Volume I Part 38 (1/2)
[339] Above, p 269
On returning froale was in weak health, and she becae and manifold labours for the British Army which have already been described She saw no early prospect of strength or time available for the superintendence of a new Institution; she was unwilling that er lie idle In March 1858 she wrote in this sense to Mr Sidney Herbert,[340] the Chair to be relieved fro that the Council should proceed to apply the Fund to such objects as it ht deem best The Council, however, pointed out that the Fund ell invested; that further delay would be partly compensated for by accumulation of resources, and that the contributors were anxious that Miss Nightingale's ”mind and intention should anied her to postpone a final decision, and to this suggestion she acceded But Miss Nightingale's labours for the Army continued, and her health did not i upon a slender thread; they thought that she could only live for a few months She became apprehensive lest death should overtake her before she had impressed her ale Fund In 1859 she set on foot preparations for doing so A Sub-Co of Mr Herbert, Sir John McNeill, Sir James Clark, Dr Bowh as Secretary
[340] ”Your letter strikes me,” wrote Mr Herbert (March 22), ”as a little too curt for the occasion” He suggested another form of words to her which she adopted
It was obvious to Miss Nightingale that it would be impossible for her, in view of the state of her health, to found an entirely new Institution under her own superintendence She saw that she ency of other persons It was this latter consideration that settled her choice of the place at which to found her Training School She had naturally been besieged by suggestions from officials of this hospital and of that, of this charity and the other, each urging that his or hers was the one pre-eale Fund Her choice fell, for the main application of the Fund, upon St Thomas's Hospital The Resident Medical Officer, Mr R G Whitfield, was syed But, above all, the Matron was a wo, devoted to her work, devoid of all self-seeking, full of decision and administrative ability Of this remarkable woman, Mrs Wardroper, who for twenty-seven years was superintendent of the Nightingale School, Miss Nightingale has left a character-sketch:--
I saw her first in October 1854, when the expedition of nurses was sent to the Crireat hospital in London, of which for 33 years she re was then unknown; the only nurse worthy of the nah several were supplied, was a ”Sister” who had been pensioned some time before, and who proved invaluable[341] I saw her next after the conclusion of the Crimean War She had already made her mark; she had weeded out the inefficient, morally and technically; she had obtained better worant blots, such as the night nursing, and where she laid her finger the blot was di had yet been thought of
Her power of organization or ade, and discriht-forward, true, upright She was decided Her judgment of character ca and consideration; yet she rarely reatest pains in her written delineations of character required for record, writing theain in order to be perfectly just, not se She was free fro artificial about her She did nothing, and abstained fro looked at Her whole heart and th were in the work she had undertaken She never went a-pleasuring, seldom into society Yet she was one of the wittiest people one could hear on a sureat deal into society in her young un fa in hospital life, there was none to be had Her force of character was extraordinary Her as law For her thoughts, words and acts were all the sareat deal, but she never wasted herself in talking; she did what she said Some people substitute words for acts: _she_ never She knehat she wanted, and she did it She was a strict disciplinarian; very kind, often affectionate, rather than loving She took such an intense interest in everything, even in things enerally consider their business, that she never tired She had great taste and spent her own entlewoenerous, rather than courteous And all this was done quietly She had a hard life, but never proclaimed it What she did was done silently[342]
[341] This was Mrs Roberts: see above, pp 185, 301
[342] _British Medical Journal_, Dec 31, 1892 Mrs Wardroper retired in 1887, and died in 1892
Every artist, it has been said, in painting the portrait of a sitter, paints also soorous character-sketch of her ”dear Matron” is, I think, a case in point
After much consultation with Mrs Wardroper and Mr Whitfield of St
Thomas's Hospital, and with Sir John McNeill and others outside, Miss Nightingale formulated a scheme The Committee of her Council reeale School The basis of the agreement was that the Hospital was to provide facilities for the training, and the Nightingale Fund to pay the cost, including the payment of the nurses themselves In May 1860, advertise candidates for admission, and on June 24 fifteen probationers were ad Thus on a ht, was launched the scheme which was destined to found the
II
