A Nurse's Life in War and PeaceLaurence, E. C. (Eleanor Constance)
History
A Nurse's Life in War and Peace
Laurence, E. C. (Eleanor Constance)
Military nursing; Nursing -- Great Britain; South African War, 1899-1902 -- Medical care
There are two staff nurses and two probationers (also two ward-maids),
and I fill in my spare time with helping them in bed-making, carrying
round meals, &c.; but I don't seem to be expected to do any of the
cleaning work, and if I am busy helping Sister, the routine work goes on
just the same without my assistance. I am not quite sure that it is a
good arrangement, as one of the staff nurses in this ward has been here
for years and years, and the other one for over three years, so of
course they know more about the cases than I do; and I should think a
brand new lady pupil, who had had no training before, might find it
rather difficult. But I must say the staffs have been very nice to me. I
didn't mean to let it be known that I "had been out before," but it
leaked out.
There are about twenty of us lady pupils, and we live in the Matron's
house. We have all our meals in the large nurses' dining-hall--but at a
separate table--except supper, which we have in the sisters'
dining-hall. The food is ever so much better than it was at the
Children's Hospital. Some of the nurses grumble at it; but I think
wherever people feed in a crowd there are always some who grumble. At
any rate, it is not _necessary_ to buy food here.
At first I had rather uninteresting cases in my beds, but now Sister is
giving me some good ones. I have one jolly fat baby of two and a half
with tonsilitis, who was sent to us from a women's ward, because they
were not sure that he was not going in for diphtheria, and they had
other children in the ward. I had to do a good deal of treatment for him
at first, and he hated it; but now he has forgiven me, and we are
excellent friends, and all the men are doing their best to spoil him.
Then I have a poor man with Bright's disease, who is very ill. He is a
curious-looking object, as he is quite bald, and he likes to wear a red
knitted cap in bed. He is often delirious now in the evenings, and then
he uses very bad language. When Sister is out in the evening, I have to
read prayers in the ward. At first I was very shy of reading before all
these men, especially when some of them are of quite a superior class;
and when I was in the middle of prayers the other evening, my
bald-headed man chimed in with a lot of bad language. It was really very
trying, and I knew if either of the nurses went to remonstrate with him,
he would only continue in a louder voice; so I had to shorten the
prayers somewhat. If he continues like this, I am afraid he will have to
go to the strong-room; but up there they have only male attendants, and
we are rather loth to send him off, as he is really very ill, and needs
a lot of nursing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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