Conemaugh Valley Hospital School of Nursing - Pink Cross Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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17 Ili' 0 ',Q1l,f . ,N DEDICATION To Mrs. Leota C. Swank, Director of Nurses of the Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital, in sincere appreciation for her untiring efforfs and faithful guidance for the betterment of our profession, We the Senior Class of 1941 respectfully dedicate our initial edition oi the Pink Cross.

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Courtesy ol Iohnson and Iohnson

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'bf DEDICATION BY MRS. SWANK TO SENIOR CLASS Most of us are aware, by now, that there is something going on in the World-that there is something moving in the world-that we are not living in the gay nineties-in that period of peace and tranquility which is often described as a dream wor1d. During that period the world was comparatively free from national anxiety, and if from that, then indeed from international collapse. In such a day, the person with humanitarian interests, whether a doctor, a nurse, or a social worker, went' out to fight disease. Today he must fight not only disease, but man. Today he battles not the natural enemies of man, but the mind of man himself. Indeed, we are aware that this is a momentous era in history, as H. G. Wells says: We are living in the end of a different period of history. This is obvious, for in the exact words of those who attack modern civilization: I shall eradicate the thousands of years of human domesticationf' It is almost impossible to comprehend such Words. But if those, what of these? I want to see again in the eyes of youth the gleam of the beast of prey. A youth will grow up before which the world will shrink. This is the disease which every humanitarian minded person meets. It is far worse than the diseases of the body which at least are subject to scientific analysis, and which, for the most part, are under the control of man. What a satisfaction it is to know that a test-tube in the scientific laboratory behaves according to a pattern-that it responds willingly to the investigating hand of man! But a disease of mind, wherein a sane man pursues an insane idea, namely, the eradication of the thousands of years of human domestication,-such a disease defies the rules of the game. ' It is into such a World that nurses and those interested in humanitarian ends, must go, not into an optimistic world, with a kindly vision which promises ease and freedom, not into a world where justice and individual happiness is the goal, and where the enrichment of culture is sought, for these are held in bitterness and contempt by those who move in the pattern of a black and bloodstained pessimism. An optimism and humanitarian social creed is con- sidered as a general weakness of mind. Hence, that which was once the code and ethic of the great human professions, is now looked upon in cold derision and scorn. A terrific task, then rests upon those who enter these professions, if they are to maintain a respect for the standards which have come to be regarded by civilization as worthwhile. They must go with a dominant committment to the democratic rights of many they must go with a dynamic belief in the human gains of an enlightened civilization. There is no room for that innocuous con- ception which has pervaded the democracies in recent years. We cannot save our democracy by sitting in a stupor. We cannot preserve our cherished rights by irresoluteness of mind, by anemic and flaccid walls. Neither can we save the freedom and liberty which have been our heritage, by dwaddling about in faltering accents. The brave man chooses while the coward stands aside, wrote Lowell. Is it not also true, as Theodore Roosevelt asserted, that free peoples can escape being mastered by others only by being able to master themselves. The medical profession faces this tremendous challenge-a challenge to be dominant in its belief that human rights are sacred, for that is the base of the profession itself. Again, it must have a strong committment to its ministry of healing, for it is this the philosophy of human consideration- which is challenged today. LEOTA C. SWANK, R. N. Director ot Nurses