The essential principles of the scheale to be two: ”(1) That nurses should have their technical training in hospitals specially organized for the purpose; (2) That they should live in a home fit to form their moral life and discipline”[343] The scheme was carefully adjusted to these two ends The pupils served as assistant nurses in the wards of the Hospital They received instruction from the Sisters and the Resident Medical officer Other members of the Medical Staff--naave lectures How seriously the pupils were expected to undertake their studies, how strictly their superiors would watch their progress, is shown by the formidable ”Monthly Sheet of Personal Character and Acquireale drew up for the Matron to fill in The Moral Record was under five heads: punctuality, quietness, trustworthiness, personal neatness and cleanliness, and ward ement (or order) The Technical record was under fourteen main heads, some of them with as many as ten or twelve sub-heads: ”observation of the sick” was especially detailed in this ainst each item of personal character or technical acquirement, the nurse's record was to be marked as Excellent, Good, Moderate, Imperfect, or 0 Those who ”passed the examiners,” as it were, at the end of their year's course, were placed on the Hospital Register as Certificated Nurses As rewards for good conduct and efficiency, the Council offered gratuities of 5 and 3, according to two classes of efficiency, to all their certificated nurses, on receiving evidence of their having served satisfactorily in a Hospital during one entire year succeeding that of their training Decidedly Miss Nightingale emphasized the educational side of her new experiment No public school, university, or other institution ever had so elaborate and exhaustive a systeh and scientific are the ”General Directions” which the Resident Medical Officer presently drew up at Miss Nightingale's earnest request, ”For the Training of the Probationer Nurses in taking Notes of the Medical and Surgical Cases in Hospitals”
[343] _British Medical Journal_, Dec 31, 1892
Equal care was taken to ensure Miss Nightingale's second principle The Hospital was to be a ho of St Thomas's Hospital was fitted up for the accommodation of the pupils, so as to provide a separate bedroo-rooe of theood character Their board, lodging, washi+ng, and uniforiven 10 for their personal expenses The chaplain addressed them twice a week They were placed under the direct authority of the Matron, whose discipline (as will have been gathered froale's character-sketch) was strict The least flightiness was reprimanded, and any pronounced flirtation was visited with the last penalty ”Although,”
wrote the Matron to Miss Nightingale, with regard to one probationer, ”I have not the smallest reason to doubt the correctness of her moral character, her manner, nevertheless, is objectionable, and she uses her eyes unpleasantly; as her years increase, this failing--an unfortunate one--irl as detected in daily correspondence, and in ”walking out,” with a medical student was disether ”Of course we part as soon as we get to the corner,” said one of them at a later ti, they were expected to enter into service as hospital nurses, or in such other situations in public institutions as through the Council or otherwise ht be offered to them It was not intended that they should enter upon private nursing This was an iale's sche School should in its turn be theelsewhere She wanted to sow an acorn which ht in course of time produce a forest
III
Such, then, was the scheale, confined to her room, was unable to visit the Hospital; but every detail was thought out by her She took constant counsel froe Hospital, who gave her valuable suggestions, and she had eyes and ears to serve her everywhere
Her friend Mrs Bracebridge visited the dormitory, and pronounced it excellent On the day after the opening, Mrs Wardroper reported that Dr Whitfield was as hearty in the cause as herself They both felt it to be an honour that St Thoh it was an honour which ”would subject them to rather harsh criticism” Outside opinion, however, was favourable ”I25, 1860), ”to say how much satisfied I was yesterday with all I saw of your nurses at St Thoo, everything seemed perfect as to order, cleanliness, and propriety of demeanour Your costume I particularly liked,--I suppose I must not say, admired Two or three of your probationers whom I spoke to impressed ent and nice- well, considering the difficulties it is being tried under The 'sisters' I could judge nothing about Mrs
Wardroper I was e without 'mediuazine gave a glowing account of the Nightingale School ”The nurses wore a brown dress, and their snowy caps and aprons looked like bits of extra light as they moved cheerfully and noiselessly froale sent books, prints, maps, and flowers for the nurses'
quarters ”I do not for one moment think,” wrote Mrs Wardroper, ”that you wish to spoil theence, but I very much fear they will sadly o fro applications from country hospitals for nurses to be sent after the year's training Miss Nightingale's demand for detailed information was almost insatiable
Even the Monthly Report, with all its ah Mrs Wardroper suppleested to her that she should encourage the nurses to keep diaries which ht afterwards be inspected ”I am very pleased,”
wrote Mrs Wardroper, after two or three years' trial (Jan 11, 1863), ”that you approve of the diaries, and I am sure your approbation will stiale detected bad spelling, a probationer was given dictation lessons Miss Terrot, a friend of Miss Nightingale, obtained admission to the Hospital as a supernumerary, and supplemented the Matron's reports ”I am sorry,”
she wrote in one of many letters, ”that the Probationers have lately been disposed to quarrel aether, there will be jealousies and dislikes” Are sets and cliques and dislikes unknohereof the experiured well, however, for the success of the scheme
All the probationers who coratitude for the benefits they had received Six were admitted as full nurses in St Thomas's Hospital Tere appointed nurses in Poor Law Infirmaries, and applications were under consideration for the placing of others[345] The seed had been sown on good ground