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Sunday, SentPmW 25, i966
THE DAILY TAR HEEL
Ladies In White Face A Crisis
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I Mow Does A Girl I
ecome A Nurse? 1
In a large ward, a dozen
People, suffering from various
maladies and injuries lie on
rows of clean white hospital
beds. r
Little Johnny wants a drink
of water. Mr. Stokes would
i iu ,?ack of cigarets. Mrs.
fcmith has a pain in her side:
she. would like the doctor to
??ett,her- It is time for Mr.
Mott'spill.
Flitting back and forth
across the big room is a lady
wearing a white dress and a
perky white cap. It is her job
to fulfill the needs and re
quests of her patients and to
see that they follow doctors'
orders.
It is not an easy job. It takes
skill, patience and much hard
work. Only one kind of person
can do the job the way it
needs to be done a nurse.
What must a woman do to
become qualified for such a
position? How much of her
life does she put into becom
ing a nurse?
After the initial decision to
Administration
Cites Reasons
For Shortage
Officers of administration
in the University School of
Nursing are deeply concern
ed with the problem created
by the nursing shortage and
the serious effects it has on
all phases of the medical pro
fession. "Although lack of qualified
nurses is perhaps the most
serious shortage problem,
there is a great need for peo
ple in every area of the med
ical field," said Dean of the,
"School Elizabeth Kemble. -
"The purpose of some girls
who are interested in becom
ing nurses is to help suffering
humanity, but the nurses are
suffering a great deal, too."
The poverty rate salary of
$325 per month is not the only
reason for the problem. Most
hospitals have no retirement
plans for their employees. Oth
er fringe benefits for nurses
are lacking in appeal. Then
there is the well - known pro
blem of hours. "The hours are
not arranged now in any
permanent form, and week
end and evening schedules are
not made up to provide any
equal distribution among nur
ses. Miss Marion Wood, profes
sor of Nursing and chairman
of the Committee on Admis
sions for the school, feels that
"We must examine the way
in which we use the nurse.
She should also interpret to
her colleagues what she does.
She must give up her manag
erial housekeeping and cleri
cal duties and get back to her
patients."
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ovctTTiNr Entertaining bedridden children is only one nurses is severely out of balance with the work they do. Miss
1$ AB YSIT1 in u - a .s expected to accom. Marion Wood, a professor in the School of Nursing at UNC sees
of the hundre as efficiency. These chores cover every- a need to cut down on the nurse's chores and "get her back
plish with p .istering first aid to scrubbing the halls of to the patients" where she belongs. Nurses at UNC and all
thing from aami of intensive education and much pa- across the country are beginning to adopt this point of view
the wards. dyto-do these jobs. Yet, the pay scale for and are demanding more benefits. Photo by UNC Photo Lab
::S::;:iS3ft
become a nurse, what does
the girl do to realize her am
bition? First she decides
which of the two basic meth
ods of obtaining her degree
will be best for her.
Hospital nursing schools of
fer a three - year program at
the end of which the student
becomes a registered nurse.
She spends the three-year pe
riod in classes given by the
hospital and in learning prop
er techniques in the various
clinical aspects of nursing.
The second plan is a four
year collegiate program offer
ing a bachelor of science d3
gree from an accredited uni
versity and also she becomes
a registered nurse.
The University School of
Nursing offers the latter pro
gram of study to prospective
nurses. Carolina was the first
school in North Carolina to
have this Baccalaureate pro
gram. It was also first to re
ceive national accreditation.
It is the only school in North
Carolina offering work on the
master's level.
A student accepted to the
School of Nursing here is en
rolled in the General College
for the first two years of her
college education according to
the new curriculum offered
by the school. For two years,
the student concentrates on
the same General College re
quired courses as any student
enrolled at the University.
After two years, she moves
into the nursing program at
advanced level. Also, at this
stage, the school can now ac
cept junior transfer students
who have completed the re
quired courses for transfer.
In the third year of her stay
at the University, the student
, begins her actual nursing cur
'. riculum and direct contact
. with the patients in the; North
. Carolina Memorial Hospital.
