The Organization of Nurses’ Bureaus by W. A. GEORGE, M. D.; J. E. FROOM, M. D.; G. T. HARDING, JR., M. D.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Dec 14, 1905

The Organization of Nurses’ Bureaus

By W. A. GEORGE, M. D.; J. E. FROOM, M. D.; G. T. HARDING, JR., M. D.

For months past nurses have been applying to the General Conference Medical Council and to various State conferences to arrange for the maintenance of some organization for facilitating the working of trained nurses in harmony with the third angel’s message. At our summer camp-meetings many of the older graduate nurses, who since the burning of the Battle Creek Sanitarium have been directing their own efforts in isolated places, have expressed their wish for hearty fraternal relations with our conferences and the conference medical departments. Many of them feel the present lack of organization, and recognize the danger of living to themselves.

This desire has now become so general that at the recent session of the General Conference Medical Council, held in College View, Neb., the following resolutions favoring this move were unanimously passed:—

“Whereas, There is a growing demand on the part of many nurses in our denomination for the organization of a nurses’ association as a means whereby closer unity of effort may be secured in methods of work and Christian co-operation; therefore,—

“Resolved, That immediate steps be taken for the formation of such an association in each union conference, and that a committee of seven be chosen by this convention to give study to this question, and to formulate a plan for this organization.”

At the next meeting of the convention, this committee of seven reported the following three resolutions, which were considered, and unanimously adopted:—

“That notice be published in the REVIEW

AND HERALD, union conference and State papers, requesting the trained nurses throughout the different conferences to send in their names with both present and permanent addresses, to persons named in the published announcements, with the view of organizing a nurses’ association.

“That the president of each union conference recommend representative nurses to attend the next session of their union conference, for the purpose of organizing a nurses’ association.

“That Drs. W. A. George, J. E. Froom, and G. T. Harding, Jr., constitute a committee to develop these plans.”

The undersigned committee were asked to develop in each union conference plans for the organization at once of a nurses’ association and bureau of information for the Seventh-day Adventist nurses located in our union conferences. These bureaus may consist merely of an office and bureau of information, or, if local conditions make it advisable, a nurses’ home may be maintained. In either case, each union conference nurses’ bureau is to work in co-operation with the union conference officers, and will be self-governing, ultimately self-supporting, and locally controlled by its members.

This plan will be recognized at once as not a plan of centralization, but rather one for establishing outposts in each union conference from which to assist at close range the force of medical missionary workers in the territory who are not directly connected with sanitariums. It may prove to be advisable in some instances to form State, or conference, or possibly city nurses’ bureaus in certain localities. These matters will be considered in their respective territories.

The Medical Missionary Convention recommended the president of each union conference to invite representative nurses to attend their union conference biennial meeting to be held this winter, and assist in organizing their bureau.

We are now conducting correspondence with each union conference as to who shall be appointed to receive and classify the addresses of available nurses in its territory, but in order to expedite the work, and accomplish as much preliminary work and correspondence as possible, we request all Seventh-day Adventist trained nurses who desire to work in co-operation with the third angel’s message to send their addresses to J. E. Froom, M. D., Takoma Park, D. C., being sure to state (1) their professional training; (2) age; (3) sex; (4) state of health; (5) dependencies; (6) amount of experience had; (7) Christian experience and church-membership, together with references. These facts and addresses will be promptly turned over to the various union conference nurses’ bureaus as soon as they have been formed and have each appointed a secretary.

W. A. GEORGE, M. D., J. E. FROOM, M. D., G. T. HARDING, JR., M. D.