It is sometimes said that a woman trained in a sanatorium or special tuberculosis hospital will make as good a tuberculosis nurse as one who has been trained in all branches of nursing work. This claim is often made by those sanatoriums which seek to find positions for their ex-patients, to whom they have given a more or less sketchy training and a diploma. Needless to say, if a community undertakes to support a nurse, it should procure the best that can be found. There is no economy in employing a half-trained woman. In social work the nurse occupies a unique position in the patient’s household—she must be able not only to gain but to retain the family’s confidence, and this cannot be done by a half-educated woman, not sure of herself and unable to carry conviction to her hearers. =Health.= Next to thorough training, the health of the nurse is of utmost importance. All nurses should be examined before they undertake tuberculosis work. This should be done for two reasons: first, for the obvious reason of protecting the nurse herself; secondly, for the protection of the work. There is already sufficient prejudice against tuberculosis work, and it is well not to increase it by having a nurse break down soon after going on duty. In Baltimore, all applicants are examined by a specialist before they are accepted. Note that this is done by a specialist, and that the applicant is not permitted to go to her own “family physician” who may or may not be able to make a proper examination. The candidate is given a choice of several specialists, to any one of whom she may go. The report of her physical condition, mailed to the superintendent, determines her eligibility from the standpoint of health. In this way, the responsibility is assumed by those most capable of assuming it, and neither the health of the nurse nor the prestige of the work is jeopardized. After the preliminary examination, it is well for the nurse on duty to be re-examined every six months. If suspicious symptoms present themselves, this should be done oftener. Part of the superintendent’s duties are to watch the health of her workers, and keep a sharp look-out for suspicious symptoms—symptoms which the nurse herself may be unaware of or afraid to acknowledge. Each nurse, however, should assume the responsibility for her own health; she should remember that she is dealing with a highly infectious disease, and that it behooves her to keep in as good physical condition as possible. Nurses with a predisposition to tuberculosis should not undertake this work.