Evening star., 1947-02-14
Higher Salaries
InNursingUrged
10 End Shortage
Service in Hospitals
Here Sub-Stundord,
Ruhlund Points Out
By Thomas G. Buchanan

oy tHo1HoS -. puCnonon
The shortage of nurses and aux
illary workers in District hospitals
cannot be eliminated until more at
tractive working conditions are
offered young women entering the
medical profession.
That was the consensus yesterday
of a group of the city's health
authorities, including District Health
Officer George C. Rutland, who ad-
dressed a Washington Board Of
Trade luncheon at the Burlington
Hotel.
A patient in the local municipal
institutions, Gallinger Hospital and
Glenn Dale Sanatorium gets only
80 minutes of nursing care day,
DR.. Rutland asserted. He said ma
tional standards regard three hours
as minimum care per patient.
Other Hospitals Short.
The shortage prevails throughout
the city. In Washington's 16 nom
Federal hospitals, the health officer
said, there are 440 fewer registered
nurses than are required for
immediate present needs" not con-
sidering long range Ideal" require
ments. Counting nurses, aides and
auxiliary hospital workers, the hos
pital shortage amounts to 1000
persons, he declared.
DR.. Rutland was joined by hospi-
tai officials, representatives of local
nurses organizations and leaders
of volunteer health service groups
in attributing the postwar nursing
shortage to reluctance of young
women to enter the profession when
better salaries and easier working
conditions are available elsewhere.
"a girl right out of high school,"
he said, "can get a Government job
and make as much money right
away as nurse with three years
training"
Girls Seeking Advice.
Expressing support of this view
were Miss Edith M. Beattie, execu-
tive secretary of the Graduate
Nurses ssAssociation, and Nat c.
Wilson, manager of the District
Chapter of the American Red Cross.
High school girls are consulting
their counsellors before they choose
profession" Mr.. Wilson declared.
Unless we can offer them the same
advantages as other jobs, with a
40-hour week, good pay, retirement
benefits and other favorable work.
ing conditions, not many of them
are going to enter the nursing field"
j DR.. Roy L. Sexton, publicity di-
rector of Doctors Hospital, pointed
out, however, that his institution
received 300 applications for its
course in practical nursing, insti-
: tuted last October. OF these, Is were
lelected for training. For a new
class to begin Monday, 80 were
chosen from 700 applicants, he as
serted.
1 'This shows it isn't hard to get
candidates for nursing school if you
have the right kind of course to
offer and go out and recruit, as we
did," Dr.. Sexton declared.
Miss Beattie told a reporter she
\ thought the local nursing situa-
ton would be materially improved
with passage of bill now under
study in the Corporation Counsels
office. The bill would require reg
istration of all who represent them
selves as practical nurses.
Courses Available.
This measure would raise the
standard of the profession, assure
the public that nurses offering their
services for hire are adequately
trained, and might induce more
young women to take nursing train
ing, she asserted.
At present, public training facili-
ties for practical nurses are repre-
sented by the Burdick Vocational
School, where only 25 pupils have
been enrolled in the three classes
formed during the last year, and
at Margaret Murray Washington
School, where about 100 colored
nurses have applied for training
over the same period.
Schools for registered nurses in
clude those at Freedmen's, Emer-
gency, Gallinger, Garfield, George
town, Providence, Sibley and st.
Elizabeth's Hospitals. Childrens
Hospital is affiliated with a number
of other institutions in providing
nurses training.