Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-08-07
EMERGENCY Job in Public Health Service
LedMiss Petry to Career Of 'Firsts'
By Ruth Dean

When MISS Lucille feCTy came W
Washington in 1941 to participate
IN the United States Public Health
Service war nurse training pro-
gram, she little realized her "emer-
gency" job would become a perma-
nent one.
Now the wartime head of the
Cadet Nurses Corps is an assistant
surgeon general in the United
States Public Health Service, the
first woman ever to hold the Office.
Miss Petry is petite, with CRAVING
curly hair and vivaciouS but eff
Gent air. When. she speaks of the
large task ahead of her as head of
nursing for the service, her eyes
are serious and she sets forth her
ideas with clear-cut precision.
She has humor. too. which she
exhibited on occasion in an inter-
view in her office last week.
mo, my story, is not the one
about the little girl who fixed a
splint for her little dogs broken
Leg" she reminisced with a twinkle
in her eyes. "As a matter of fact, I
didn't decide on nursing as a ca
reer until my Junior year of COL
lege. I'd never been sick a day in
my life, had never seen the in
side of a hospital and knew few
doctors or nurses. My choice. I
think, was purely an intellectual
one"
Interested in People
1t was Miss Petry's interest in
seeing the practical application of
the sciences in her college study,
plus her consuming interest in peo-
pie, that prompted her to choose
nursing even though she had had
no previous association with the
profession to influence her deci-
sion. She also thinks nursing af-
fords the harmonious use of both
the mental and physical energies.
With q serious air, Miss Petry
turned to the task that lies ahead
for nursing in the Public Health
Service.
whatever the people want or
can want in the way of good health
services" she said, II want good
enough nurses to effectuate plans
to meet the health needs of the
public.
The recent advances in medi-
cal sciences plus the fact that
American citizens are better in
formed about health practices
have produced a situation which
has resulted in increased health
and hospital services, with pro-
portionate demand for nurses far
exceeding the supply.
THAT is why dislike to use the
word shortage when referring to
this problem" Miss Petry ex-
planned. I'm comparison to other
countries, we have plenty of
nurses, but as long as health serv-
ices to the people continue to in
crease, we must meet the growing
need for nurses with more appeal
Ing eoucaClon programs.
Fovors Larger Schools
1t is on this phase of the problem
that the assistant surgeon general
and her staff are now embarked.
1--WE think If the clinical facilities
now used for education are COM
bined into larger units, it not only
will result in a smaller number OF
total schools but create at the
same time a larger school ca
pacity," she declared.
The second large task on Miss
Petry's agenda is the improved
utilization of the present nurse
power.
She doesn't think the increase
in the number of trained practical
nurses is a threat to the future
of the professional nurse. Both
can work together" she pointed
out. I'm fact, the idea OF both
kinds of nurses cooperating to-
gether in teams is new approach
to nursing service which is being
tried out in many hospitals
throughout the country with
promise of success. Each has a
Job to do. If we have more pro-
fessional nurses and we still
haven't enough, we can't afford
to have them performing the