Wellington

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume III, Issue 1, 1 January 1910, Page 16

Wellington

An informal meeting of the Council was held at the Nurses' Home on the morning of the 29th October, when Nurse Hodgson was presented, on the occasion of her marriage, with a writing cabinet, stool, and inkstand. Mrs. Kendall, on behalf of the Council, and several of our nurses, made the presentation, and conveyed to Nurse Hodgson the Association's best wishes for her future happiness and prosperity. The Annual Dinner was held on 18th November, at the Hotel Windsor. The gathering was a brilliant one, but it is to be regretted that the catering was so badly done. We hope, however, that this will not m any way mar the popularity of our Nurses' Dinner. There is a balance of £b from the dinner, and the Council has decided that this shall be put aside, and used as the beginning of a sick fund for nurses ; so we are moving on m the right direction. Nurses will read with interest the report of the Central Council meetings which were held on the 17th and 18th November. There is no doubt that much good work has been done, and the nurses of New Zealand owe much to Miss Maclean for all the help given, and the interest taken, m the formation of the New Zealand Trained Nurses' Association. Already we have proved the strength of union m our protest against the Fiftysix hours clause m the Hospital Bill for Nurses. What happened was as follows : — The attention of the President was drawn by Mr. Kirke, a member of the Wellington

Hospital Board of Trustees, to the fact that a clause had been added at the eleventh hour to the Hospitals and Charitable Aid Bill, during its second reading m the IyOwer House, greatly affecting the nursing profession. This was : " That the hours of nurses, attendants and dressers m any hospital shall not exceed 56 hours m any one week, except m case of emergency." He suggested that the Nurses' Association should take action and protest against this clause, which would be almost impossible for small hospitals, with limited staffs, and fluctuating number of patients, and ruinous for private hospitals. A meeting was called, and the different branches quickly communicated with. A strong protest was sent from each centre to the Minister and to private members, and during the passage of the Bill through the Upper House the clause was changed to : " In hospitals of over 100 beds, the hours of employment of uncertificated nurses shall not exceed 56 m any one week." A protest from one centre would not have had much weight ; but a protest coming from four centres as one Association, could not be ignored. The Secretary will be pleased to receive suggestions from nurses with regard to lectures for the winter. A general meeting will be held early m February, when our winter's work will be arranged. In December the Council received with the greatest regret the resignation of the President of the Branch (Mrs. Kendall), who has held office since the Private Nurses'

Association was first started. Mrs. Kendall is leaving m March for England for two or three years, with her son and daughter. We hope that when she returns she will resume her kindly interest m the Association. To relieve her of all Council work before her departure, Mrs. Gibbs (Vice-President) was elected President by the Council, until the next general meeting m February. At an informal morning tea given by Mrs. Gibbs, at the Nurses' Home m Willis Street, a presentation was made to Miss Dunlop, the Hon. Secretary, of a purse with five guineas, which she was asked to accept m small recognition of her valuable service to the Association. The Annual Dinner The annual dinner was held at the Hotel Windsor on 18th November, at which the delegates to the Central Council meeting were present. The President, Mrs. Kendall, read the following telegram from Mrs. Grace Neill : — " Greetings to assembled nurses, may good appetites attend you." A letter from Mrs. Rhodes, regretting that she was unable to attend the dinner, was read. This was followed by a letter from Mother Mary Aubert. Mrs. Kendall proposed as the first toast : " The King." Dr. Agnes Bennett, rising to propose " The Delegates," said : " Ladies, I feel that I have a great honour done me to-night m having been asked to propose this toast, and Ido not feel that I can half do it justice. My toast is that of " The Delegates," and I think most of you know that this is the first occasion on w r hich the General Council has assembled anywhere, and I think it is a particularly fitting thing that it should have assembled first m Wellington, which is really the parent branch of the Association. I should like to tell those who are strangers here, that this is actually the third annual dinner at which the Wellington nurses entertained all women who are interested m this Association, and it is their privilege this year to entertain those who have assembled from the four chief cities, as well as one of the country delegates, and it is my duty to extend a very hearty welcome to them on behalf of the Association. I think on an occasion such as the present it is as well to pause and consider what milestones there are m the progress of the Asso-

