CONFERENCE OF NURSES

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25206, 10 June 1947, Page 2

CONFERENCE OF NURSES

INTERNATIONAL MEETING IN UNITED STATES MISS M. I. LAMBIE RETURNS (P.A.) AUCKLAND, June 9. “All countries are facing shortages in hospital staff because there have been such tremendous increases in the use of hospital treatment in the last six or seven years under different forms of treatment,” said Miss M. I. Lambie, of Wellington, Director of Nursing Services, who returned by Clipper from a visit to Canada and the United States. With Miss L. Banks, matron of the Palmerston North Hospital and a vice-president of the New Zealand Registered Nurses’ Association, she attended a conference of the International Council of Nurses. The business sessions of the conference were held at Washington, and the general meeting at Atlantic City. Miss Lambie said 6980 nurses attended the conference, 780 of them coming from countries outside the United States. Practically every country was represented, the exceptions being Russia, Bulgaria, and Turkey Many of the European nurses were assisted in the payment of passages and the provision of accommodation by the American Nurses’ Association. The proceedings were extremely interesting, and they were of great value, particularly to nurses from Europe, who had not been able to meet in conference since before the war. The problems of meeting staff shortages, and a review of the training of nurses in these circumstances occupied most of the deliberations. After the conference ended Miss Lambie visited hospitals at Toronto and Montreal, and Miss Banks saw hospitals at Chicago and Cleveland.