Red Cross Lectures On Home Nursing

Press, Volume C, Issue 29514, 16 May 1961, Page 2

Red Cross Lectures On Home Nursing

Nearly every woman has to cope with home nursing at some time during her life. And if she has not had nursing training she is very often at a loss as to how to go about caring for her patient. To all women, wives, career girls or students, the Red Cross Society’s North Canterbury Centre in Christchurch is offering a course of lectures which will extend over 10 weeks. Choosing a sickroom for the patient with an eye to adequate heating, lighting, cleaning and ventilation, makes up one of the early lectures in the course. Sound advice is given here along with a list of the “nurse’s” duties, instruction on roller bandaging and the choice and care of bed and bedding. With all the sessions in the course there is a part devoted to the theory of home nursing and a section on the practical side of the work Those attending will learn how to make beds, feed helpless patients, prepare the sickroom for the isolation of infectious patients, prepare cold compresses, ice bags, medical fomentation and poultices and so on. The theory of the penultimate lecture deals exclusively with immunity and infectious diseases and later in the evening the women will learn the use of protective gowns. Elderly Patients Elderly and bedridden patients can often bewilder and worry the inexperienced home nurse. The course deals with this also and gives reassuring information on how to help the patient in and out of bed, how to support him with pillows when he is sitting up in bed and how and when to serve light meals. The administration of medicines and the tables of measurement will be taught in theory and in practice. Much use will be made of the centre’s model sickroom during the lectures. This year the lectures will be taken by Mrs C Thomas and for this course, they will begin this evening. As in other years, the organisers have no idea how many will be attending till the lecture actually begins. The students will be of all ages. Girl Guide Rangers are also interested in the course

and will join some who are unable to attend the Tuesday evening class tomorrow evening. Another course being organised by the Red Cross is one on first aid.. Later the centre hopes to hold courses in hygiene and sanitation as well. At the end of the term those who have attended nearly all the lectures and are qualified in the eyes of their instructor will receive a certificate of proficiency. In home nursing and first aid they may enrol again the following year for a more advanced course. At the end of the term the women are invited to join the Voluntary Aid Detachment though the lectures have not been arranged by the V.A.D. This enrolment, however, is not compulsory.