The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-21

busiest time Is toward morning. Between
the hours of and Z she must wash ana
comb all the patients, no matter how SICK
or sleepy they may be; get the GONZALES
cents up and dressed, and the beds all
made tidy for the morning. In ward mat
may contain from twelve to twenty Deds
ii takes some rapidity TO have them all IN
order by o'clock, especially as TINS Is
only one of many duties
If day duty falls to her lot, she looks
after the temperatures or the patients anu
attends to other minor details, transfers to
the chart the report of the night nurse, at
tends to the food and medicine OF her pa
TENTS bathes and scrubs them all twice a
week, accompanies the physician on his
rounds-a duty required OF all the nurses IN
the ward-and does all the homework that
cannot be managed by the probationer one
of the most stringent of hospital rules Is
that no nurse must sit down during the
twelve hours that she is on duty, except
when her work is of such nature as 10
require IL, and she must never De ldle' BET
ter scrub something, even unto seven times,
than not appear busy.
THE SENIOR YEAR.
Little difference in the work comes with
the senior year. If the nurse is assigned to
duty in the surgical ward she takes charge
of the tables and dressings. The latter
must be sterilized and prepared for instant
use, and the nurse is held to be seriously
at fault If the surgeon does not find every
appliance ready to his hand on the table at
his side as he dresses the wounds of pa
tient In the medical wards the junior
nurse takes charge of the linen room, looks
after the bandages and prepares the medi-
cines TO be administered to the patients. III
she is promoted to the position of head
nurse of the ward she has the supervision
of all the work of the ward. 1t is her duty
to order the diet of patients, to see that
supplies of food and medicines are kept up,
and to report to the superintendent OF
nurses.
After a student is admitted to the train
ing school at the end of her term of proba-
ton, and until she graduates. her theoreti-
cal work is carried on by means or lectures,
recitations from textbooks and demon
stration classes. All the time she has to
devote to study must be taken from the
one hour in the day allowed her for rest
and recreation and in the evenings, when
she may be called away at any moment
for extra duty. Once week she attends
the demonstration class in little ward
fitted up for the purpose, where she learns
the art OF bed making. This is a compli-
Gated affair in hospital, for there is the
ordinary bed, the emergency bed. the sur
gical bed and the show bed-each one diff
ferent and each one to be exact TO q hairs
breadth in every fold. She never practices
on the patients, but on her fellow-nurses
in the classroom. where she learns the art
of hot and cold applications of every sort.
the making and application of ice bags, the
use or cups, Spl1nts, all manner OF BAN
dages. poultices hypodermics and every
appliance used i'm the hospital, as well as
the approved method of lifting and carry
ing helpless or insensibe patients In all
these the instruction is given by the super
intendent OF nurses, who usually impresses
her precepts upon the minds of her pupils
by merciless guying of any mistake. In
addition, there is a class in cooking, and
another in the rudiments of massage.
HOSPITAL ETIQUETTE.
In most hospitals the main thing to be
learned by the student is the observance
of hospital etiquette first, last and all the
time. The nurse is like a noncommis-
stoned officer in the army. So far as it
goes, her authority is absolute. but equally
absolute must be her subserviency to her