The Elbert County tribune., 1913-11-07
DECREASE IN NURSES
Training Schools Less Popular
Than in Former Times.
Head Of Big Training Hospital De
clares That Women Are Begin
ming to Prefer Other, Work
for Various Reasons.

New York.-1s nursing as profess
sion for women on the decline? Rep
resentatives of training school af-
filiated with one OF the smaller public
hospitals In this city answered this
question in the affirmative. And they
gave as reason for a decrease In at
tendance the fact that there are 30
many other professions now open to
women that comparatively few choose
to follow the old-fashioned womanly
profession of caring for the sick.
1t was the head of big hospital
training school in East Twentieth
street who declared that nursing is de-
clining as a popular profession "Wom-
en- prefer other work for various rea-
sons" she said. Until this year we
always have had as many applicants
as we could accommodate In our train
ing school. but now we have been un-
able to fill the beginning class.
There are scores OF new profes-
sions and new kinds of work opened
to women now which used to be closed
to them or were unknown a few years
ago. Ten years ago nursing was one
of the finest occupations for women
who were forced to earn their own liv-
ing. Now 1t is one of many by which
they may become self-supporting."
The director and superintendent of
the New York Hospital Training
School for Nurses said:
There is not the same future in
nursing as In most OF the other pro-
fessions. This fact has led to some
discouragement among women who
have graduated in the profession and
who have hoped to keep on rising
year after year. A trained nurse
earns just the same when she takes
her first case as she does after she
has had several years experience.
Her skill and knowledge are worth no
more than when she graduated full
1edged trained nurse
Only in institutional work does a
graduate nurse receive more money
and assume greater responsibilities.
But institutional positions are com
paratively few and the applicants for
them are many So. you see, there is
not much Of future for nurses.
"Of course, a trained nurse makes a
living and good living. but she can
not save much, for the cost of almost
everything is higher now than it was
two or three years ago. A nurse has
to pay her room rent. she must dress
well and have a supply of uniforms,
and 1t is expensive to keep these
fresh. A trained nurse must live
where there is a telephone or she
must have one of her own and this is
another item of expense.
When asked If there were as many
training school pupils from Canada as
there used to be. the superintendent
said that the number had decreased,
and she accounted for this by the fact
that Canada has established recently
many new and fine hospitals, which
maintain excellent training schools
for nurses.
"On the whole think that Canadian
young women make the best nurses
we have. They are quiet, they have
delightful manners and they can al.
ways be relied on. Besides. the young
women from across the border seem
to have greater physical endurance
than American women. 1t may be be.
cause they have had less money to
spend and have been reared more
and in more rugged
climate. especially the girls from
Nova Scotia and other northern prov
inces.
account for their quiet and
charming manner by the fact that
many who become nurses are from
clergymen's families and they have
had the best possible home training.
Usually they are girls with many bro
thers aad sisters and they have had to
learn the lesson to give and take"