NURSING PROFESSION

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 412, 20 April 1937, Page 5

NURSING PROFESSION

EDUCATIONAL STANDARD POSITION OF COUNTRY GIRLS. Hospital Board Members’ Views. The question whelther secondary education man an essential requirement for applicants for the nursing protest ion Was d.lbated alt) to-day's meeting of the Strafford Hospital Board. Mr J. D. Law said there had been a good deal of comment about the stipulation that an applicant must have had two years’ secondary education, and he thought It should be made clear that it had emanated from the Nurses’ Registration Board and not from the hospital boards. Personally, he thought that it wa B unjust to country girls who, although not having had” the secondary education, possessed the aptitude for the work. Mrs.' M. T. Phillips pointed out that country girl a entering the profession were handicapped in that they could not compete with girls who had been duca'ted at. a high school. Mr T. R. Anderson, chairman, said hat during the time he had been connected iwith the Stratford, board be could not remember a cate where an applicant had been turned down on account of her education At the same time, he realised that higher education Was a great advantage as regards training. Dr. W. Brown, Medical Supenjatendent, S aid that with the Matron he went through the applications and they certainly did give preference to girls with higher education. The aptitude for the work should •Se the chief qualifications, Mr Law raid. Mrs D. Shannon said that country girls had to s'tay at home because ahey could cot ner the pio.’ession yn- accoun. of the educational bar. there was a feeling that they had ,y,een a failure in life and it gave them JUI inferiority compisx. . Unless secondary education had the right bias it was no use, said Mr H. J. Marchant. “Secondary education give a the pupil a logical method of reasoning," Dr. Brown said. Mrs Shannon suggested that a way out of the difficulty would be for country girls to take correspondence les. sons. There were exceptions where educa.ion did not make much difference, but the great majority: of people had t 0 be trained to think.