THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3249, 21 June 1916, Page 63

THE WEEK.

The Hon. G. W. Russell has had a pretty busy time during his visit to Dunedin. The portfolios of Internal Affairs and Public Health cover a wide field, and more than any others, except Education, bring their holder into touch with women's interests. In. one capacity, for instance, Mr Russell addressed a meeting of the Women's. National Reserve, with special reference to the Government's scheme of registering women for clerical work, and in the other ho opened the new Nurses' Home in Cumberland street, opposite to the Hospital. Both occasions brought into prominence the importance of women's work, though in the first case a great deal of it may be only of a temporary nature with' the object of taking the places of men who are called away to the fighting line. In Wellington and' Chrislchureh the Women's National Reserve are assisting in the Government's scheme, which includes the free registration and training of women willing to undertake clerical work', presumably for the period of the war. This certainly is one of the directions in which women conlcl quite well replace men, since the business of the country must be carried on, for they are just as capable of handling the' pen and the typewriter as those who are more needed to shoulder a rifle ; but unless everybody concerned takes it up in the right spirit, putting the larger interests of the country first, the scheme will not be easy to carry out smoothly and effectively. When we come to nursing, however, we touch on a form of work that belongs pre-eminently to women, and always will do to, though, strangely enough, it is only within the last 50 or 60 years that the' capabilities of women, or the need for them, in this direction have been recognised. You will remember the hard fight" that Florence Nightingale had against the prejudices and conventions of her time in her efforts to get this important sphere of work put on a proper basis. Since the middle of last century hospital management has been altogether revolutionised, and the training of nurses is now regarded as an integral part of the work of every largo institution of this kind. Like the town- which is serves, the Dunedin Hospital lias grown apace in the last few years, and the Nurses' Home of former days is now quite inadequate for the necessarv staff. Hence the building of the new home, which is large enough to meet requirements for a long time to come. In plan and appearance it is the essence of simplicity—a long central portion facing the sun, with projecting wings at each end—and with its roughcast walla, red-tiled roof, and sunny balconies on each floor it has escaped the appearance of an "institution," so difficult to avoid in a building of such a size, and looks what it really is. a home on :i large scale. Its comfortable effect will be still further increased when the creepers arc climbing up the pergola in front and the garden'is bright with flowerbeds. Inside on the upper floors are rows of small but convenient bedrooms, enough for each, nurse to hare one to herself.

and what is more, to keep it, instead of having it occupied by someone else whenever she was away for a holiday or any other reason, as has boon the case hitherto with the present inadequate accommodation. There are special quarters for the night-nurses and for those who are ill, and the matron and the submatron have each a small suite to themselves. Downstairs is the big diningroom and the sitting-room, which may be'thrown into one so as to form one large hall, and there is also a library, which is supposed to be used for purposes of study, and the Sisters have a pleasant sunny sitting-room of their own at the end of one of the wings. A nice whitetiled kitchen, with plenty of scullery and pantry accommodation adjoining, occupies most'of the back, and bathrooms and wide-slulved cupboards may be found in every convenient spot. When the matron and her large family have taken possession the whole place should have a very cheerful and friendly air, though some of the necessary rules and regulations may remind new-comers, of their schooldays once again. The training of a nurse is like the training of a soldier in many ways. She has to learn to obey orders from the start, obey unquestioningly, and yet she has to be able to use. her own wits, too, in an emergency-—in fact. the ideal nurse possesses iusj that combination of discipline and initiative that goes 1o make the ideal soldier. There are also different ranks in the little hospital army, the probationer corresponding to tlh! new recruit, with everything to learn and much hard work ahead of her. Like the recruit, too, the probationer has first to be 'biassed as fit." for every intending candidate mint produce a certificate of physical fitness, and must have had an education at least up to Standard VI of the primary schools. Probationers are taken for three mouths on trial, and at the end of that. time, if they are considered satisfactory and if they wish to continue, they may sign on for the rest of the three-years' course, or rather four, for though a certificate may be gained at the end of the three years, a nurse is really re ;uired to stay for another year at the hospital which has. trained her. If at the end of that time she wishes to go on with hospital work she may be promoted to a "Sister," which is. T suppose, equivalent to receiving a commission, and she exchanges her grey dress for a blue one, and is advanced to the dignity of a cap with floating tails, and is a very superior person indeed in the eyes, of the humble probationer. Above everybody else comes the matron in lonely grandeur, like the commanding officer of a regiment or the captain of a. ship. Her word is law in her own domain, though, even she has over her matrons-in-chlef and inspectors and other officials of the Public Health Department, even as the commanding officer is under the War Office and the Headquarters, Staff. Like

the soldiers, too, the training calls out such qualities as endurance, unselfishness, capacity for hard work, and so on ; but there is this great difference : that while the soldier's work is to destroy, the nurse's is to heal and build up again ;. and therein is exemplified the fundamental difference between the sexes. For man. when considered physiologically-psycholo gically, tends to be destructive and woman to he constructive, and that is a lesw for all of us women, whether wo \r. nurses or no, for there will be much to heal and build up again when tl is time of destruction is over. ELIZABETH.