THE UNTRAINED NURSE.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13131, 2 June 1908, Page 9

THE UNTRAINED NURSE.

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PRESS. Sir, —"Five-and-twenty Shillings" speaks as if a qualified nurse is only entitled to her fee through long hours and work done in a sick-room. If that ■were _o, money in som© instances would never compensate for th© arduous duties imposed upon hor, and in others she would not feel entitled to it. No, a nurse is paid for her time andskill. If there is not much to do, it shows the patient is improving (and that is all that is required), and if there is she is quit© willing to perform -uch duties necessary to th© well-boing of her patient. A good nurse is just as essential as a good doctor, and cheaper in the long run, th© doctor visiting k&s, he solely depending on her report; whereas an unskilled nurse (allowing her to bo thoroughly conscientious), for want of propor training and knowledgo. cannot anticipate symptoms quickly enough to ward off danger, by sending for th© doctor promptly, instead of waiting for hia us-af vkit. Th© result is that th© patient's life is in jeopardy, th© doctor's visits ar© increased, and recovery „_!<_© slower than -would hare been had 6h© been prompt and reporting in +ime. So th© penny-wise and poundfoolish ale© applies to the nurse as to the buyor. If you -want a good thing you must pay for it. If a patient's life and comfort is worth anything, it is -worth a doctor's and nuree's fee; if not, why give one's health and strens-h in return for theirs if only valued at five-and-twenty shillings?— 'Yours, ©to;, MEDDLESOME MATTY.