ciation. The first mile-stone m the work ot this Wellington branch was marked by the opening of the small Resident Club for Nurses m Arlington Street, four or five years ago. I saw the first beginning of this Association m 1905, when a very small number of nurses assembled to really form an association, which they called ' The Wellington Private Nurses' Association.' And of that small number of nurses (seven I think it was), all are now either office bearers of the Association,- or members of the Association, and I think as they look round them to-night they ought to be proud of what these small beginnings have led to. " The next great mile-stone probably was the opening of the larger Home m Willis Street. Well, between these two mile-stones there was a very great deal of work done on the part of that small committee. They had much to contend against, and a great deal of prejudice to break down, and they had not then the cheering definite land marks of their progress that they have when they look round them now, I think this annual dinner was a splendid institution, and I am sure you will all agree with me it alone was a milestone on the road. And then again, I think they ought to be specially proud of the way theidea of the visiting nurse has been worked. It has been a great success, and is now being instituted m other cities. In Australia, Sydney and Melbourne are now considering the question of establishing something on the same lines. " Then two years ago at the annual dinner, the interesting announcement was made that there would shortly be a Nurses' Journal published, and I think you will all agree with me that this has been a complete success. Everybody who has seen Kai Tiaki approves of it, and I think it compares favourably with all the nursing journals I have ever seen. " There are many things one would like to mention that have been the work and the ideal of those who have kept up their faith m the Association. I cannot mention them all, but I do think that to-night we have reached a climax when we gather together representatives from all the other large towns m New Zealand. I think it is a credit and a success to New Zealand women generally. Women have always been accused of not being able to unite and join together for a common good. It is said they are so wrapped up m their ego that they cannot get beyond it." Dr. Bennett gave a quotation from

George Meredith, showing that this defect is the result of a woman's education, and said m conclusion : " I think to-night we will all join most heartily m welcoming the delegates from other cities, as well as m drinking their healths." Mrs. Irving replied to the toast : " Mrs. Kendall, Ladies, It is an honour to the Canterbury branch of this Association that one of its members should have been asked to reply to this toast. The Central Council just concluded has been most unique m many ways, because it is the first that has been held since the Associations have affiliated. Hitherto each has been its own Association, quite irrespective of any of the others. Now we are all branches of one Association. We all know that union is strength, and it is a splendid opportunity to prove that this is so, by each nurse being loyal to this Association. I should like to thank Miss Maclean and her colleagues. They have made our visit very delightful to us. Thank you very much for the reception I received when speaking." Mrs. Atkinson proposed the toast of the Association : M Madam President, and Ladies — I consider it a very great honour to be allowed to move the toast m which we drink the health of the first society of professional women that has been formed m this country. There have been tailor's unions, trades unions of every kind, but this is the first union of professional women. I congratulate the members of this Association upon the work they have taken up, for it is one that does not arouse jealousy m the breast of any man. In many of the professions open to women they have come into competition with men, and the consequence is that they have to take inferior wages, and work under worse conditions ; but m taking up the profession of a nurse, you have taken up one m which every man wishes you God speed, and no one wants to take your place. The profession of a nurse is the finest m the world, unless it be that of a doctor. Doctors have a noble profession, but m it the lady doctor comes into competition with men, and she has many trials to undergo. I don't know if you have read of Dr. Elizabeth Blakely. It was shameful the struggles that woman had. It is a most incredible tale of insult and hardship. But now a woman may engage m the profession on equal terms with men, though there is still prejudice to live down, and I am proud of those women who have taken their degree. They do a

