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Page Twelve PHOENIX June 14, 1973Student Nurse Finds SelfWorking in 'Chaotic Order'BY FRANCINE MARRUSWhile the faculty of Long Island College Hospital School of Nursing talks of the changing role of the nurse within the medical profession. Rose Marie DiBella, a student, is out on Station Eleven, a male medical ward, making beds.Most people, when they think of change within the educational structure, think in terms of students being in the vanguard of this change %u2014 the instigators, the questioners, the unaccepting of the once acceptable. Not so in the realm of nursing education.The student recruiter at RICH School of Nursing says, %u201cStudents come into the program because they want to %u2018help people,%u2019 but don't really know what nursing entails until they get out on the floor,\ones who can%u2019t handle the realities of the nursing profession very quickly.%u201dIn this area nursing seems to lace the same problems of other professions. Ms. DiBella, who entered the school after receiving her BA from Fordham University, says, %u201cAt eighteen you just don%u2019t know what you want. I thought that I wanted to teach and it took me three years before I got into a classroom and found it wasn%u2019t for me. 1 finished my BA with a major in English and then came into nursing. At least, in a program lime the one at RICH, you find out right away w'hat it%u2019s all about and if you're going to be able to handle it.%u201dRICH School of Nursing is a twoyear diploma program with a strong emphasis on practical clinical experience and 42 credit hours of college level courses. The clinical experience seems to bringDo yourun , aroundor coffee? Now you can stop running. In fact, your whole o ffic e can stop running around! Our Office Coffee Service supplies great coffee all day long%u2014for only pennies a cup. D elicious M axwell House%u00ae or Yuban%u00ae Coffee for clients, visitors, your whole office. All you buy are kits including coffee, filters, sugar and creamer. We provide the equipment and maintenance at no extra charge. Call now.Have a good cup of coffee tomorrow!Call Today ForFro%u00a9 Week Tries!7 8 4 -3 0 3 0BUNNCOFFEESERVICEMs. Rose Marie DiBella, left, and a fellowstudent study a tissue culture during theirnursing training program at L.l. CollegeHospital.along its share of bad effects. Certainly it gives the student a good indication of the world of the hospital. However, it lacks the scope and the vision that comes from outside the walls of this very same hospital.The students learn to deal with the hospital patient as a whole entity and not just a disease lying in a hospital bed. Ms. DiBella says, %u201cYou learn to help the patients with their medical problems while taking into account their individual selves; their social status, age, family, culture; their personalities.%u201dA nursing instructor noted, %u201cWe put the students out on the floor and in uniform as quickly as possible %u2014 we find that the uniform gives them a greater sense of security %u2014 we try to give them, I guess you'd say, direct direction. Right there on the ward. We guide them, but they take the action with the patients.%u201dMs. DiBella seems to be aware of the need for this direction, %u201cI am constantly aware of my limitations and my lack of knowledge. I find myself learning every day.%u201d As for the patients themselves, Ms. DiBella says, %u201c They are sometimes wary until you prove yourself, then they appreciate the attention. The older patients are most cooperative; I guess that it%u2019s because we help relieve their loneliness.%u201dThe students, as everyone else working within a large' hospital, are constantly made aware of the red tape that manifests itself in this environment. Ms. DiBella seems to have taken a philosophical outlook, %u201ccare should be immediate, but then we do have to organize.%u201dThe head nurse on Station Eleven, seems to echo this philosophy: %u201cThe ward is run with a chaotic order. To the outside, everything looks very complex, but actually everyone is assigned specific duties and they know what they are doing.%u201dVisitshops andstores in theHeights, Slope,Cobble Hill, andCarroll GardensneighborhoodSell Display Advertisingin the PHOENIXWork Part Timeor Full TimeIt s easy , It sfun M aks yourown hourscallMr. ArmstrongS43-1032The doctors participation in the education of the student nurse at RICH is stronger than in many other programs. %u201cThis hospital's basic orientation is towards teaching; consequently the entire staff, including the physicians, are quite helpful. They are always willing to take time to talk with a student,%u201d an instructor noted.%u201cThe student nurse not only gets a chance to question the doctor we also are able to bring many facts to the doctors attention. We see the patipnt all day; we also see the patient with his family; therefore we get a lot of information that the doctor doesn%u2019t,%u201d DiBella added.She continued: %u201cI remember I once had a woman patient who hadto lose weight for her health. I saw her with her husband and observed that he didn%u2019t want her to lose the weight. He was afraid she might become too independent. I brought this to the doctor%u2019s attention. It seems he wasn%u2019t aware of this as he had never spoken to the two of them together.%u201dSome outside pressures do seep through the hospital walls. Ms. DiBella says, %u201cfrom working with the patients from the community I see a definite need to have at least some knowledge of the Spanish Language. A lot of the patients don%u2019t speak English and it%u2019s really difficult if they don%u2019t know what you%u2019re telling them or they are telling you.%u201dAnd a few broader issues are introduced directly to the student, however, these issues all deal with the immediate in hospital nursing or nursing education.The need for professionalizing nursing is a subject that is dealt with by both the administration ;and the student. %u201cWe are constantly trying to improve the [image of the nurse,%u201d an instructor paid. %u201cOne of the ways we do this is through more formalized education. Most nursing schools are now turning towards at least the associates degree.%u201d%u201cWe can also change our image by the label we put on ourselves. The term Health Science is coming * into its own now. This puts the nurse on a more equal basis with the doctor than the term medical profession.%u201d she added.DiBella says, %u201cMany people don%u2019t consider nursing a profession at all; that%u2019s why there is such a strong concentration on degrees, to give more dignity and respect to the profession. Sometimes, because of such ciose direct contact with the patient, the nurse actually knows more than the doctor.%u201dGoing one step further, the Nursing Students Association of New York is considering the idea of continuing %u2022 education as a requirement for maintaining a nursing license. Ms. Helen Cahill, the graduate advisor, says, %u201cHopefully there will be a bill up before the New York State Assembly next year making this all legal. It will be necessary for a nurse to take a certain number of courses per year. We hope this adds to the professionalism that we feel we deserve.%u201dAnd of course, as in all areas of work dealing in the life and death struggle, such issues as abortion and euthanasia are discussed. And as in the case of all humans there are varying opinions; both pro and con, with the main thrust of the student leaning towards idealism no matter what the actual opinion.As Ms. DiBella says on the subject of abortion, %u201c . . . . your values and morals should not interfere with the quality of care you give. . . .%u201d However she went on to say, %u201cI don%u2019t think that I personally could work in an abortion clinic.%u201dOn euthanasia there didn%u2019t seem to be one student that stated theyContinued on Page 13PERFECT MOTORS INCSPECIALIZING INV%u2018%u2018G u\\%u00bbW ftG trtS e r v ic e . P a rts ft R ep a ir s440A 13th StBHOOKIYN, N. 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