Page:A short history of nursing - Lavinia L Dock (1920).djvu/336

320 320 A Short History of Nursing As regards medical and sanitary matters and work in connection with the sick, the matrons, sisters, and staff nurses are to be regarded as having authority in and about military hospitals next after the officers of the R. A. M. C. (Royal Army Medical Corps), and are at all times to be obeyed accordingly, and to receive the respect due to their position. It is important to note that this regulation does not limit the nurse's sphere to the actual care of the patient's person. Her authority extends to the ward, and matters pertaining to the ward manage- ment, as in a civil hospital. As the whole question of rank arises from the working relation of the trained and professional nurse to the ward orderly, who is an enlisted man, and the wardmaster, who is almost certainly pro- foundly ignorant of sanitation and of good hospital methods, it is well to remember that the Matron of the British army hospital assigns and transfers all orderlies for ward duty. These men are re- quired to attend classes conducted by the Matron, and to pass examinations. They are thus accus- tomed to recognize the Matron's authority. These rulings, together with the long tradition of army nursing, and the well-established British respect for hospital discipline and order, gave the