Upon both these latter points, supposing the Governor of a General Hospital to exist, he must have power to maintain the discipline of the Hospital, in all its Departments, as a General commanding a division has, in regard to every regiment composing it. But he ought to exercise it only through the Matron, as commanding a corps. He must also have power to require the exclusion from the Hospital of any Nurse whose conduct he may find to be inconsistent with maintenance of discipline, and this power he would enforce, on his own responsibility, by directing the Matron to remove the offending Nurse from the Hospital. The conduct of the Nurse would become the subject of investigation afterwards, in terms of the established regulations. But practically such a case could hardly occur, unless by the fault of the Matron, who would, of her own accord, desire to remove a Nurse, on being satisfied that such a measure was necessary or expedient. It would be proper, too, both for her own justification and for the maintenance of the Governor’s supremacy in the Hospital, that the Matron should obtain his concurrence in the removal of a Nurse from the Hospital. The proceedings, in all such cases, would, of course, be reported by the Matron to the Superintendent-General.
Whether the Governor has the power of removing the Matron, who clearly and properly ranks among the officers under him, should be settled and not left to be disputed about in a distant station. At all events, if he has this power over her, it must be guarded, as extending only to suspension from office, in cases of alleged flagrant neglect or misconduct, till the whole matter can be remitted and decided on by the Superintendent-General.
17. Nurses’ Wages.
17. Generally, as to the question of wages and pensions, a regulation that Nurses shall have a small annual increase of wages is better than one giving an increase after five or three years.
Efficiency of Nurses does not increase by springs and starts, like Grasshoppers.
Efficiency does not go by starts and springs, like grasshoppers, but makes “a small annual increase,” like the wages proposed.
Nay, I appeal to everyone with experience in these matters whether the greatest improvement is not made the first year, the second year a little less, and so on the third and fourth, till, when the fifth year comes, if improvement has not been made by that time, it never will be.
The first five years a constant improvement. Afterwards if there has not been improvement made before, no hope at all.
For trust-worthiness is the true efficiency of a Nurse. And it may safely be said that, if by the end of the first year she has not improved in trust-worthiness, she had better go; and if she have not almost reached her culminating point by the fifth year, she certainly will not improve afterwards.
Three principles in Wages.