THE WORK OF A NURSE
There are many wise sayings about the trained nurse, two among which may
be given here. One of these was spoken by a woman who is herself a
distinguished trained nurse, and the other by a woman in a public position
who has met many people and is a good judge of character. The nurse said,
"Trained nursing will make a woman very good or it will harden her." The
other woman said, "I have never known a nurse who was not glad to be a
nurse and who was not thankful for a nurse's training." These two sayings
show that the work of a trained nurse is no ordinary occupation. The girl
who becomes a nurse-in-training is preparing to enter an employment which
will have a great effect upon her character.
A girl must be twenty, in some hospitals twenty-five, years of age before
she is accepted by a training school of good standing. If she prefers to
enter a school connected with a children's hospital, she may be accepted
when she is twenty. The work of a nurse calls for physical strength and
endurance, and it has been found that girls under twenty or even under
twenty-five are not strong enough to stand the strain of hospital work.
A very strong healthy girl under twenty may say, "Oh, but I am strong
enough to stand the strain." She is mistaken. It is not only physical
strength which is required, but physical endurance, and these extra years
are needed to develop this endurance. If a girl who hopes to be a nurse
leaves school when she is seventeen or eighteen, the best work she can
undertake in order to prepare for nursing is work in her own home.
Another way in which she may spend part of her time profitably is in the
reading of good books, so that she may store her mind with thoughts and
information which will be helpful to her in dealing with her patients.
No woman who is a nurse can be too well read, or too well informed in art,
music, biography, history, and the public affairs of the day. If a girl,
who feels that nursing is her real work, prefers to earn her living between
the time when she leaves school and the day that she is accepted as a
probationer, she may enter some other calling, and meanwhile may add to her
useful knowledge both of people and of work. She should also save some
money, for while the training of a nurse is not expensive, still as
probationer and, later, as nurse-in-training, she will need money for
necessary expenses.
The intending nurse should make a few financial calculations before
she begins her course of training. The hospital will give her exact
directions as to the clothes she will need for her work while she is a
probationer. She will require some spending money, and she should be
provided with a good stock of clothes, especially underwear, shoes, and
stockings. When she is accepted as a nurse-in-training, she may be given
by the hospital a monthly allowance which is supposed to provide her with
clothes and the books required for her studies. This sum varies in
different hospitals. Generally speaking, it is fifteen or twenty dollars
a month. In any case, the sum will be hardly sufficient to cover all her
expenses, although it is wonderful on how little money nurses-in-training
have been able to manage. Some hospitals do not give their
nurses-in-training any money and require that the nurse should pay
a sum for her instruction. It is usual for these hospitals to provide
nurses-in-training with uniforms, caps, and aprons.
Most training schools require from applicants an educational standard of
four years in a high school or matriculation status. Young women who are
college graduates may take the training of a nurse after they leave the
university. The business girl or the girl in any other occupation who
means to be a nurse and who has left school before reaching the necessary
standard can prepare for her training by attending evening classes or
studying by herself or with a friend.
The intending nurse should choose with great care the hospital in which
she means to train. The standing of the hospital will have a marked
influence onher career as a nurse. Some hospitals are justly famous for
the excellent training which they give. The usual length of time required
is three years. A number of hospitals, however, have courses of two years.
The time of probation lasts three, four, or six months. During this time
the probationer will be tested for endurance, neatness, earnestness, and
ability. No probationer who is untidy or who is wanting in personal
cleanliness is accepted in a training school. The professional appearance
of the nurse is essential to her success. Few women are more attractive
in appearance than a nurse in uniform.
Nurses-in-training live in a nurses' home which is one of the hospital
buildings. In these buildings the nurse will spend by far the greater part
of her time for two or three years. The hospital is a world in itself, and
the nurse will have few interests outside its walls. Most nurses regard
their years of training as a time of growth and wonderful experience, and
the average nurse is very happy during this time, although a great deal of
the work is not pleasant and almost all of it is hard. The nurse learns
that work of any kind may come within her province. She will have to do
anything which helps toward the recovery of her patients or contributes
to their comfort. Some of her experiences will teach her resolution and
bravery. Speaking of such experiences a nurse once said: "As long as you
can do anything to help, you can manage. It is the being able to help
that matters." The life of the nurse-in-training is regular, and the
hospital regime is such that as a rule nurses-in-training are healthy.
