The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1922-05-13
TELLS OPPORTUNITIES
FOR HEALTH NURSES
At the South church vestry al

At the South church vestry an
eager and deeply interested crowd
of girls heard an instructive and
entertaining talk on Nursing and
the Special Opportunities of a
Public Health Nurse" by Miss
Emelie Perkins of Burlington,
supervisor of the Burlington Wis
iting Nurse Association.
Miss Perkins expressed pleasure
that there were so many girls in
terested in nursing and stated that
more and more nurses were need
Ell in all parts of the country,
partly, as she later explained, due
to Req Cross activities and to the
placing of nurses in villages,
towns and cities everywhere.
"Three years of training are re-
CURED in most hospitals before a
probationer becomes a trained
nurse" said Miss Perkins. "The
first few months are the period of
probation. This time gives you an
opportunity to see if you like nurs-
ing work and the hospital a
chance to find out if you show any
fitness for it. In case you find
you do not like the work, l would
advise you by all means to give it
up. for you will never make a
successful nurse unless your heart
Is N your work.
Hospital training is much like
any school. There are classes for
the study of anatomy, physiology
and other subjects, as we'll as
practical experience. There is
this great difference, however, in
studying at hospital and at a
school; if you do poor work at
school you injure yourself, but
when you do poor work at hos
pital, some patient suffers. Strict
discipline is necessary at all times.
You must obey your superior off
GERS the same as in an army. The
hours are long, and the work is
apt to be difficult"
Miss Perkins then went on to
explain the different fields open
to hospital graduates. There is
private duty nursing, hospital
nursing, supervising nurse, teach
ing of nursing and operating room
nursing.
One of the largest and most inn
portant fields is that of public
health nursing. This is intensely
interesting because of the good
which such nurses are able to do.
One cannot help but be interested
in many of the cases, especially
when one sees the chance to bring
vast Improvement to individuals
and committees.
Township nursing means doing
what is demanded in the town
where one is located. For in
stance, one such position might
consist of calling at the bedside of
the sick, while another position
might call for school nursing en-
tirely. Child welfare work is eX-
tremely interesting. 1t simply
means trying to save the lives of
babies and mothers. 1t is quite
surprising what simple little
things sometimes accomplish UNI
told good. Many times it becomes
necessary to tell ignorant mothers
not to permit baby to eat suca
things as pickles, or to allow bot
ties to roll around the floor before
putting them in baby's mouth.
The nurse must conduct Il contin-
ual campaign of education; i'm
press children with the Importance
of brushing their teeth; tell them
to avoid unhealthy and indigesti-
BILE foods; and train them to ac-
Quire general habits of health.
Miss Perkins answered many
questions from the floor and also
quoted Dr.. Winslow of Yale, aut-
hority on public health, and also
Florence Nightingale.