Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-03-27

gave this question I'm an examination
paper: "Supposing you positively knew
that IL you obeyed the doctors or
ders TO give TO your patient GER
tain medicine that act would kill the
patient. would you give it?" Most Of
the students answered no" Some an
swered Eyes" myself believe that
neither answer fully covered the duty
I'm the case. IL there should come
time-and that time will come-when a
competent nurse knows that her pa
tent is being cared for by an fncompe-
tent physician. then that nurse should
go to that doctor and tell him plainly
what she knows and then and there
refuse to work any longer under his or
ders. She should do as an officer in the
United States army ought to do. AS
an officer in the army ! must obey my
commanders orders. If do not, then
1 am punished, but IL / know that my
commander is a drunken incompetent
or is following a fatally wrong policy
then l should have the moral courage
70 hand in my resignation or to protest
TO the higher authorities. That is ex-
actly what certain officers In the Span
ishAmerican war did in reference to
their orders in Cuba When the Wash
ington war department wanted to keep
the American army In Cuba after San
tiago had been captured, all the gener-
ais wrote a public protest TO the presi-
dent. and that protest brought the ar
my home. A trained nurse has no NOR
al right to work under an incompetent
physician. BY doing so she becomes a
party to his malpractice. She should
not disobey his orders. Two wrongs
never make right. She should refuse
to work for him at all.
The ideal nurse should be a happy
woman. HappyI Why? Because, as
King Solomon wrote, "a merry heart
doeth good like a medicine" The rip
ping laugh makes the oroaking owls
and the bats and the vermin, which
love to fly or walk or crawl about in
the midnight gloom, flee for their lives.
Happyi Why? Because good cheer Ia
contagious as well as infectious The
nurses smile In the sickroom has the
same curative qualities as the sun bath
or an alcoholic rub. And yet there are
Pome nurses who go about their tasks
with the soured visage of an undertak.
er's assistant rather than with the ra,
diant face OF one who is trying TO cheer
up those who are pain racked and de-
pressed. They never seem to realize
that a true nurses facial expression
should be full of sunshine as well as
her fingers touch gentle and true.
But, outside of her duty toward the
patient, there is another reason why
the ideal nurse should be happy. Her
lie is one Of self sacrifice. 1t is a life
which has I'm it u sweet consciousness
that she is trying to help her fellow
men. 1t is not a life of mere money
making, as many suppose After the
trained nurse has taken out her legiti-
mate expenses she has little money TO
save. 1t is life Of sweet and noble
self sacrifice. In 1899 Mr.. II. c. Fahne-
stock, wealthy merchant, gave $780,
600 to endow a training school for
nurses because he had seen two nurses
tenderly care for his dying wife. He
knew they were worth ali the helm that
he gave; he knew that the ideal nurse
whom such an institution would devel-
op was woman capable OF self sacri-
fec, woman who trusts i'm him who
said, He that loseth his life for my
sake shall find it"
The JOY OF Self Sacrifice.
Oh, the transcendent joy of the
Christian nurses sacrifice for othersl
1t Is the same joy that came to that
young girl Of DR.. Keigwin's church Mt
Wilmington, Del. Her little brother
had diseased limb. The flesh over the
bruised bone would not heal. The doc
tors told the father that unless they
could get some little child who was
willing to have her flesh grated ON to
his he must die. The young sister
heard what the doctors wanted. She
offered to lie down and let her tender
flesh be taken. The father refused. He
felt that In the dangerous operation
both children might die. She finally
won his consent. There, for three long
weeks, the little girl lay with her arm
bound TO her brothers while the flesh
was healing his wound, and during all
the time, with happy smile, she kept
saying: Brother is going to get well.
Yes, my brother, because l am living
here, Is going TO get WELL" Young wo-
men who are about to enter the nurses
profession, II you are TO become ideal
nurses, this is 10 be your joy. You
will be happy because you will know
that your sacrifice and devotion and
faithfulness will save other lives. You
Will have the sweet consciousness that
you have been able TO lead a sufferer
back from the dark valley Of the shad-
ow of death, or, If you have to close
the eyelids OF the dead, you will know
that you have been able to place their
hands in the saving hand of Jesus.
Christian women about to enter the no.
bic profession Of trained nurses, con-
graduate YOU j give to you gospel
/ wish you godspeed.
l have chosen this subject OF the
Ideal Nurse" for two reasons: First, 1
want TO remove the prejudice which is
harbored In many minds against hospi-
tails and trained nurses. Some people
think that hospital is only an adjunct
TO cemetery and that trained nurse
III hospital is not nearly as compe-
tent or faithful as the average mother
caring for her sick child The simple
fact is many a life would have been
saved If the patient had been sent to
a hospital instead OF being kept at
home under the parents charge. Some
time ago | was called TO see a young
girl sick with pneumonia. The pa
uent lay in room that was damp ana
cold. The mothers every action proved
she was incompetent to care for the in-
valid. l gently told her so and suggest
ed that she send her daughter to hos !
pital. where she could be properly cared
for She answered that that was what
the doctor wanted her to do. but she
could not and would not let her daugh-
ter be under any other care but her
own. Within a few days the young
girl died. l ofiiciated at the funeral.
They had beautiful casket and plen-
ty OF flowers. but the whole service
seemed to me mockery. / do not say
that mother killed her child, but / do
say that If she had been taken TO the |
hospital and received the right kind OF |!
treatment the daughter might have re- |