The Christian Nurse

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 9, 1906

The Christian Nurse

This hour marks the end of one epoch in the history of this class and the beginning of another. It closes the period of toil and trial incident to acquiring the technical education of their profession and the training essential to its profitable application. It introduces the period of eternal service for God and humanity, proficiency in which is the noble object they have striven to attain. This motive has nerved them to endure the hardship and privation of preparation, and it alone can inspire and sustain them during a career of self-sacrifice and ardent toil. In a certain sense these two epochs are as one, because to an almost vital degree the achievements of the latter must be written in the light of the history of the former.

The source of their power, the sterling character and the gentle firmness of the truly representative trained Christian nurse, was well voiced by the Psalmist David when he wrote,—

“For who is God, save the Lord? And who is a rock, beside our God? The God that girdeth me with strength, And maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet: And setteth me upon high places. He teacheth my hands to war; So that mine arms do bend a bow of brass. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: And thy right hand hath holden me up, And thy gentleness hath made me great.”

Likewise, King Solomon announced that great principle which is the foundation of the high esteem in which those of this profession are held, when he wrote, “That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness.”

The demand for your work is inherent in that great basic principle of all honorable avocations,—the needs of the human race. The remarkable increase of disease, both in variety and virility, requires that it be intelligently and persistently combated. Without this, modern civilization must soon perish from the earth. The correspondingly great increase in the knowledge of medical science makes necessary a skill in application of which the patient and his friends who do not possess professional training are utterly incapable. Under such conditions the most learned physi-

cian often finds that his skill acquired by many years of diligent research is utterly valueless without your aid. On the other hand, you, likewise, are helpless without the physician’s direction. This suggests a principle, and it would be well indeed for all the world were it more universally recognized and respected; namely, that all honorable professions and avocations are to a vital degree interdependent and co-operative.

The most enlightened and useful among all classes of men have come to realize that the high standard of morals and the self-control characteristic of those who yield obedience to the requirements of the gospel, result in the prevention of crime, disease, idleness, dishonesty, and distress. They therefore accord to the gospel ministry their most earnest approval and hearty co-operation.

Also, such men recognize that normal physical health is essential to the highest development of spiritual life, is invaluable in preventing crime, in enabling men to endure the strain incident to thorough preparation for life’s work and its proper execution during after-years. They therefore co-operate most earnestly with the medical profession in their efforts to combat disease and secure more intelligent conformity to the laws of health.

They likewise appreciate the inestimable value of an education that makes possible the more noble and effective use of inherent ability. They therefore most heartily co-operate with educators in an endeavor to stimulate the increase of knowledge, and secure to all men the blessings of modern science and invention.

They highly value the blessings that are the result of honorable industry; they deprecate the curse that accompanies idleness; they appreciate the greater security to life, honor, property, and all that is most dear to Christian civilization, resulting from a proper regulation of the industrial, commercial, and social relations of men, and the restraint of those who are viciously inclined. They therefore co-operate most earnestly with civil rulers, legislators, judges, and attorneys in the honest and intelligent maintenance of civil government.

Not the least among the many rewards of your profession is the privilege of commanding the approbation and co-operation of such men, and of spending your lives amid such associations in the most noble of occupations.

The diplomas you receive afford such favorable introduction. They are in a certain sense a testimonial to your good moral character. Also they are an evidence that you have been tried and have proved your patience, fortitude, and skill under severe practical test, and are competent and worthy to be entrusted with the responsibilities of your profession.

The privileges of your calling will be many and gratifying. I will first mention that of saving human life. Besides the great boon thus conferred upon him whose days are lengthened, you will often

thus preserve to helpless children, aged pilgrims, and others who for various reasons are dependent, the support and protection which alone can exclude untold hardship, danger, and misery from their lives. You will thus secure for yourself a place in their esteem, a wealth of gratitude and affection that no amount of gold or influence can command. Nowhere in all the world is the true value of human life appreciated save where it is estimated in the light of the cross of Calvary. Mr. Ingersoll taught that the Bible degraded woman. I heard a very learned man ask, in reply, why Mr. Ingersoll and those who thought thus did not make their homes and rear their daughters in the heart of Africa, in the South Seas, or even in China with its civilization long antedating our own, where the influence of the Bible is practically unknown. He cited the truth that in such places “life is cheap.” Infants are destroyed because of their mothers’ death. The aged and enfeebled are slain to avoid the task of their care. Wives are buried alive in the graves of their husbands, or bound and left to perish upon their tombs. In China woman is regarded as without individual responsibility, the property of her father or her husband. Her life often pays the forfeit of his displeasure without a public sentiment or civil enactment to punish him for the deed. Europeans who have settled there and built for themselves modern homes and pleasure-grounds have found it necessary to place upon the embankments of their artificial lakes and fish ponds signs reading, “Please do not drown any girls in this pond.” Nothing but the mighty power of Christianity is capable of overcoming these conditions, granting to woman her proper sphere, or teaching any people the true value of life. In this noble work you are to bear an active part.

It is also your privilege to instruct and comfort the sick and dying. In the hour of severe affliction, when men discover the need of assistance far greater than can be supplied by any human power, the Christian nurse who knows her God and how to obtain his aid, can bring to her suffering patient the untold comfort of the mighty Redeemer who has carried our sorrows and borne our griefs.

You will also have occasion to perform your duties faithfully while suffering ingratitude and injustice caused by prejudice or ignorance, and to patiently ignore this with that grace and fortitude born of Christian character.

Even the period of your training has compensated you with imperishable rewards. It will be long indeed before you forget the admirable labors of your instructors, their kind assistance in time of need, their patient forbearance with your imperfect efforts, their words of wise counsel, and their perseverance even when pressed almost beyond endurance by their regular professional work. Neither can you forget the many and varied acts of kindness on the part of your classmates and friends. Then, the intimate and endearing relations you have formed should be of lifelong value.

Also, your training has supplied a discipline which, even should you eventually follow some other avocation in life, will ever be of great value, and should enable you to be a far greater blessing in your home and to your friends and others in their hours of need. In this respect you have been very fortunate, because, in addition to the instruction usually given to the graduate nurse, you have received special training in those auxiliaries so well known and effectively employed in this institution.

Training is a very important matter. People are no longer willing to entrust the well-being and the lives of their loved ones to those who are either incapable of acquiring the skill required for efficient work or are too indolent to do so. There is a rapidly awakening public sentiment demanding the very best nursing possible, and a fixed purpose to protect those who will qualify themselves to perform it. Public men and legislators are giving this subject serious attention. The State of Maryland has enacted legislation providing that persons twenty-three years of age, possessing what is equivalent to a high school education, who have had three years’ training in an accredited medical institution, passed the examinations required, and received a diploma, may wear a badge, or insignia, of their profession. The law also provides heavy penalties for those who shall wear this badge without the required qualifications.

In conclusion, I bespeak for this institution and those associated with it an extended career of great usefulness, during which it shall be a source of untold blessing to those sufferers who are so fortunate as to receive of the benefits it has to confer. I bespeak the sincere and active sympathy of an ever-enlarging circle of friends. We can be a real help to the afflicted by making known to them that here they can obtain the assistance so often required. Yes, we should, and I do, consider it a real privilege to become nothing less than a living advertising agency to make known the virtues of this institution and the principles here maintained.

For the graduating class I sincerely wish an abiding trust in the Almighty, a life of unswerving constancy in the maintenance of the principles of right, genuine success in their chosen profession, and that final reward which crowns the efforts of all those who earnestly strive for the uplifting of humanity in the name of Christ.

The Christian Nurse*

The Christian Nurse