There is, at Madras, an Institution called the Military Female
Orphan Asylum, which trains 200 orphan girls, daughters of European
soldiers. They enter in infancy, and, as they attain a proper age,
they are married to soldiers or others. There is always an abundance
of applicants for them, and every endeavour is made to train them to
be useful soldiers’ wives. Dr. MacPherson, the excellent Principal
Medical Officer of the Turkish Contingent, when at Kertch, who is now
in charge of this Asylum, was the person, I believe, who introduced
amongst the senior girls, a system of training, to enable them to
officiate as nurses, an all-important element in their education. Below
is a syllabus of the theoretical branches taught, a practical knowledge
being acquired in the Hospital attached to the Institution. It would be
well if all women underwent a similar training.
_Course of Instruction for the Class of Sick Nurses, at the Military
Female Orphan Asylum._
Popular and Regional Anatomy and Physiology.
A general knowledge of the human body, its various organs, and their
uses.
Sanitation.
To be made acquainted with every subject relating to health, viz.:
Food--Exercise--Clothing--Cleanliness--Ventilation, &c.
Sick-room Management.
Administration of Medicines, Application of Leeches, Lotions,
Fomentations, &c. Cleanliness, Darkening of the Apartment, Quietness,
&c. Cooking for the Sick. Diet for Infants.
Household Medicine and Surgery.
To be taught how to act in emergencies, viz.: in cases of
Fainting--Hysterics--Convulsions of Children--Burns--Stings of
Insects--Wounds, &c.; and the simplest mode of treating the diseases
most commonly met with in India, viz.:
External Inflammation,
Cholera,
Fever,
Dysentery,
Sore Eyes,
Bowel Complaints,
Cutaneous Eruptions.
How to prepare Poultices, Fomentations, and Lotions.
″ dress Wounds, Sores, and Blisters.
″ apply Bandages.