The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1897-07-29
cHJLDREN'S NURSES.
rurv ARE TRAINED FOR THE occu.
CATION AND IN GREAT DEMAND.

cood Salaries Paid-Tho Maius Engaged
Ahead OF Their Graduation - Not
r,oueh to Fiji the Many Requests from
Almost Every Country In the World.
r, these days, when all fields Of
work. especially woman's work, are
so,d 10 be overcrowded, 1t is relief |
n find one exception. This exception
is the profession Of trained nursery |
maids. the demand being from fifty to
a hundred per cent greater than the
supply.
eve can graduate about twenty
three girls a year." said the Superin-
tendept Of the New York Training
school for Nursery Maids, "and we
have applicants for several hundred
during that time. The subject Of train
ing nurses for the care of children is
receiving each year more attention,
and intelligent parents are beginning
10 feel that the old idea that any per-
son can mind baby is about cx.
hausted.
"This training school for nursery
maids is the eldest in the world, and
ND to two years ago 1t was the only
one. The idea, I believe, originated
with Mrs. Robert w. Chaplin, who,
owing to some serious mistake of
nurse. began to think what a good
thing it would be II we could have in
te,ligcnt women with training to care
for our babies. She thought the mat
ter over and, selecting the Babies
Hospital as the most suitable place.
offered to support two or three nurses
for the year If the management would
give her plan trial. This trial proved
so satisfactory that the school was
founded, and has been enlarged,
though. as l said before. 1t lacks Il
great deal Of supplying the demands
for trained nurse maids. Our waiting
list is large, owing to the very limited
number of girls we can accommodate.
An applicant, to be admitted, is re-
dured to be not under twenty and not
over thirty, to be perfectly healthy, to
come well recommended, and to have
Il good common school education. Un-
der no circumstances do we consider
au applicant where there Is n suspicion
of lung trouble. The reason for this is
perfectly obvious TO any one with any
knowledge of the relations between a
baby and its nurse. The applicants
are received on one months probation
prove satisfactory they finish the
course of six months.
Their wages on leaving the school
are in a measure regulated by us. The
wages paid our graduates on first
leaving us-they are always engaged
several months ahead of their gradua
tion-are $50 month. After thai
time, of course, their wages depend OF
their own efforts, for If a nurse makes
herself valuable u mother Is alway'
willing to increase the pay to reason
able amount. Many of our graduate'
receive as much as $50 a month, whicl
is very good when one takes into con
sideration the few expenses of nurse
She has one Of the most desirable
rooms in the house, for the nursery j
always a good room. When the famil.
travels she goes in the same coach
Next to their parents. the children low
and respect her.
in our training we do not attempt E
give medical knowledge, for we cor
sider "A little knowledge dangerou
thing but we seek to make them ca
pable of taking Il healthy baby an
keeping it healthy. The nurse learn
nursery hygiene In it's broadest sense
with the rudiments of kindergarten
As a life work for women this profe:
sion seems much to be preferred
that of a shop OF factory girl. W
have applicants for our graduates froI
every State in the Union and almOs
every country In the world. Sever,
of our graduates are abroad now i
nurses in the families Of the nobilit.
OF course, as I remarked at first, II
demand is greater than the supply, S
we are forced to answer No man
tunes where we would be only too gla
to supply u good nursery maid. Onl
Il short while ago we had an applies
tion from the West Indies, and II
place was an admirable one, but "
mad no one to send there. Every 81
graduated up TO August is already e
gagged.
During the last two years the
nave been similar schools founded
Montreal, Newark, Brooklyn and u
troit. All of these institutions ha
been modelled after this school. ~
managers OF one of these have fl
quently visited us, and in one case sc
their superintendent to us for sever
months experience. Whenever he
institution Of the kind is projected t
call Immediately comes: Have y
not some one whom you can send
Us to organize the work. We are
ways forced to say No. New fo
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