Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-21
Or. G. HARLAN WELLS
On Educatinq Sufficient Nurses

TT is difficult today for a person Of opu-
i lence to get q competent nurse in case of
illness, but it is almost impossible for a
person of moderate mcnns. says DR.. q.
Harlan Wells. clinical professor Of mcdi-
cine ut Hahncmann Medical College.
'This situation" said DR.. Wells, "actu-
ally exists in Philadelphia todny--a city
lon. noted as a center of medical education
and with more hospitals and purses train
ing schools in proportion TO its size than any
other city in tho United States.
EVERY family in the city is directly al
fcctcd by this situation, and the time is nt
hand when the physicians. the nurses ana
tho public in general should insist that such
changes be made in our system OF educating
nurses az will provide an adequate supply
to meet our institutional and private needs.
Causes OF the Deficiency
"rhcrc are several causes for the dccrras-
ing number of competent nurses nvhilapl'
for private work, of which the following arc
the principal:
First. A young woman must have had
one or two years of high school work before
she Is permitted to enroll rs student nurse
in an accredited training school.
'Sccond. The period of training outlined
by the Pennsylvania State Board OF TX
aminers for the Registration of Nurses
covers three full years. and the course OF IN
structon. both in its theoretical and prnc-
teal aspects, IN Of such character as 10
tai and the physical capacity OF the student
nurse.
,"rhird. During those three years the
student nurse receives from the hospital her
room. meals. laundry and small financial
compensation which averages $40 II month.
She must provide her own uniforms. cloth.
ing, books ETC., and pay all incidental cx-
prnscs. Young women who have no means
Of support outside of their own earnings are,
therefore. frequently deferred from enter
ing the training schools
Many Nurses Marry
"Fourih. Ouly n small proportion of the
nurses graduating each year arc found on
gagged in private nursing three years after
graduation The education and the expert
encc they acquire in dealing with human
nature in all its aspects seem TO render the
trained nurse unusually attractive TO the
stcrncr sex, and II large proportion of them
marry within three years after thcir gradu-
alton and give up their professional work.
"Our hospitals, too. require Il large num-
bcr Of nurses as supervisors and instructors,
while social service activities, factories and
charitable institutions are utilizing the
services of nurses in constantly increasing
numbers. 1t Is thus apparent that only a
very small proportion of those whom our
training schools graduate eaCh year actually
engage in private nursing for any extended
period, and therefore. it is not strange 80
few of them are available.
High Cost Of Nursing
"Nurscs who have spcut three years in
training and who have acquired high de.
gree Of technical skill are worth and can
command II fee for their services which
places them beyond the reach of families Of
moderate means in ordinary cases of i'll.
ness. In cases where surgical operations
are performed, or in serious illness, ways
are usually found TO meet the expense in
volved. That means an expense Of approxi-
matcly 500 week il the services of duy
and night nurse are required, as is usual
in cases Of Il serious character.
I'm the cases of patients suffering from
minor illnesses or long -lasting disease, the
problem is u more difficult one to the family
Of average means.
'In many such instances the nature OF
the service required by the invalid is not of
such character as to require an attendant
with the high degree of technical training
that the registered nurse possesses; yet the
patient must either employ registered
nurse at a salary which, while entirely fair
when measured by the ability of the nurse,
is decidedly dsproportionate to the services
required by the patient, or else attempt to
secure the services Of some kindly but un-
trained person who has usually driftcd into
nursing because Of the lack 0f any other
means Of securing Il livelihood. 1t is rare,