Evening star., 1942-10-30
mo. Sir OF a Series.)
BY PAT JONES.

tA'O. 0GA W " oCf tCoI
BY PAT JONES.
A low salary scale in city where
Government jobs with higher pay
and less rigorous hours are avail
able appears to be one of the
primary answers to the Districts
deficit in nursing service.
Coupled with this cause in some
instances are unfavorable working
i conditions, but most medical inter-
ests agree that higher pay would
be a much stronger inducement
than pleasant surroundings to bring
girls into the nursing field.
You will never get nurses on
present salaries, which is all the
public can afford to pay" advised
the Public Health Committee of
the Board of Trade after a study of
the situation.
Hospitals are aware of this and
in July, on recommendation of
Commissioner Guy Mason's Special
Committee on disqualification, took
some steps to remedy the situation.
While changes agreed on at that
time perhaps were all they could
stand. the remedy apparently was
not carried far enough.
Rising Costs Also Cited.
THE revised working conditions
and wages have helped some," said
Miss Gertrude Bowling, executive
director Of the Instructing Visiting
Nurse Society, when interviewed on
the subject, "but with living costs
up from Is to 20 per cent you can't
expect this comparatively small in
crease in pay to make people leave
other work for nursing"
Miss Edith M. Beattie. executive
secretary of the Graduate Nurses
Association, also believes the con-
certed action of hospitals helped to
degree, but she does not attach
much significance to it as a pos
sible solution to the hospital sit
uation.
Miss Beattie thinks the salary
increase brought different attitude,
that it prevented some nurses from
turning to other work, and enticed
back into the field some married
women who then were better able
to pay maid service and transpor-
tation expenses. While she believes
improved working conditions are
necessary and should be made, she
has doubts concerning the ulti-
mate benefit in the present emer-
gency, particularly with reference
to bringing private nurses back into
general duty.
Il don't think this is the answer
to the question right now," she said.
"One-half of the private duty nurses
are married and don't want to live
at hospital"
Handicaps Listed.
Commissioner Mason's committee
said in its report that it believed
considerable number of nurses
not now licensed would make them
selves available under favorable
working conditions Following up
this conviction, it outlined certain
recommendations and gave it as its
opinion that, if they were uniformly
adopted by the hospitals, a large
number of nurses now in other
fields of activity will accept general
duty positions"
This committee found the fol-
lowing as definite reasons why
nurses could not be attracted into
general nursing from private duty,
from doctors offices, from schools,
industries and other places where
they are employed, as well as from
the list of the idle:
Low salaries, broken hours, lack
OF adequate housing facilities, in
sufdciency of funds allowed for living
outside Of hospitals, lack of RESPONSE
bility or opportunity for advance
ment, lack of an eight-hour day
and 48-hour week, lack of definite
vacation and sick leave policy lack
of an employment contract setting
forth terms of employment, lack
Of definite regulations regarding
medical care and disqualification
and lack Of definite regulations en-
designations .and dismissals.
Program Adopted in Principle.
The recommendation made by
the committee provided for better
salaries, better hours of work, va
cations and absences, medical care
and sick leave, resignation and dis
missal, and an employment contract.
They were laid before the District
Nursing Council at meeting at the
District Building and were adopted
IN principle by hospital representa-
tives.
The committees program was
based on a consideration of local
living conditions and on a desire to
make nurses salaries commensurate
with those paid other groups of pro-
fessional workers In the community.
Also in mind were the fees and uni
form costs which the nurse must pay
before she Is eligible for duty.
As nurses salaries are paid by the
public, the question Of how large an
increase can be made always goes
back to the matter Of how much the
public can pay. This puts the bur-
den on the average man, an indi-
vidual who budgets his income and
expenditures. With such q circum-
stance In mind, Dr.. Herbert 2.
Ramsey. head Of the Obstetrical