EVERY WOMAN NOT A NURSE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12504, 17 December 1918, Page 7

EVERY WOMAN NOT A NURSE.

During a wounded man’s progress through hospitals and convalescent homes ho soon comes to realise that every woman in the uniform of a nurse is not necessarily a nurse—that is, in the sense of being a healer, or even a ccmtortor. His injuries seem to awaken some protective instinct, previously dormant, which tells him that certain persons will not benefit him by their ministrations, and while under their hands lie is restless and may/ even suffer much. Training does not make every woman a nurse, any more than ill makes every man a soldier. One .woman of this type I remember well, olio was dainty, and pretty—quite the model, indeed, of the conventional idea of the perfect nurse. But lob her bo on. night duty, and many, a patient suffered discomfort or pain till relief nt^ler lau apply to her for YVhen she took the dressing, the trolly bearing the medicaments and appliances well deserved its nick-name of the agony-waggon.” Her not unskilful hands had no soothing power in g'ow pf sympathy was absent. bho was not careless, but she seemed to think that tho chief merit of a nurse lay in being able to probe calmly and endure the unpleasantness of her patient’s wounds, while at tho sumo, time expecting them to remain equally indifferent. Remonstrance on the part of a pateint was rare, but on one occasion a,, tough Scot gave an involuntary squirm and groan. .. rehy» Jock,” said the nurse. Where s all your usual fortitude!”’ ‘‘l’ve.got plenty o’ fortitude, nutse,” replied Jock, “but I’m thinking it’s fiftytudo I wad be needin’ wi' you working at me.” But the true-born gentle nurse, possessed of the magical healing touch—who can describe her? All the words in the world will not tall us how it is she is able to quieten the restless,, fevered patient by her mere approach. He likes her to touch him. He will do anything she tells him, like an obedient child, and, hoping to please her, will painfully attempt many things ho cannot do, ■ } • .

Her touch during the ordeal of dressing seems to possess iui antithetic quality, wliSch infuses a kind of pleasure into the pain—if those who hare not been patients can understand such a thing. She knows the instant of each excruciating twinge, and in some unexplainable way the patient feels it deliciously soothed almost as soon as suffered.' She 'knows iust when, whore and how to place her.gentle*, firm - hand. "That's giving you a lot of pain,” said one such woman to a man who was having little jagged pieces of metal picked out of his face, as she placed a supporting hand against his head. “ Keep your hand there, nurse, and I’ll let you pick tin tacks out of mo. all. day,” said, tho patient. It was. the healing touch., -.TAMES COWAN, in the “Daily Mail.”