Chautauqua School of Nursing - Yearbook (Jamestown, NY)

Page 31 text:

.5 Q SCHOOL OF NURSIIXTG Q Furthermore, while a great deal of the hospital experience r is full of interest and, 'for the hospital nurse, invaluable, it is in 1 no sense necessary for the great majority of nurses. It is fas- cinating for a nurse to be present day after day to witness the M expert and difficult operations of great surgeons, and there is much to be learned in this way. But, as a matter of fact, this knowledge is not necessary to the success of theinurse in private , practice. v In the large hospitals the student has the advantage of seeing in operation the best appliances used in general, obstetrical, and surgical nursing. But in the very nature of things the average l 3 home does not have these when they are most needed, and in most cases cannot have them at-all. It is therefore necessary l l ' that the private nurse be able to improvise the best possible' sub- A 1 Q stitutes upon brief notice. Hence, our course, including the experience of thousands of nurses, makes her acquainted with I 1 i a large number of practical and inexpensive devices, the con- i U Q O O if struction, use, and arrangement of which she can practice in her 1 l ' own home and so prepare herself for the emergency which is i sure to come. i i How our correspondence work prepares our student for 3 the practical work of the sick-roomg how she acquires that 5 practice, and how easily she finds the opportunity for the f remunerative practice of her profession, has been explained t elsewhere. 1 i It thus appears: V ' q First, a student would have to study a very great number of i text-books in order to acquire the information supplied in our COUTS6. f.. ,ip Second, even if she could get all these text-books, it would take years of study to master them. i Third, home study for the adult compels and inspires greater interest, and consequently leads to ,more deinite results, than study in class. ' A - ' 25 1 i E. 2 i

Page 30 text:

g THE? or-IAUTAUQUA no one to disturb her in the preparation of her lessons, nor any fear or timidity at examination caused by the presence of a large class. Our correspondence method insures a thoroughness of study which authorities concede can never be insisted upon in the classroom. We attain a high standard because every student is asked to study every sentenced and every paragraph until she has mastered it. In the classroom examination a student may fail because of nervousness or because she happens to forget for the moment the answers to particular questions. And on the other hand, a student oftentimes will pass satisfactory exam- inations because she has been fortunate enough to be asked ques- tions to which she has happened to know the right answers. There is no ' 'luck in our correspondence method, nor can the student delude herself. A student in the correspondence method knows that she knows or knows that shedoesn't know, and that is the foundation of all knowledge. The correspondence study department of the University of Chicago states that the method of well-selected questions and carefully written answers is the best possible way of gauging the student 's progress and correcting faulty habits of work. il' 'F 'l' In correspondence teaching, if the questions are properly framed, every lesson is a satisfactory test, for hurry and carelessness, and bad judgment are sure to leave their mark. Hence, the correspondence student, who knows her work will be tested, is more likely to form careful and thoughtful reading habits than the student in the college classf' As we have already stated, there is a certain kind of hospital training that cannot be gained through correspondence, but it is well to bear in mind that it requires three years to get this experience, so that we have no hesitation in saying that, in the same period Qabout one year of studylwith us, and two years after graduationl, those whom we train acquire an experience which, for the purposes to which they are going to put it--private nursing-is quite as valuable, and they are earning agood living all the time. 24,

Page 32 text:

APPROVAL : BY Graduates 5 Physicians c THE O1-IAUTMJQUA .fl Fourth, it is next to impossible for a student studying by herself and without guidance to select from any text-book the material of which she standsmost in need. Fifth, in studying by oneis self innumerable difficulties present themselves which cannot be overcome without help. Sixth, the very few best text-books on nursing are written for the benefit of the hospital trained nurse and are therefore only partially applicable to the student who is preparing to nurse in the home. , ' Seventh, it is universal experience that not one person in one hundred has the capacity for self-training. The other ninety- nine need to be shown how to study, need definite assignments of lessons, and require reviews, examinations, criticism, and inspira- tion. r COMMENDATION THE approval which has been bestowed upon our school comes from many sources. First, from our students and grad- uates, whose satisfaction is our highest commendation and the greatest source of gratihcation and inspiration. A few brief statements from our students appear in various parts of this book. The final test of all training in nursing is the satisfaction of the physician. The larger part of the nurse's work is to act as expert assistant to the- physician. This function we impress more strongly than any other upon our students. A recent editorial in The New York M eclieal Times states .that the requirement for the great majority of cases is for an intelligent woman who knows the fundamentals of nursing and who follows faithfully the instructions of the doctor. To .please the physician is the goal of every nurseg and the encomiums received from the medical profession all over the United States, testifying to the value of the Chautauqua course in nursing and to the efhciency of the Chautauqua nurse, are the verdict of approval from the strictest and most conservative Qas far as testi- monials are concernedj of professions. 26. pits .