Editorial

Profession or pe d es t a I?

Do we choose to be looked upon as pro- fessionals, or to sit upon the traditional pedestal? As professional women our merit rests with our competence and responsi- bility in the field of nursing. As women, who conform to the traditional roles, our merit teeters with us on top of the pedestal of so-called "femininity". P r o f e s s i o n or pedestal? The women's liberation move- ment of the past few years has brought the question to our attention. It i s not an easy question to answer, for the movement itself has created some strange ideas and brought forth interesting remarks from nurses.

Reporting on AORN's Congress panel, "Liberation Movement: Impact on Nursing", one charming young nurse stated, in effect, she did not wish to be liberated from the authoritarianism of the doctor. She believes he is her leader, and that her main purpose, as a nurse, i s to carry out his orders, and be his and the patients' guardian angel. She also believes nurses should always communicate agreeably with doctors.

Another delightful nurse i s not so sure about being liberated, because she en-

joys having men light cigarettes and open doors for her.

Women's liberation i s concerned with a great many things of infinitely greater magnitude than eliminating common cour- tesy and good manners. The nursing role i s one of complimentary team effort with the physician. To my knowledge, it has never been that of guardian angel to the doctor. Communication with, not "up to" and "down from", the physician would be a giant step in the "right on" direction.

One of the vital issues of serious concern to the feminist movement is economic equalization-equal pay for equol work. Did you know there are 30 million working women in the United States, and that, on an average, these women earn 60 cents to every dollar that men earn in a comparable job?

In 1969, according to Scott Burns, the median income of all full time women workers was $4,977. Professional women do o little better. Their median income in 1969 was a whopping $7,309. Nurses fall into this classification as do teachers. Both

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of these professions are considered sex typed jobs into which women concentrate. In fact, two out of three professional women are either teachers or nurses.

Because women are concentrated in these fields, their salaries and wages have be- come institutionalized and controlled by the men who employ them,

If you, as a nurse, earn more than $15,000 you are one out of 140. If you earn more than $10,000 you are one out of 20.

The women‘s liberation movement truly has great relevance to nursing’s struggle to be recognized and respected as a major contributor to this nation’s health delivery service. in addition, women‘s liberation has contributed toward the current demands for women to be equally represented in

state and national agencies concerned with health care.

Perhaps it is easy to understand why nurses perpetuate the “Doctor-Nurse” game, and why women resist liberation. It is eas- ier and safer. One lady summed it up in Psychology Today (March 1972) by saying, ”If men learn that women are superior, we’ll be stuck with a lot of snivelling little boys clinging to our skirts. It’s better to let them think they’re king of the castle, lean and depend on them, and continue to con- trol and manipulate them as we always have.”

But, wouldn’t it be better to be honest, to be respected for what you know and do instead of your sexual gender? Certainly it would be better than going through life playing games. 0

-5etfy Thomas, RN

London seminur on nursing services Seven US nurse leaders traveled t o London in May of this year for a three week seminar that compared and contrasted nursing services in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The May 27 through June 16 invitational conference, sponsored by the King’s Fund College of Hospital Management, brought together approximately twenty nurse representatives of the three countries for intensive and wide ranging discussion about developments and trends in nursing care delivery systems in a variety of institutions. These include public health agen- cies, general and psychiatric hospitals, voluntary and governmental agencies, as well as Britain’s Department of Health and Social Security and National Nursing Staff Committee.

During the seminar the nurse group covered aspects of nursing service administration, nursing practice, nursing research and nursing education as it relates t o the organization and delivery of health care. Their schedule included on site experiences of group practice and tours of health centers in and around London.

Heading the US registered nurse delegation was Eleanor C Lambertsen, EdD, dean and professor, Cornell University - New York Hospital School of Nursing, New York City. The other members were Muriel R Carbery, director of nursing service, New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, New York City: Rosamond C Gabrielson, associate administrator, Nursing Department, Good Samaritan Hospital. Phoenix, Arizona, and president o f the American Nurses’ Association, New York City: Eileen M Jacobi, EdD, A N A executive director: Eva M Reese, executive director, Visiting Nurse Service of New York: Jessie M Scott, Admiral, director, Division of Nursing, US Public Health Service, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Arlington. Virginia: and Margaret E Walrh, general director, National League for Nursing, New York City.

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