HOSPITAL SISTERS AND THEIR DUTIES.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

It may seem almost superfluous to add another to the many useful books on nursing already in existence, but I have not succeeded in finding one exactly adapted to meet the special want that this is intended in some measure to supply.

A trained Nurse, placed in charge of wards, may seek in vain amongst the various manuals on nursing for any systematic instruction on the duties of a Hospital Sister, as distinct from those of a Staff Nurse or Probationer. I am in hopes that a few suggestions, gathered from the experience of others, may prove helpful to the anxious beginner when she takes up a Sister's work. Many of the inevitable difficulties may be diminished if the best method of meeting them is understood, and if the new Sister is to some extent prepared for them.

People who are unacquainted with the actual, practical work of a Hospital suppose, not unnaturally,

that when a Probationer has learnt to be a Nurse she is fit to be a Head Nurse, or what is now generally termed a Sister. They imagine that the satisfactory fulfilment of the duties appertaining to one position ensures the same result in the other. A better understanding of the qualifications required for a Sister would immediately show that this is a very inadequate view of the subject.

I do not mean to imply that nothing has hitherto been done to help Hospital Sisters in the discharge of their duties. Many hints especially for them, as well as for those engaged in district or private nursing, will be found amidst the general instructions written for all nurses. But, the fact remains, that much is involved in the efficient discharge of a Sister's duties which appears to be but little understood. A thorough knowledge of nursing is only one out of many qualifications that are considered indispensable. It is not surprising that those who have no personal experience of Hospital life should fail to perceive this, but it is curious that some who have had this advantage should lack sufficient penetration to discover how much is required in addition to the technical knowledge of nursing, before the satisfactory discharge of a Sister's duties becomes a possibility.

Though writing for Hospital Sisters and Nurses rather than for the general public, I wish to speak to them not of nursing, but of other duties which devolve upon them in connection with that work. All the qualities needed to make a good head of a household are essential for a good head of a ward. The

same constant thought for others; the same method in arrangement of work; the same forethought to meet the expected incidents of the day; the same readiness to bear the brunt of the unexpected, and to make the best of circumstances; the same cheerfulness and sweet temper to allay the friction so apt to arise between even good workers; the same unfailing courtesy to stray visitors of all kinds, however inopportune their visits may be, all these and other qualities, too many and too obvious to enumerate, which go to form the guiding spirit of a well-ordered household, are at least equally indispensable in a Hospital Sister. The character of the Sister in charge of any set of wards will not only affect the comfort and well-being of the sick or injured under her care, but will also exert a distinct influence over the members of the nursing staff who look to her for instruction and guidance.

I do not wish for one moment to exalt Hospital at the expense of family life. On the contrary, I am desirous of showing the necessity for importing all the sweetest home virtues into it, and of impressing upon every woman who contemplates a Sister's post as the exact office to suit her, what the nature of a Sister's work really is, and what qualifications it demands from her.

If we accept the general axiom' that some kinds. of work are best adapted for men and some for women, we shall readily understand that women will best succeed in their own particular work by bringing into it their special characteristic of womanliness. I am inclined to emphasise this because

many people seem to think that if they take up work outside their own immediate home circle, they may dispense with the very qualities which render them of service inside that circle, and it appears to me that there can scarcely be a greater mistake. We need the same qualities, and we need them rather intensified than diminished if they are to aid in the achievement of really successful work. The invaluable characteristics of which I speak will prove themselves of a very strong and genuine kind if they stand the severe test put upon them by Hospital work. They will gather strength from constant exercise, and thus become of more value to the possessor and of increasing service to her work. It is not difficult to understand that if these are mere surface qualities in the woman who comes forward to take a position of such responsibility, her deterioration will be more or less rapid, and her work suffer sadly, because her character is altogether unequal to bearing the strain put upon it. Gentle, kindly natures may be made capable of much good under the fostering care of watchful home influences, even if the lovable disposition be combined with considerable weakness; but such women are not well fitted for Hospital life. Being more dependent upon others than upon themselves, they are overwhelmed by the constant demands made upon them, and do not possess sufficient depth of character to help and guide others. Such women, if thrown upon Hospital work, often make excellent subordinates, especially if brought under the personal influence favourable to their individual development;