Evening star., 1925-12-03
BILL TO REGISTER
NURSES IS FRAMED
Measure to Be Offered Con-
greSS Will Also Raise Stand
ards, Miss Bowling Says.

A bill providing for the official
registration of graduate nurses be-
fore they would be permitted to
practice as such and for the raising
Of educational requirements of the
nurses training schools of the Dis
trict Is to be submitted to Congress
the first biennial meeting of the mid
atlantic division of the American
Nurses Association, in session at the
Washington Hotel, was told this
morning by Miss Gertrude Bowling
representing the Graduate Nurses
Association of this city.
Miss Bowling, who is also execu-
tive director OF the Visiting Nurse
Society of Washington, explained
that graduates of nurses schools
here may now practice as graduate
nurses without registering. The pro-
posed bill would require official regis
tration for all graduate nurses.
The morning session OF the conven-
ton was attended by nearly 200 mem
bers, who came here from New York
Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland and the District of Colum-
bia, and by more than SO student
nurses of the Army Nursing Corps
School at Walter Reed Hospital.
Miss Anne l.. Hansen of Buffalo,
n. T.. president of the mid Atlantic
association, opened the meeting with
an address in which she urged the
need of more and better trained
nurses. Tracing the increased stand
ard of efficiency which has been at
tafned in recent years. she declared
that the extreme youth of the grad
yates of the nursing schools of today
creates new problem.
Start Work Too Young.
The vast majority OF the students
enter schools at the age of IS years
and many apply younger" she said
1T is found that unless the school can
take the student directly from the
high school the young woman is lost TO
the nursing profession, as she is i'm
patient upon her school termination to
get into some sort of work and a hun
dred roads beckon. 1t is also fact
that the high school graduate of today
is Younger than that of 25 years ago
Children are entering the kindergar
ten and lower grades at younger
age and are put through the grade
schools more rapidly than formerly
The misfits and retarded children that
were apt to hold back a class are now
weeded out and placed in special
classes.
"All these modern methods tend to
grades and high school much more
quickly than % years ago. The young
woman of Is years of age today
knows a great deal more about life
than the girl of the same age in 1900,
but she has not learned through the
experience which makes for resEon-
sibility."
Reports were made by each of the
State presidents of the division as
sociation, following which an address
on Recent Developments in Nursing
Education was made by Prof. Isabel
NJ. Stewart, in charge of the nursing
education at Teachers College, Co
lumbia University, New York, who
urged that nursing schools be sub
sidized to provide adequate training
for the large numbers of nurses now
demanded.
This afternoon problems of nursing
practice and administration will be
considered, and this evening addresses
will be made by Miss Clara d. Noyes,
director of the Red Cross Nursing
Service of this city: DR.. Hugh S. Cum
ming of the United States Public
Health Service and Miss Grace Alb
bott, chief of the Children's Bureau
of the Department of Labor.