The Columbia evening Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1920-1923, 1921-09-26
NURSES UNION
IS SCORED BY
DR.. C, H. MAYO
Says Profession Is Becoming
Commercialized- Nursing
Board Requirements
Are Too High.
LOCAL NURSE DIFFERS
Miss M. Taylor Says Conditions
and Expenses Justify
Prices-But Nursing
Not a Trade.

MISS mdnCe iayiOr. neau nurse az Il ar'
ker Memorial Hospital. gave her opinion
recently Of the much discussed article OF
DIR. Charles II. Mayo Of the famous Mayo
Clinic, Rochester, Minn.. which was pub
lished in the Pictorial Review for Octo,
ber.
Doctor Mayo asserts in his article tha,
the leaders of the organized nursing
shave carried their methods TOO far and
with too high hand, and in doing this
they have defeated their own purpose. for
they. have lost sight of the real impulse
of their profession--ihe alleviation Of the
pain Of the world Minisiration to the
sick and dying cannot be bound by hard
and fast laws. Ti,y are the divine right
of the poor as well as the rich. A pro
hibitiye price cannot be put upon them,
as the nurses are doing. Too great a
commercializaiion of their services is
making proper caie of the sick impos-
sible for those in moderate circumsianc.
es. In addition. their demands as TO
hours and regulations cannot be met in
hospitals if the hospitals are to maintain
their high standards Of service.
Doctor Mayo also states that the edu-
cational standards for the registration of
nurses as made by the nursing boards of
the various states have been carried be-
yond all reason. he thinks that any in.
telligent girl can acquire in Two years
the knowledge that is necessary 10 be-
come thoroughly competent nurse. He
suggests that the only way to circumvent
these laws is by training sub-nurses or
nurses aids. who will be proficient
enough TO handle almost any case pre-
sented TO them and yet who will accept
smaller pay. He thinks that 81 day
for an eight hour day is not only exorbi-
iant but prohibitiye Doctor Mayo states
thia the nursing union has come to be
one of the most autocraiic closed shops
in the country
Miss Taylor saws that as far as she
knows there is no nurses union. She
says that the nurses have their national.
state and local associations just as the
doctors do: that these associations are
purely professional and to assert that
there are unions puts nursing in the
trade class rather than the professional
class where it truly belongs.
Miss Taylor admits that the present
prices charged by nurses make il i'm
possible for the person in moderate cir
cumstances to receive the proper care
unless he goes as charity patient to the
hospitals. But sne also states that these
conditions have arisen with the times.
and that present conditions make il nee.
essary 10 charge :uch prices. She says
that people lose sight Of the fact that the
nurse has to dress n a neat tailored man.
ncr, and at the present price Of. materials
the cost for the material and making of
one uniform is approximately $40. Each
nurse must have at least eight Of these
uniforms kept in good condition. Also
each nurse must be able 10 afford the
proper kind Of recreation and nourishinc
food when she is off duty so that she
may keep herself physically fit for the
services she must perform when she is on
duty. Another fact that must be KEEP. in
mind is that the nurses income is solely
from the case she is devoting ner time TO
as she has no spare time TO make money
on the outside, as, for instance. the doc.
tor or lawyer who will have numerous
cases at the same time
Miss Taylor says that as for the edu.
catiCn of the nurse. DR.. Richard Oldinr
Beard Of the School Of Medicine at the
University of Minnesota has summed up
his opinion uf the more expedient and
progressive methods Of education in
pamphlet reprinted from The Journal
Lancet Of April Is. 1921. In this pamph.
let Doctor Beard states that the question
Of what is the matier?" is being asked
because OF the shortage Of nurses and the
recent break Of the ciniinuity Of the
ranks Of that profession. And he aserts
that they have been asking that question
long time, and some Of them. instead Of
meeting the issue have lodged il behind
all sorts Of expedienis for the substitu.
lions Of the cheap md inferior nurse. and
the nurses aid. The situation will not
be settled by the creation Of one type Of
nurses fo- the wealthy. and another type
for the moderately circumstanced. and
third type for The INDECENT. The means
and the mechanism must be found. either
through state or social agencies, BY
which the highest order Of nursing ser.
vice will be alike available to all the
classes Of people"
Doctor Beard also advocates the Fro.
motion OF university education of the
nurse for he says that with the recog.
nized need Of gresler physical fitness in
the American pecpie, to which the nurs.
ing profession must contribute, the nurse
Of today, in ihe exercise Of these respon.
sibilities Of the social service, should
have the fullest preparation for her call.
ing that the unive,siiy may give; that in
herself and in her relations 10 society
she cannot be too highly trained, too
wise, or, too good.