THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3201, 21 July 1915, Page 69

THE WEEK.

A week or two ago, in writing about Florence Nightingale’s work in the Crimea, I said that I should like to carry on the story to another time, and tell you something of what she accomplished after her return to England, particularly in the direction of organising the profession of nursing for women. The amount of service that she rendered to this cause is simply marvellous when we realise that ior the rest of her long life she was a confirmed invalid, spending nearly all her time between the four walls of her room, and unable to give any personal superintendence to the schemes she had in view. The benefits of her advice and the results of her experience she at least could give, and so greatly were they appreciated that not a day passed unoccupied. She was consulted by the War Office as to various reforms in the sanitary condition of the army, both in peace and in war, which the Crimean campaign had shown to be so necessary, and they even asked for her advice as to the state of the Indian army, although she had never been to India. An elaborate series of written evidence ■procured from all the- principal stations in India by the Royal Commission appointed for' the purpose was laid before her; and she was requested to write a paper of comments on the reports. This was published a vear or two later, in 1863, under the title of “The Sanitary State of the Army in India.” But this was by no means her first publication. Besides preparing and issuing an exact account of the distribution of the funds placed at her disposal for the sick soldiers, she had brought out a work on the health and hospital administration of the British army, which was followed at brief intervals by her “Notes on Hospitals and “Notes on Nursing,” the latter of which is still regarded as a classic on the subject. Outside her own country, too, her name had become well known, and the Sanitary Commission which was set up during the American Civil war, and the founders of the Red Cross Society, which originated in Geneva, acknowledged their debt to her wisdom and experience. It was merely the accident of_ a great national crisis, however, which had brought her into connection with the army, and her deepest interest lay in the spread of a properly organised system of sick nursing, especially amongst the poor. It was to this end that she intended to devote the whole of the Nightingale Fund, a thankoffering from a grateful country for her services in the Crimea, which reached a total of some £48,000. Part of the „ income of this fund was_ to be devoted to the maintenance and instruction of nurses at St. Thomas’s Hospital, and part to the maintenance and instruct:on of midwifery nurses at King’s College Hospital. Accordingly, quarters were arranged in a wing of old St. Thomas’s for the Nightingale nurses, and in June, 1860, the first 15 probationers were admitted. The course of training them lasted only a year, and at the end of it those who passed an examination were certified as nurses, and entered into hospital work. When in 1871 the new St. Thomas’s Hospital, one of the finest in Europe, was opened, a special wing in one of the northern blocks was set aside as the Nightingale Home and Training School for nurses, and all the arrangements of this wing were carried out exactly in accordance with Miss Nightingale’s wishes. This school at St. Thomas’s was not altogether the first training school 191' nurses. The example of Kaiserwerth in Germany had been followed to a certain extent in England, and an Institute of Nursing Sisters had been founded in 1840 by Elizabeth Fry, the Quakeress, a woman as remarkable in her way as Florence Nightingale; while in 1848 had been founded St. John’s House, a Church of England institution for the same purpose. The inauguration of the Nightingale School, however, marked the beginning" of a definite scheme for training women of all classes as professional nurses, not associated with any religious order, and helped to raise the calling from the low system into which it had fallen to the respect with which it is regarded at the present day. At first there was no great rush of young women anxious to be trained as nurses, and Miss Nightingale had even to appeal for recruits for the new work. But the scheme steadily prospered ; other hospitals took it up, and now the English nursing system, both civil and military, instead* of being_ a reproach to any civilised country, as it once was, is looked up to with admiration by the rest of the world. Other parts of the British Empire of course followed the Homeland in this matter, and, indeed. New Zealand has advanced further still, for this is one of the few countries of the world where we find State registration of nurses, which prevents practice by the unskilled a.nd raises the whole status of the profession. The cry for nurses Is so great just now, and so' many girls are thinking of taking up the career, that a few words as to the necessary requirements may he of interest. Candidates, who should he between 21 and 30 years of age, should apply, either personally or by letter, to the matron of the hospital that they wish to enter. They must he able to produce evidences of good character and sound health, and are also required to state their educational acquirements, which need not be very high, a good primary school education being generally considered sufficient. Accepted candidates enter the hospital for three months’ probation, and at the end of that time, if still considered suitable, they are allowed to continue their course of training, which lasts three years, the three months’ probation being included. A nurse is generally expected, however, to stay a: fourth year at the hospital where she has oeen trained, and in some hospitals pro-

bationers have to enter into a definite agreement in this respect. At the end of the three years’ course the nurse can sit for the State examination, the passing of which enables her to rank as a certificated nurse, there is also a horpital examination as well to pass. There are no fees to be paid for training, and the probationer is ‘paid at the rate of £2O the first year, rising to £4O in the fourth year, while “Sisters” get a good deal more. This, of course, is in addition to hoard and lodg : ing. A nurse in private practice can command up to three guineas a week, but it must be remembered that there are often periods of unemployment. The training is strict, and the work hard and often unpleasant; but nothing that is worth while can be accomplished without hard work, and such work as this is eminently worth while in a world where sickness and suffering are always to be found. ELIZABETH.