Evening star., 1941-09-23
Shortage Of Nurses
Discussed by Panel
In Radio Forum
Federal Program to
Relieve Situation Is
Outlined by Speakers

hookup last night by Surg. Gen
Thomas Parran; Mrs. Frances P
Bolton, Representative from the 22c
Ohio district; Miss Pearl McIver Of
the United States Public Health
Service and Miss Ellen Logan, 8
student nurse at Johns Hopkins
Hospital School of Nursing.
An important Federal program to
meet this shortage was also out.
lined to the Nation in the broadcast
a program of the National Radio
Forum, arranged by The Star, car
ried by the National Broadcasting
Co. and heard locally over WMAL.
Following is the text of the speak
erS' remarks:
DIR. PARRAN-Our newspapers
our radios and magazines tell us
daily of shortages. They tell us We
must have more aluminium, that the
Eastern seaboard is short of oil, that
there is a lack of steel and of many
other things. But these are material
shortages. With our great resources
we can fill them if we work hard
enough and are willing to sacrifice
enough.
But tonight I would discuss with
you q lack more fundamental than
any of these: a lack that leaves I'M
defended our greatest resource
man power. For without man power
we have nothing. We cannot smelt
ore, or mine coal, or grow wheat, or
build ships, or tanks or planes-or
an army-without man power. This
Is a shortage-a human shortage
that threatens the strength of
America.
Look into our hospitals and clinics.
1nternes and other young doctors
have answered the call of the Army
and Navy. And nurses are missing,
too. In the understaffed hospital
wards, patients are waiting.
A Strategic Skill.
In the distant farmhouse the eX-
pectant mother is waiting fearfully.
The public health nurse is late; she
is doing the work of three nurses.
In health department clinics, in
private homes. in factories. nurses
are missing. In short, nursing is a
strategic defense skill of which we
have a critical shortage. Lack of
nurses means less health care, more
ILLNESS, more diSablement and
death-man power losses we can i'll
afford.
Through the courtesy of The
Washington Evening Star we have
the opportunity to talk with you
about this shortage of nurses and
what can be done about it. I want
to tell you why these nurses are
missing.
Some of you must know that there
are 100000 registered nurses on &C
tive duty in this country. Why
then, you may ask, is there a lack?
lie me first say that even in normal
times there are 10000 nurses needed
who are not there. And these are
far from normal times. Never be-
fore in our peactime history has
America had 100000 men under
arms. Every month more than 600
nurses are drawn from civilian life
into the Army and the Navy. And
they leave their posts-vacant. In
many places the only doctor has
Joined the colors. And the nurse
who remains must work alone, doing
the best she can.
10000 Nurses Short.
Defense industries and ARMY
camps are drawing people from one
section of the country to another
Towns that housed a thousand last
month today are overrun with tens
OF thousands. This influx brings all
the health problems of swiftly grow
ing congested areas. They need
more nurses. With America on the
are missing from the ranks. That
Is our shortage-affecting critically
our health and man power.
Have we done anything to fill the
vacant posts? Yes, we have made
a beginning. One of the first groups
to work with the Health and Medi-
cal Committee on the problems of
health and defense was the pro-
fessional nursing organizations of
America About the shortage of
nurses they reported:
There are thousands of capable
young woman eager to become
trained nurses. But these girls are
not being trained. There are hun
dreds of accredited nursing schools
equipped to train them-but their
classrooms are half filled. Funds
are lacking-funds that would mean
living quarters for more students,
salaries for more teachers. Money
Is needed to train more nurses"
And we asked the committee how
We could bring nurses who had
married or gone into other fields
back into active nursing We found
that short refresher courses in the
well-equipped hospitals and clinics
would accomplish this. Indeed, we
found such courses already being
given in numerous hospitals. But
that alone cannot meet our present
needs.
Student Supply Necessary.
Only by the intensive training of
thousands of young women every
year will we be able to carry out the
long-range nursing program which
the country needs. There was only
one answer: This fall of 1941 the
nursing schools had to start training
more girls. Some of them could do
it on their own, but many of them
could do it only with help. That
help now can come from the Fed
eral Government. Last June Fed
eral Security Administrator Paul ".
McNutt recommended to Congress
that nursing schools be given finan-
cial help. And Congress appro-
priated s1,250,0o0 to train nurses for
national defense. The United States
Public Health Service was given the
responsibility of doing the job.
During these last weeks we have
been hard at it. Our plans are in
President Roosevelt's hands for his
approval, and tonight am able to
announce that already 88 of the Ma
tion's nursing schools have accepted
1000 more students this year. These