Pueblo chieftain., 1921-03-05
By Frederic ]. uaskin

bN iItN'Elt y. lldShlu
Washington. u. c. March Where
is the girl who wants to be u nurse >
Tho national nursing organizations OF
the country are looking for her. be
cause lately, she doesn't seem to be
looking for them.
Nursing has always been woman's
work out of every class OF high school
graduates. or even out OF grammar
school graduating classes. there have
invariably been some girls who would
be nurses. Now. one big hospital in
New York reports that instead of haN-
ing So or 40 pupil nurses entering each
year. II gets only about four. That
proportion is repeated all over the
country. and conditions are worse in
the smaller hospital schools where IA
cilitics for training are not so attrac-
tive to student nurses.
When the war offered adventure and
dramatic service to volunteer nurses
there were thousands Of women who
studied and worked untfrinEly-cven to
sacrificing their health, some OF them
so long as the fighting lasted. After
that like the soldiers. most OF them
wanted to get back to their regular
lives. Nursing with them was war
work-incidental
So tho war did not food tho coun-
try with nurses seeking civilian em-
ployment. on the contrary. the lack of
nurses for hospitals and homes has be
looks still more critical. the national
nursing associations have started a
campaign to interest girls in nursing
as a profession. This campaign has al
ready been taken up enthusiastically in
"a states, for the need for more nurses
IL nationwide.
While recruiting is being pushed. the
nursing organizations arc also trying
to awaken tho hospitnls to the fact
that they cannot expect to attract the
Ii, ~r-faa s41a. 10. To- .N
nursing profession unless student life
X made easier and more profitable.
Tho hospitals were beginning to see
this for themselves and a reform IS
under way.
oycrvorkcd student.
In tho past. the student nurse
worked l. hours n day. Her class>ns
were moved about from one hour to
another or left out entirely whcu her
| services We're needed about the wards.
| In fact. these conditions still obtain
In some trimming schools, but they viii
not last long. because girls will not
enter these schools. Progressive hoe
pitals have shortened the pupil nurse S
duty to eight hours. tho in some
schools studying and class work has to
be done outside of this period.
What the nurses examinations arc
saying is that no hospital should take
students for tho purpose of getting
| free labor. II n hospital is going TO con
duct "A school Il should understand that
its obligation to tho studcnts-to give
them thoro Trainings as great as
its obligation To tho paticnts--to give
them proper treatment. That they do
not all feel this obligation toward tho
nurses they arc to send out to all
sorts OF responsible positions is proved
| by such facts as those given by u
| state inspector OF training schools
| This inspector figures that 20 per cent
of the training schools that he visits
are to varying cStcnts taking un-
fair advantage OF their pupil nurses
| by surrcndering the rights of tho
pupils in tho alleged interests of tho
/ sick
onet way in which tho pupil nurse
| is often carelcssly used to help the
hospital is that sometimes "A patient in
the hospital desires nurse exclusively
for his case but cannot pay the ratio
of n graduate. lie says he will take an