Editorial

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume IX, Issue 3, 1 July 1916, Page 125

Editorial

An article sent to us for publication, which is printed m another column, brings to our notice a very serious state of affairs with regard to the nursing profession. We feel sure that the writer has unfortunately come across rather extreme instances of the lack of a true nursing spirit. It is seldom that nurses are not ready to obey the call of duty and humanity even at the sacrifice of rest and recreation, looked forward to through weary hours at a serious case. One is apt to think that m a way similar to a doctor, a nurse should go at once when called. But it must be remembered that a doctor usually goes merely to prescribe, and can then return to his deferred rest. but the nurse has to commence another long and arduous watch, and may have to

defer her needed rest for weeks. At the present time, with so many nurses away, the private nurses are, no doubt, kept very busy, with little interval between cases for the rest so much required. The writer's remarks on the eight-hour system meet with our concurrence. The system undoubtedly tends to impress novices of the profession with the idea that taie work of the wards and the training school is not the igreat chief interest m life during the period of training. A less divided interest would certainly make for the higher ideal, or else weed out those incapable of that ideal. We have frequently remarked that for the recreation so much needed during the course of a nurse's training a somewhat longer term of duty each day, with a periodical full day off duty and en-

tirely away from the wards, would be much better, both for nurses and patients, than the present system. The second instance quoted shows the utter unsuitability of a girl for the higfr calling of a nurse, both from her selfish greed or from her lack of any consideration for the patients' comfort, and yet such a girl would probably, had she completed her training, be clamouring to igo on active service. Would she leave her soldier patient, we wonder, unsponged, and with no clothes or socks for two days? The incident should certainly be reported

to the sister m charge of that ward, and who is responsible for the training of that nurse, as well as for the care of the patient. Again, we hope that such instances arc very few, and we here point out to sisters the necessity of close vigilance of supervision, and careful study of the probationers placed under feiem for practical teaching. A matron must largely depend on her sisters, who have the probationers immediately under their eyes, for reports on their capability and fitness for training.