As the student studies a par
ticular aspect of nursing, she
is introduced to the same
procedure under actual clini
cal conditions in the hospital.
Upper level courses in
clude anatomy and physiology
and bacteriology along with
nursing courses such as med
ical surgical procedures, ma
ternal and child health nurs
ing, patient care, psychiatric
nursing and public health
nursing.
Along with problems any
student has to face in follow
ing a college career, a nurs
ing student has many special
ized, skilled, technical cours
es to master before she can
become registered. None the
least of these difficulties is the
extreme pressure a nurse is
under every day in the clini
cal work.
A girl who sets her sights on
a nursing career aims very
high. Her three or four year
program is hard, long and te
dious. At the end of her work,
she should receive a better
reward than she now receives.
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"ANGEL OF MERCY" The ancient notion
that nurses enter the profession because of
some sacred "calling" is being outdated.
Dean Elizabath Kemble of the UNC School
of Nursing says that some of her students
still become nurses with the idea of helping
Law
Affects
The basic "economic law of
supply and demand is begin
ning to have a severe effect
on the shortage of nurses in
hospitals across North Caro
lina. Hospitals from one end of
the Old North State to the
other are being forced to
and to conduct active recruit
raise the salaries of nurses,
ing programs to entice wom
en into the profession.
This is partly attributed to
the Medicare program, which
dips deep into the state's sup
ply of qualified nurses to fill
its needs.
According to Mrs. Marie B.
Noell, executive director of
the N. C. State Nurses As
sociation, "The demand is
greater and hospitals are mak
ing desperate efforts to fill
vacancies."
Though no significant pay
raise is seen for North Caro
lina Memorial Hospital nur
ses for the immediate future,
such raises have proved ne
cessary in many hospitals
across the st?te.
DUKE RATSE
Duke hospital started the
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ir
to "relieve suffering humanity." Many nur
ses are looking at their jobs from a more
practical point of view and are asking for
better working conditions. Photo by UNC
Photo Lab.
Supply,
N.C 's Hospitals
trend this summer when it.
announced salary increases
for certain members of its
hospital staff including nur
ses of up to $100 per month.
The average salary for a
beginning nurse at N. C. Me
morial is $325 per month.
The average monthly salary
now at Duke is $450. Duke is
$54 below the level of the New
York City nurses contract.
Charlotte hospitals are of
fering nurses, not only salar
ies $45 to $120 more than last
year, but also a number of
fringe benefits to make the
profession more attractive to
young girls. Among the new
benefits is a regular working
schedule with no split shifts.
EDUCATION LACK
Another problem contribut
ing to the nursing shortage,
in the state according to Mrs.
Noell is a lack of money for
educational facilities.
"Nursing education should
be subsidized by the state
just as other professional ed
ucation," she said.
Out of approximately 300
applicants to the UNC Nurs
ing School last year only about
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.75 could be "accepted because
of limited facilities. Other
nursing schools across North
Carolina have a similar story
to tell. The School of Nursing
at UNC in Greensboro will ex
pand next year from a two -year
to a four - year pro
gram to meet expanding needs.
The 1967 General Assembly
will be asked to grant more
money to public and private
nursing schools.
North Carolina had 12,321
practicing nurses at the end
of 1965 plus 2,691 who were
licensed but not working.
Marriage, of course, has tak
en many young women away
from the profession, but "ev
en married girls who could
come back to nursing on a
part - time basis found the
salaries were not worth it,"
Mrs. Noell said.
The primary problem in
this state seems to be sum
med up in the word "mon
ey." According to Dean Kem
ble there aren't enough inter
ested girls to meet the state's
nursing needs and even if
there were, there would be no
place to train them all.
U. You Don't Like
Each girl has her own rea
son for choosing a career in
nursing, whether it is because
of a deep emotional motiva
tion, an interest in science or
a desire to help her fellow -man.