great work, though m many cases the patient is pulled through by the nurses and notj^by the doctors. There is no man I have such a reverence for as for a lady doctor. I forgot my husband. The scripture says one must reverence one's husband, so I suppose I must put him first, but after that I must put the lady doctors. They have hardships to put up with but the nurses have none. Men say^that the work of a nurse is a womanly thing, and when they have said that they can say no more. This Association has been formed as a buffer to stand between the nurses and the public, and it seems to me that this Association will do an admirable thing if it is able to educate the public as to what are the demands of the nurse, and perhaps to tone down the demands of the nurse, so that it may be more ready to grant them what they ought to have. In matters of difference between the nurses and the public I feel that there must be a good deal of right on both sides of the question. I saw a little girl once washing her teddy bear, one of those things which squeak when you shake them, and she was drying it with her handkerchief, and as she turned it about it made a great noise. She said, 'he is crying because he can't have the towel.' I said that that was very naughty of him, and she replied, ' I like naughty people better than good ones.' I said to her, ' then which am I ? ' and she replied diplomatically, ' You are just each.' I feel inclined to say about you nurses, ' You are just each.' I know that nurses often meet with a great want of consideration. I know there are houses m which it is not understood that the night is really the nurse's day. They say to her, ' I have put the things for you to have a cup of tea,' they do not understand that it is her dinner, and that she ought to have something substantial m the night if she has no dinner m the day. They do not understand that she is flesh and blood. They think she can do without sleep. And I think the Association can protect nurses m those houses where it is supposed that the nurse can go on all the twenty-four hours. Then there is the question of fresh air. Two hours every day is what we think right ; people must have fresh air, and it is necessary that the nurse should go out." Mrs. Atkinson went on to say that it would not do to forget the patients' side of the question. She knew that there were many nurses m all ranks who would forget themselves entirely m their interest m the case

they were looking after, putting themselves last and the patient first, and she believed this Association would set before them a high standard of what a nurse ought to be. But there are some nurses who are inconsiderate, and expect a good deal of waiting on In this country the people have small incomes, often not more than three pounds a week. They cannot get a great deal of help to keep things going, and it would be a great thing for them to have a nurse who would not be above keeping the place tidy. Many of those present must remember the last annual dinner at which Mrs. Hislop presided ; they must remember her saying how different the nurses were when her children were babies. They looked after things m the house. They got what the husband liked for breakfast ; they saw the children off to school ; but you cannot get a nurse who will do that now. The reason of this is that the profession is m a state of transition, and the young proficient nurse is thinking about raising the status of her profession. She remembered one nurse, not a trained nurse, who, as no one could be found to do it, used to scrub the floors, and was taken to task because she was lowering the status of the profession, but, she said, there was no one else to do it. Mrs. Atkinson thought it would be better if a nurse's certificate included a certain amount of training m household management and method, because the woman who makes a great fuss about a little work is the one who has no method. She asked if it was too much to expect that the trained nurses who come into a house should have some care for the house and for the children, so that the mother might get well with an easy mind. Then there was the question of fees. She (Mrs. Atkinson) lived m a village largely inhabited by the poorer classes, and one woman told her that the reason that their families did not increase was that the doctors' and nurses' fees were so high. She thought that this Association would be able — by slow degrees — to assist m righting this, and would send out

nurses who would not be above taking charge of the children m a cottage while the mother was ill. The old-fashioned nurses did this, and m their day there was some comfort m the house while the mother was laid up. Mrs. Atkinson told a story of a little girl three years old who had not been allowed to go to school because she had ulceration of the stomach. She was taken one day to see the school, and was immensely interested m watching the children at work ; on leaving she asked, " why can't I go to school, I don't do my lessons with my tummy, but with my heart." She hoped that the nurses would also do^their duties with their whole hearts. Miss Maclean replied to this toast : " Mrs. Kendall, Ladies — As the representative of the Nurses' Association, I must thank Mrs. Atkinson very much for the kind things she has said, and for the valuable advice and ideals she has set before us. I think most nurses who have the interests of their work wholly at heart, will, when occasion offers throw themselves into their work, and do what lies before them. I think no nurse would neglect the work m any household that was necessary to set the mother's mind at rest. I know nurses who have worked very hard : One made all the Christmas cakes for the whole family because the mother was fretting, although she was sitting up at night. I hope all our nurses will adopt the ideal of the greatest good for their patients. Nurses will not let things remain undone that are necessary, but will do them themselves if there is no one else to do them. I hope they will do the greatest good they can m whatever circumstances they may be placed. Many of the things Mrs. Atkinson has told us are very true. Perhaps when we are very young, and have just left our training schools, we think too much of our professional status ; but as we grow older and see more of the world, we realise that there is no honourable work which will really lower that status. lam very pleased to respond to the hearty way m which the toast was drunk."