Evening star., 1945-02-02
More Than $4,000
Nurses Classified
AS Fit for Services
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.

ny NhnAEn ohOOAE JONES.
With the armed forces seeking
close to $4,000 additional nurses at
once. the War Manpower Commits
sion has classified more than this
number as qualified for military
service and not holding essential
civilian jobs, it was learned today.
Although VINO has issued no
statement since the Army, a few
days ago, decided to disregard VINO
priorities and consider all graduate
nurses who applied for commissions
the VINO Procurement and Assign
ment Service is reported reclassify-
ing listed nurses, with a view to
making still more available for the
armed forces.
List $4,000.
VINO lists about $4,000 registered
nurses as under IS and potentially
qualified for military service. But
about half of these are held to be in
necessary posts. Something like one
third stationed in hospitals are
listed as making up a quota above
the number considered necessary to
maintain these institutions. The
other "nonessential" nurses are in
private duty or at clinics.
The whole trend of the complex
and confusing nursing picture makes
a draft of nurses under selective
service plan the only solution for the
emergency. in the opinion of most
officials concerned. Such lecisla-
ton is to be taken up by the House
Military Affairs Committee in
few days.
The Army needs at least $4,000
more nurses Immediately, and the
urgency of the problem has been in
creased by a new demand of the
Navy for 1000 nurses at once. The
Navy, which was believed to need
comparatively few, must have the
1000 Ito assure every man in the
Navy OF adequate care" said a cur
rent announcement.
Registration Lacking.
Admittedly, neither VINO nor any
other agency, governmental or pri-
vate, has complete national regis
tration of nurses, and even those
opposing draft legislation concede
that legislation requiring such a list
would be most helpful as a start
toward meeting the critical situa-
ton.
Some have urged the armed serv-
ices to relax their standards to an
extent, pointing out that many
nurses who would be acceptable in
hospitals or private duty are re-
Jected on educational grounds. While
it is realized the physical standards
must be maintained, because of the
arduouS service that may be re-
quired of military nurses, complaint
has come from the nursing profess
sion that the Army and Navy insist
fon too rigid training background.
The States vary in their require
ments for registered nurses. One
State is reported to have only 3 out
OF 33 nursing schools which are ac-
credited by the Army and Navy.
Must Know Work.
Thus far there has been no indi-
cation that the armed forces would
lower the education standards.
Medical officers point out that, while
hospitals. under adequate super
vision. can absorb nurses with
sketchier training than they require,
military and naval nurses often
must work on their own responsible
Iity. They must know what to do,
when and how to do it.
Opposition to a law drafting
nurses until "the volunteer pro-
gram has been proved a failure"
was announced by the National Leg
islative Committee of the Veterans
Of Foreign Wars. The committee,
headed by R. K. Christenberry of
New York, recognized the urgent
need for nurses, but held it would be
unfair to call into service "one seq
ment of American womanhood, >"
while others are excluded. If, how
ever, sufficient nurses refuse to VOL
unteer, the committee indicated, 1t
may support draft legislation.