The nurse should have good health and a good constitution. In some cases,
however, a girl may be in poor health because she has no definite
occupation or object in life. Training as a nurse has often helped to
establish good health. The girl who applies at a hospital training school
requires a doctor's certificate, and the doctor will be able to tell her
whether she is strong enough to undertake the work of a nurse. She should
be a girl of strong character, steady nerves, clear mind, and good
judgment. She must acquire the habit of obedience if she does not already
possess it. A nurse, like a soldier, is under authority and has to carry
out directions exactly as if they were commands. In her work she will need
tact, discretion, and firmness, and with her firmness she must be always
and unfailingly kind. Her voice and manner should be as pleasing as
possible. No unkind or rough woman should ever have anything to do with
the work of nursing.
Short courses in nursing are given in some cities by the Young Women's
Christian Association. The St. John Ambulance also has given instruction
in nursing for a number of years. Since the beginning of the War, various
courses have been arranged for Red Cross nurses. The honourable work of
what are known as V. A. D. (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurses proves how
valuable any good instruction in nursing is, not only for the individual,
but also for the community. It is not too much to say that the whole
service of nursing in the world would not have been adequate if it had not
been for the training and work of volunteer nurses. The War has proved
beyond all question the extraordinary value of the trained nurse.
After graduating from the training school, the nurse may undertake private
nursing or she may follow her profession in institutional work. Private
nursing is exacting, and the nurse must be strong and capable. Her hours
are longer and much more irregular than when she was in training, and often
she will be on her own responsibility. She will feel, however, that she is
doing work of great value, and she will win the regard of many of her
patients and their families. The good standing of the training school is
an assistance to the nurse when she looks for cases. If she is favourably
known to doctors, she is likely to have as much work as she can manage.
Hospitals often engage their graduates to return for private cases. A usual
charge for a graduate nurse is from twenty-one to thirty-five dollars a
week according to the nature of the case. A nurse in private work cannot
work uninterruptedly throughout the year. Her name is on a nurses'
registry, which is generally conducted by an association of nurses or by a
private individual. Returns from these registries show that the average
nurse is employed about ten months in the year. Many graduate nurses earn
from eight to nine hundred dollars a year in private nursing, while some
earn a thousand or twelve hundred, but this is exceptional.
Nurses who are not graduates are sent out by some registries. Their charges
vary according to the case. These women are sometimes called convalescent
nurses and, in cases where a graduate nurse is not required, they fill a
real need in the community.
As a general rule, a trained nurse does not continue in private nursing
longer than ten or twelve years. Frequently, at the end of that time, her
health necessitates a change of occupation. Others continue their work
successfully for many years.
Many trained nurses prefer institutional rather than private nursing. Head
nurses in hospitals receive from thirty to sixty dollars a month. There are
also nurses who superintend private hospitals. A few nurses of executive
ability, business knowledge, and experience in nursing, become
superintendents of hospitals, but not of the largest hospitals. A number
are heads of training schools. Such leading nurses receive salaries
varying from one thousand to two thousand dollars a year, with living
expenses in addition. The work of a woman superintendent who is a trained
nurse includes the financial management, responsibility for the nurses,
training of the nurses, the care of patients, and the oversight of the
hospital. Few individuals are equal to such work and responsibility. Other
trained nurses become matrons and housekeepers in private hospitals,
sanitaria, and colleges. Some are district nurses. Public health nurses
assist in supervising the health of a city and give instruction in
cleanliness, sanitary science, and the care and feeding of infants.
Private schools, colleges, factories, and departmental stores employ the
services of trained nurses.
A few children's hospitals give short courses in training for children's
nurses--an employment for which many girls are specially fitted. This
course must not be confused with the regular instruction of the trained
nurse, as it is not on a level with the profession of trained nursing.
A children's nurse with hospital training will receive twenty or
twenty-five dollars a month; in some instances such a nurse is paid
higher wages.