There is one point, however,
on which nearly all nursing
students agree. As Barbara Lo
rek, a Fayetteville senior,
put it, "If you don't like it,
it's almost impossible to stay
in
About the nursing short
age, Barbara felt that salary
is one of the main reasons
for the lack of qualified
nurses. She said that "If sal
aries were increased, there
would be more motivation for
more people in the work." She
felt the present pay is not
enough to bring people back to
work after they quit for
awhile.
Shirley ' Spaugh, a senior
from High Point, felt that nur
sing is "something in which
you can help people and meet
lots of people you can really
relate to."
She felt the value of a col
lege - orientated program
gram such as the one here
offers "will give the student a
broader outlook on nursing,
The "Florence Nightengale"
image of nursing is disap
pearing in the modern age.
No longer are nurses will
ing to look at their profess
ion solely as a sacred call
ing t4to relieve suffering hu
manity.'' Insufficient pay, long, tedi
ous hours, and inadequate
working conditions are driv
ing women out of the field
nearly as fast as they are
coming in.
The young American version
of the legendary Florence
Nightengale is a technically
trained, well - educated
career girl. She considers
nursing not a self . sacrific
ing calling, but a profession
just like many other profess
ions. She thinks she is worth
more than a store clerk or an
upstairs maid.
ANNUAL PAY
The U. S. government re
ports the average yearly sal
ary for a registered nurse to
be about $4,500.
Can a young woman be ex
pected to take temperatures,
feed patients, give baths and
to do the hundred other things
a nurse is exptected to do for
that much money?
Recently nurses at 33 hos
pitals on our west coast an
swered that question with an
emphatic "No!" when they
threatened to resign unless
a hefty immediate wage in
crease was authorized.
In Kellogg, Idaho, 23 of 24
nurses actually did resign from
a hospital, forcing the closing
down of the institution for 16
days.
Most nurses, however, are
reluctant to take such severe
measures to satisfy their
needs. They continue to do
their jobs, efficiently and well,
and confine their protests to
verbal ones.
DEMANDS MET
Hospitals are not deaf to
these verbal cries. Most med
ical centers are quietly surren
dering to the nurse's demands
by raising pay and improv
ing hospital working condi
tions. By doing this they not only
ward off more serious trouble
from employees, but also help
to lure badly needed inactive
nurses back into the profes
sion. Success has given nurses
all over the country more
courage to ask for greater
demands. In California, where
the movement had its birth,
nurses have banded together
in bargaining groups and are
asking $600 a month starting
salary where only a few
months ago they were get
ting $425.
The movement has given a
bright outlook to the profess
ion and already some of the
230,000 nurses in the U. S.
holding non - nursing jobs
are gradually returning to
hospital positions.
Raising salaries to the level
paid by other professions will
help some, according to UNC
School of Nursing Dean Eli
zabeth Kemble, but only up
to a point.
BYGONE DAYS
"It used to be that, if you
were a women, you either were
a nurse, or taughttor took the
veil," Miss Kemble said.
"Those days are over."
There are so many profes
What Student
education and people as a
whole and help the student
understand herself better."
Maryville, Tenn. senior Cher
ry Vaughn said that despite
"intense pressures from
school, work, and emotions
that is a great deal of satis
faction for me in nursing."
Overall, she considers Ca
rolina's nursing school to be
"a really good school," but she
feels that aftejr a year's work
ing experience, she will be
more well - rounded as far
as techniques and procedure
are concerned.
Margaret Ferguson, a sen
ior from Orchard Park, agrees
that the School of Nursing
here is a good one. She. add
ed that the "instructors are
like friends now. They seem
to trust us more and feel
that they don't need to look
over our shoulders as much
now."
High Point senior Nancy
Rankin feels that the pro
cess of becoming a nurse in
volves more than the course
load and clinical experience.
She thinks it is mostly an
emotional experience. She
feels the student and later,
'the nurse, must get to know
sions that offer more attrac
tive hours and working condi
tions than nursing that many
women are being swayed ov
er to them. Women are scarce
in nearly every professional
field teaching, library work,
social work, science and oth
ers. In North Carolina alone
there is at last one unlicen
sed nurse employed by some
other field for every two li
censed nurses in hospital
work. In addition there are
some 2,691 licensed nurses
who are empbyed outside the
profession.
