TRAINED NURSES

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 82, 3 October 1929, Page 13

TRAINED NURSES

CONFERENCE AT AUCKLAJvD

The annual conference of the New Zealand Trained Nurses' Association opened at tho Nurses' Club, Auckland, on Tuesday, with a meeting of tho central council. Tho president, Mrs. Tracey i.nglis, was in tho chair.

In opening tho proceedings, "Mrs biglis said that when looking back v.pon their records she found that tho central council %vas formed in 1909, ■ :nd sho considered that in that time' it had fulfilled tho objects for which it was.formed. These aims, as laid down :.t tho Second International Conference, held in the same year that the council was formed, and adopted by 'ho latter body, woro tho extension, of ho influence of nursing so that under :». comprehensive curriculum defined by i.Hato authority it would become of ■ iefmito value to the community. It yas not sufliciont that a nurse should lio the instrument of relief of suffering, "lit she must also bo the harbinger of its prevention. Inspired by a fine iailitant spirit, sho must mako determined war upon tho fundamental wrongs that conduced to low vitality ;--ud physical deterioration.

Miss Bicknell, director of nursing icrvices, made a. briof speech dealing with some of tho business that came before tho International Conference at .Montreal. She stressed the importance of a New Zealand delegate to any iuturo mooting of tho I.C.N. being appointed president for tho time being, .s only then was sho entitlod to a seat vu the board of directors. Tho Education Committee, of which she was a. laerubor, had a particularly strenuous lime. Its main duty was to try and istablish a minimum basis on which to ilraw up an international curriculum of i raining. With so many countries of

•varying sizes and conditions this was ).o easy matter, and many hours were j pent in trying to work out some ishemcs adaptable to all. "Another iask set this committee," saia Miss -vtickneU, "was that of defining the term 'trained nurse,' as used in tho constitution of the I.C.N. The followUg was accepted by the Grand Council: 'By tho term "trained nurse," vised in tho constitution of the 1.C.N., 1^ meant a nurse who during her period of training has received instruction imd experienco in at least four of the iiain branches of nursing, always including medical, surgical, and children r.urshig, and who if competent on f raduation to enter the general practice of musing and to- undertake the fundamental duties and responsibilities vhich are .common to nurses in all the nain fields of nursing, including! j.riyate nursing, hospital liursing, andj Visiting nursing.'" During its sit-! tings the conference will consider a number of remits and subjects for dis-j (itssibn, among them being nursing! education, both general and in eonncc-! lion with midwifery; salaries of I I.ranches of the profession, as well as the matter of superannuation, the "Nursing Journal." etc.