Page:A short history of nursing - Lavinia L Dock (1920).djvu/367

351 The Past and Future 351 nursing which is yet in its earliest infancy, where the demand for highly trained nurses already far exceeds our supply. The problems of nursing education are equally pressing and require the most patient and intelli- gent study which we can give them. The whole future of nursing depends on the way in which they are solved. Our present system of training which has served us on the whole admirably for half-a- century, seems to require certain adjustments to make it fit the newer conditions and needs of to- day. While we do not want to sacrifice any of those practical features which have been tried and tested and found good, we do need to strengthen the theoretical and scientific side of our training, to broaden its scope, and to put more emphasis than we have on the social, preventive, and educa- tional aspects of nursing. We need many more trained superintendents, teachers, and supervisors to inspire and teach the pupils in these schools, for on them the burden of the future rests most heavily. Perhaps the most encouraging feature of our edu- cational work is the development of university courses in nursing. This movement must be carried forward by the ablest and most highly educated women we can produce. Better laws must be made for the protection of nursing and