RECRUITMENT
Meanwhile hospitals must be
concerned with getting wom
en to choose a nursing career
in the first place and once
she has made that decision
to stay in the field.
Schools are beginning to put
more money into nursing stu
dies to draw people into the
field. UNC, for instance, is
working a special program of
fering Ph.D.'s with emphasis
on nursing to keep students
commited to the field.
FREE COURSES
Although the U. S. Labor
Department has been offering
refresher courses to inactive
nurses for five years, very
few have finished the course
and gone back into nursing.
Predictions have even been
made that President Johnson
may suggest an outright gov
ernment subsidy for nurses'
salaries to get them back into
he hospitals.
Recruiting efforts do not
show much better results ac
cording to government re
ports. This is not surprising
when it is realized that a pre
dicted 1,000,000 nurses will be
needed in this country by
1975.
According to Dean Kemble
there are this many register
ed nurses at the present time.
The problem is this only
621,000 of them are working
in the profession, about 60 per
cent.
When one considers what a
nurse is required to do to
earn lier . "poverty pay " Dean
Nurses Think
It, It's Impossible'
herself well and find out what
she expects from life before
the transition from college
student to nurse can be com
plete. Wagram senior Olivia Wom
ble said she had "no parti
cular dream in becoming a
nurse. I was always interest
ed in science, and nursing
seemed like a good way to use
this interest."
She likes the idea of work
ing directly with the patients
while study her regular col
legiate courses and other nur
sing courses. She thinks that
most nursing students feel
somewhat isolated from the
rest of the college commun
ity. Olivia added that she thinks
the low salaries of nurses is
one of the prime reasons for
the nursing shortage in t h e
state and all over the coun
try. Senior Patricia Dodson from
Durham first became interest
ed in nursing from observing
people. In junior high school,
she worked as a hospital vol
unter at Duke. She came to
school to study under a col
legiate program because she
Kemble said, it is not diffi
cult to understnd this situa
tion. At times a modern nurse
has up to 22 patients under
her charge. Her job is to keep
them comfortable and satis
fied. She has trained for
years and has spent thousands
of dollars on an education.
Still, her hours are long and
hard and much of her work
tedious and unsatisfying. She
performs these duties for about
$85 a week. To the people she
This Page
Written
And Edited
By Kerry And
Judilyn Sipe
cares for, her services would
seem cheap at twice the cost.
SOMEONE PAYS
Still someone must pay for
pay increases. Most hospitals
have agreed that that someone
should be the patient.
Because of the difficulty in
providing a standard of care
in hospitals, the American
Hospital Association has esti
mated a 12 to 14 per cent in
crease in college costs dur
ing the next 12 months. This is
twice the increase noted in the
past year.
Salaries, according to the
AHA, account for 62 per cent
of hospital costs nationwide.
Is there anything the Amer
ican public can do about these
rising costs? Nothing except
pay them. Public health is -a
big business in America to
day. The strides in medical
technology that have taken
place in the past half-century
would not have been possible
without money. More money is
necessary to uphold the same
kinds of advancement during
the next fifty years. The
nurse deserves her share of
this benefit.
wanted the challenge of col
lege. She wants to go into
professional nursing so she
wanted more than just the
technical aspects of nursing.
She plans to go into gen
eral nursing after graduation
and may specialize in public
health nursing later. Patricia
feels that the emphasis on in
terpersonal relationships is the
main thing that really influ
enced her nursing choice.
Carole Norman, a High
Point senior, thinks "T his
school is very good, but nur
sing is a lot of work." She,
too, enjoys the program in
public health, but she doesn't
think much of the driving
back and forth to Greensboro
twice a week for an entire se
mester. Carole, who wants to work
"wherever they put me,"
would like to go to work in
Atlanta when she graduates.
She also feels that most peo
ple have a "thwarted view of
what a nurse is really like.
They think we can survive on
our dedication alone, but we
are human and have human
needs, too."
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