The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-04-19

PENSACOLA
hospitals the wounded are brought by |
an ambulance service of men and mo-
the delivery system of a department |
store.
The figure of speech can be car
ried along into the hospital, too, for
there the efficiency of the nursing
system is not measured in heart
throbs, but in the average time it
takes to restore a wounded man to
soundness of body. The GONZALES
cent and base hospitals are the repair
shops of this manufacturing estab-
lishment. It is the grim business of
this department to patch up broken
cannon targets and put them back
in the trenches with the least possible
delay. The angelic quality Of mercy,
which is not spared, which is here not
discounted, and which is very real
and grateful thing to the wounded
! soldier, is, after all, an incident in
the process.
But let US suppose that our heroine
| accepts the structures which Red
Cross organization efficiency has put
| upon romance, and still resolves to
| wear the uniform of Red Cross
nurse in one of the base hospitals.
What chance has she to carry out
| this purpose?
The truth must be confessed-little
! or none at all.
In the first place, she must be pre-
L.
answering satisfactorily the following
questions:
Is she a graduate Of a school of
nurses, giving at least a two years.
course of training in a general hos
pital which includes the care of men
and has daily average of at least so
| patients ?
Is she registered nurse as re-
quired by the law of her state?
| Is she-Oh, insurmountable bar
| rieri-at least 25 and not over 40
years of age?
! Is she member of an organization
| affiliated with the American Nurses
Association, and can she secure the
endorsement of the executive COM
mittee or of two officers of her
organization Can she get the en-
dorsement of the superintendent of
the training school from which she
was graduated? Is her application
approved by the local committee on
Red Cross Nursing Service? Can
she pass the physical examination re-
quired by the Red Cross?
These are not all the qualifications
for enlistment as a Red Cross nurse
but only the more important ones
They show how impossible it is for
the unframed woman to find oppor-
tunity for service as nurse at the
front in time of war. The require
ments are so rigid that even profes.
! sional nurses find difficulty in meet
ing them.
But suppose we endow our heroine
with such zeal that she undertakes :
course of professional training ii
order to qualify for Red Cross nurs
ing service under the rules. What
hope has she even then to aid the mil
itary surgeons at the front?
1t is possible for her to realize hel
ambition in this way only, although
it must be confessed, not very prob
able. In the first place, the wal
must last long enough for her tt
complete her training. Then it mus
be war of such severity that Amer
lean troops numbering well above tn,
million mark will be enlisted unde
the colors. The Red Cross now ha
an enrolment sufficient to care 70
the war-nursing requirements of al
army of 100000. In addition Their
are hundreds of graduate nurses VIII
can meet the requirements, but VIII
have never applied for Red Cross en-
rollment. Undoubtedly these wome
would be quick to apply in any grav
cohorts of present-day students i
the nurses training schools whose ap
plications would reach the Red Cros
| ahead of that of the novice who sigh
| for chance to be a war nurse.
II Yet, in spite of these obstacles,
| number of public-spirited young VIC
men are now students in trainin
schools for no other purpose than t
qualify for Red Cross enrolment.
III There is, however, an early dit
of the war in Europe which is some
thing more than alliterative nonsens
to Red Cross headquarters in Wasf
| ington-"Sister Susie's sewing shirt
, for soldiers" Consider this refrai
: in relation to that series of uniform
- numbered boxes which the precis
headquarters has prescribed for tt
shipment of hospital supplies.
These boxes are strong, woode
chests, built on specifications to star
rough handling IN transportatio
Each has exactly the same measure
ments as the others, all are unifornl
marked, and each series consists /
eight boxes, numbered consecutive
| from one to eight, for quick conven
ence in the supply rooms of the mil
tary hospitals.
I Each chest marked No. 1 will col
tain sterilized surgical dressings al
articles needed even before hurrie
medical corps can set up its base ho'
pitfalls.
No. 2 will be filled with beodin,
4 q /,