NURSING CAREER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 May 1939, Page 10

NURSING CAREER

WIDE & ATTRACTIVE CHOICE INCREASING DEMAND EVERY YEAR. VIEWS OF MASTERTON HOSPITAL MATRON. An article of interest on some aspects of the nursing profession, written by Miss M. F. Barnett, Matron of the Masterton Hospital, appears in the May issue of the “Education Gazette.” Miss Barnett states: Blessed with a spirit of independence and adventure, the modern girl looks to the future to provide her with security, but at the same time is determined to earn this for herself, for only thus can she express her individuality to her own satisfaction and feel that she is fulfilling her purpose What career will best fulfil her demands and make most use of her talents and abilities? The nursing profession offers such a wide and attractive choice of occupation today that it should certainly be considered one of the more desirable careers open to women, and a study of the opportunities that lie before the trained nurse should be made before a girl makes any definite decision as to what work she intends to take up. • -ii, o The State registered nurse with a sound training behind her is equipped to face life from almost every angle, and may specialise in whatever type of work most appeals to her. Is she interested in teaching? Every training-school in New Zealand now needs its tutor sisters to teach the theory and practice of nursing with its applied sciences—the supply falls far short of the demand, and every year a greater number will be needed foi this /work. Does she lean towards a domestic life? Then the housekeeping side of all hospitals demands a trained woman to supervise the domestic department and the dietetic needs of the institution, and registered nurses are greatly in demand for these positions. Has she a scientific or mathematical turn of mind? Then she can apply as assistant in laboratory s or research departments, and good pay can be earned by' qualified nurses specialising m this work, some even rising to charge positions in smaller hospitals. Is she specially equipped with mechanical skill? Then work in the Xray department or the operating-the-atre will probably appeal to her. Does she prefer the industrial life? Many big factories today employ a trained nurse as welfare officer tp look after their employees. Does secretarial work appeal to her. There will be an increasing demand in the future for office sisters who will help the matrons of big hospitals with the administrative detail and keeping of records; these positions are often filled by trained nurses in England. Posts as paid secretaries of nursing associations and. industrial unions will also be available in the future; while, for those interested in journalism, editors and assistant editors are needed for nursing publications. Is she blessed with the spirit of adventure that animated, the pioneer women of the past? Few lives are more eventful than those of the district nurses in the more remote parts of New Zealand. With the nearest doctor perhaps a day’s journey away, her capabilities will be extended to their uttermost, and whole communities may turn to her for advice and help, and depend upon her resourcefulness in an emergency. If her spirit of adventure is closely associated with a spiritual vocation, nursing missionaries who can minister to the bodily needs as well as to the souls of their patients are greatly in demand and are already doing splendid work in the mission fields in India and amongst the islands of the Pacific.

For those specially fitted for work with babies and children, New Zealand offers a wide field of opportunity in infant-welfare work, while school nurses attack the health problems of the older children and teach the prevention of disease.

Hospital nursing brings endless, satisfaction to the woman interested in the study of human nature. The courage and fortitude shown by those suffering pain, the camaraderie and good will found amongst the staff, the different attitudes shown by those facing trouble for the first time, all seem accentuated in the rush and bustle of a big institution, where life and death •go hand in hand, and any moment may bring a crisis or an emergency. Pathos and humour, high spirits and fatigue, are closely intermingled in the life of a nurse, but she soon finds that the old spirit of nursing is as much alive in the hospitals today as it has been all through the centuries, and that it is her privilege to keep this spirit alive and hand it on to those coming after. Most New Zealand women seem to be born with a desire for travel; perhaps it is natural in those living in such a remote corner of the world. This desire to see other countries can be more readily fulfilled by the trained nurse than by almost any other profession. There are no frontiers where nursing is concerned, no political or religious barriers —their aims and their ideals are the same all over the world, and, wherever they may go, they will find friends amongst fel-low-nurses and work to be done. The International Council of Nurses, that great band of over two hundred thousand women, includes our own New Zealand Association in its branches, and its members may be found in almost every country of the world. Enough has been said to show the wide fields of opportunity that are available to the well-trained nurse, and to point the truth of the saying that a nurse’s certificate is the best form of life insurance that a woman can have, for there is always work to oe done and security while she does it. It is as well io remember that the good positions go to the well-trained nurse. This means three years’ study and apprenticeship in an approved hospital training-school, with at least one year’s staff duty after the examinations are passed, when the young nurse learns to accept responsibility and to use the knowledge acquired during her training-days. Two years or more may be necessary in order to qualify in some specialised branch of nursing, and she is then equipped to face whatever life may offer her. ' Although the training period is long.

the probationer is relieved of all financial responsibilities while working in hospital, and at the end, when she sets forth to take up a position in some particular branch of the work, she will find that her salary and her future prospects are at least equal to that of any other career, and that the work brings more satisfaction and a greater sense of fulfilment of life’s purpose than can be experienced in most other work open to women.