HEALTH OF NURSES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23208, 30 November 1938, Page 18

HEALTH OF NURSES

BURDEN OF WORK AND STUDY VALUE OF BLOCK SYSTEM [by TELEGRAPH —OWN' correspondent] "WELLINGTON, Tuesday "It lias been realised for a long time that it is hardly fair to expect nurses to do a full day's ward duty and then study or attend lectures," said tho superintendent of the Wellington Public Hospital, Dr. A. R. Thorne, referring to a recent suggestion from Southland that the reason why so many nurses broke down in health )vas that they had to study as well as work in the wards. The Wellington board, Dr. Thorne said, had already decided that the block system would be introduced when a sufficient number of nurses was available. Under this system trainee nurses did not attend lectures throughout the year concurrently with their ward work. Instead, sections of the year were devoted entirely to intensive study and other sections to practical work in the wards. At a recent meeting of the board it was stated that, it 100 additional nurses could be obtained, it would bo possible to put the 40-hour week into operation within three or six months. Dr. Thorne said that, with the block system of training, shorter hours and better accommodation and recreational facilities at the nurses' home, an improvement in the general standard of the nurses' health could be expected. In the meantime the amount of sickness among nurses in Wellington was no greater than the average in other hospitals where similar conditions prevailed.