SHORTAGE OF NURSES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23381, 24 June 1939, Page 22

SHORTAGE OF NURSES

SOLVING THE PROBLEM TRAINING COLLEGE SCHEME ACADEMIC SIDE OF WORK . fllV TKLKOKAI'H —OWN" COItRKSPONDKNT] NELSON, Friday The suggestion that a training college be established for training nurses prior to undertaking practical work in hospitals was made by the managingsecretary, Mr. G. I'. Chapman, at a meeting of the Nelson Hospital Board during a discussion on the general shortage of nurses and reasons for gifls not seeking nursing work. The chairman, Major R. Dagger, said that the nursing staff of the hospital was under strength and all were working at lull capacity. The board bad adopted all possible means of increasing the nursing .staff, but no further nurses were available this month. The matron had vacancies and had called for applications for six probationers, but there was only one applicant. The managing-secretary said it appeared that girls were not taking up nursing as wages and conditions in other classes of work were more attractive. Mr. J. Fitzgerald said the question was whether nurses were paid enough to encourage girls to take up the work. Jn addition, trying to study and do practical work at the. same time appeared to be too much. Suggesting the establishment of a nurses' training college, Mr. Chapman said at the present time girls leaving secondary schools and wishing to take u]) nursing found they could not do so until they were 19, and in the meantime they became established in other work. A training college would help in meeting the demand for nurses and would fill in the time between leaving school and commencing nursing. It would enable the academic part of the work to be completed before commencing practical work.