Draft Evidence by the Nursing Advisory Committee of the Trades Union Congress on nursing conditions & recruitment
1938-03-02 1938 1930s 9 pages - 8 - Unregistered Nurses. 33. As the Departmental Committee is aware, there is a considerable number of unregistered nurses employed in hospitals and institutions, composed of those who are unable or unwilling to pass the necessary State Examinations. They perform ver...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
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| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
2 March 1938
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/C17FC16C-FB55-4EA1-91DE-B667E8A43DE8 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/68A181C2-0687-4309-85BF-976FE7EF03F7 |
| Summary: | 1938-03-02
1938
1930s
9 pages
- 8 - Unregistered Nurses. 33. As the Departmental Committee is aware, there is a considerable number of unregistered nurses employed in hospitals and institutions, composed of those who are unable or unwilling to pass the necessary State Examinations. They perform very necessary work which, as it is mainly connected with chronic or senile cases, is not attractive to the State Registered nurse. We consider that these nurses should be recognised and standards of salary provided. Their scales will obviously not be equivalent to the scales given above for State Registered nurses, but we suggest that a difference of £15 a year should be made in the salaries of these unregistered nurses as compared with the equivalent scale for those who have passed the final State Examination. Conclusion. 34. The Unions affiliated to Congress have 25,000 nurses in their membership, and this number is rapidly increasing due to the need for organisation which is being increasingly felt amongst the members of the profession. 35. The reforms which we present on behalf of these nurses are presented with a real desire to improve the Health Services of this country, and the future of the Nursing Profession. Science has made enormous progress during the 20th century and this, together with an increase of leisure, has opened wider doors to all the professions, except nursing. Because of its antiquated outlook and its restraint upon personal liberty, the nursing profession has lost much of its attractiveness as compared with other vocations open to women. It is beginning to feel the effect of the economic laws which operate in such instances. There has been no organised boycott of the profession, but there has been an instinctive "stay out" strike. 36. This position will worsen instead of improve unless drastic alterations are made in the conditions of service. 37. The Patron Saint of Nursing is Florence Nightingale. She and her lamp are placed before the Student Nurse as the symbol of self-sacrifice. A prominent nursing official said recently "nowadays the light with Florence Nightingale's lamp shed on dark corners is dimmed by lampshades. The lampshade of martyrdom (a good nurse is uncomplaining even in the face of unnecessary hardships). The lampshade of tyranny (a good nurse allows every movement of her life, waking and sleeping, to be bound by rules and restrictions). The lampshade of loyalty (a good nurse is loyal to her hospital and says nothing while a patient is being sacrificed to hospital inefficiency. The lampshade of etiquette (a good nurse must not speak to a doctor even when he does not know what should be done and she does). 38. In our opinion the appeal to self-sacrifice is too often a cloak which hides injustice and inefficiency. Long hours, unnecessary restrictions, scant and insufficient meals, nagging, bullying and lack of privacy, where these occur, mean sacrifice of self-respect and inevitably reduce the standard of work performed. 39. We consider that the nursing profession has the right to call upon State money for its improvement and
292/54.73/2/18-22 |
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |