, If any, was your last Situa-
/ ton? How long were you in 1t, and In
/ what employment Give the names and
addresses of two persons who may be
referred 70. State how long they have
known you. If previously employed,
one OF these must be your last employer.
I Do you object TO the mental services In
/ separable from the vocation OF nurse?
Do Won promise at all times while on
duty TO maintain the cleanliness aud or
der of the ward in which you are Serv-
ing, and to obey implicitly the COM
mands OF your superior in charge? Are
YOU willing TO wear the dress prescribed
by the institution after leaving its juriS-
dictiOn? Have you read and do you
| clearly understand the regulations?
This blank, filed out with the an
| Swers 70 all these questions, and accom-
panied by a physicians certificate OF
! sound health, q letter from a clergy
man aud the names ana address OF
three ladies, not relatives, who have
known the applicant for several years,
| constitutes a formal application. Be-
sides this the applicant must send q
| pbotograph OF herself when a personal
interview is out Of the question. These
\ applications are fled, aud whenever a
vacancy occurs the most desirable ap-
Dlicant is selected by the superintend.
emit. This acceptance is by no means
final. The candidate simply comes on
trial for a month, and may be rejected
or accepted at the end OF that period.
The suDerintendent'S decision is ina
in the matter, and no reasons are given
FOR the rejection of probationer.
When the accepted candidate arrive:
at the school she must bring with her
two or three gingham dresses and eight
aprons of bleached cotton. Specific di'
rections as to the making Of these
aprons are given in the first circular
sent out. The probatiOner must also
hiring two bags OF soiled clothing. II
her teeth are out of order they must re-
celve attention before her appearance
at the school. She must also wear low
heeled and broad-toed shoes. Before
her acceptance as pupil nurse she
must pass satisfactory examination
/ in reading, penmanship, simple arithme.