H—3l

The staff-education programme as outlined last year has been followed this year and many of the district meetings have been attended by Miss McNab or myself. By the use of nurses' own cases and problems in group discussion much useful information has been illustrated. Industrial Nursing Miss Ryan has now visited all factories where nurses are employed several times and also some where nurses could be employed. Group meetings have been held in all centres. For this coming year the first course in connection with the Post-graduate School will be held, and 4 students are enrolled. In addition, a correspondence course, which will be conducted with the assistance of the Correspondence School, is to be held for those nurses who are already in positions and who have had no previous training. Conferences The Department has had a great deal of assistance from the voluntary organizations — the New Zealand Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John are continuing to train voluntary aids and to assist hospitals in this manner; the Registered Nurses' Association has worked most closely with the Nursing Division throughout the year in several pieces of research, one of which was carried out by means of a questionnaire concerning the wastage of pupil-nurses. Post-graduate School The Post-graduate School has had an exceedingly busy year, with a record number of students, 50. In addition, refresher courses, each of a week's duration, have been held for theatre and tutor sisters and two groups of nurses have been taken for the Introductory Course. Additional class-room accommodation is urgently required. This could be done by taking away the residential rooms, although it has been useful to have these, in view of the shortage of accommodation in Wellington. Staff The Department's institutions, like others, have had a most trying time with staff changes, particularly at Queen Mary Hospital, Hanmer Springs, which, being a country hospital a long distance from a town, finds it particularly difficult to maintain staff. All of the staffs of these hospitals have given excellent and devoted service in order to maintain their hospitals' standard of service. To the other executive officers of the Department and to the nursing staff of the Department as a whole, as well as the Hospital Boards and their staffs and the Hospital Boards' Association, the Director is extremely grateful for continued co-operation and assistance, and, in particular, mentions the clerical staff of her own Division, who have carried out a great deal of additional work involving overtime.

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