2. All the nurses should rank and be paid alike, with progressive increase of wages after each ten years’ good service, or a slow annual rise, which is better.
Night Nurses.
3. The night-nurses should be on duty 12 hours, with instant dismissal if found asleep; 8 hours should be allowed for sleep, and 4 hours for daily exercise, private occupation, or recreation. If they have no time to themselves for their mending, making, &c., they do it at night, sometimes innocently, sometimes to the injury of the patients. I would not however prohibit occupation at night; as sometimes the ward-duty is slight; and doing something is far better and more awakening than doing nothing. This is one of the matters the head-nurse should constantly look to. I do not fancy, but at present am not positive about, cleaning or scrubbing at night. The night-nurse should have a reversible lamp, or something that without disturbing the patient, gives her light, brighter than the dim fire or gas-light properly maintained in the wards at night. She should have a room to herself.
Day Nurses.
4. The day-nurses should have eight hours’ sleep, and if it be possible, 4 hours daily for exercise, private occupation or recreation. They may have one room.
Nurses to fetch nothing.
5. All provisions, &c., &c., should be as much as possible brought into the wards, or to the ward-doors, by lifts. Nothing should be fetched by the nurses. This would save much time; would enable the nurses to do more work, and yet have more leisure; and above all, would obviate the great demoralization consequent on the nurses, patients, and men-servants congregating in numbers several times daily.
Patients to fetch nothing.
6. The patients should be made as useful as possible, consistently with their capacities, inside the ward; but should be permitted to fetch nothing to it.
Scrubbing.