The Nurse as Interpreter of Life

Abstract

intriguing a program conceived; never were there goals of such import as those to which these new sciencesBiochemistry, Psychology, Sociology, and new findings of the older sciences -are leading us. Within a century, almost phenomenal changes have been brought about. Diseases, relentlessly persistent, have been tracked to their lair and will soon be eradicated. Mental deviations, the curability of which was not conceived to be within the range of rational thought, have responded to new understanding. A veritable mosaic of means has been evolved for the study and development of each aspect of that intricate, dynamic creation-the human machine. In this program, woman is destined to play a leading part. There is now a growing understanding of the fundamental importance of health, that composite term for man's best physical, mental and spiritual expression, in building an efficient society. It is accepted that environment is a more potent factor in the individual life than is heredity; and that ineradicable impressions are stamped upon the mind in the early months, even weeks, of the child's existence. In the light of these facts, the rbles of mother, nurse and teacher assume almost stupendous potentialities. The ageold tradition of the sacredness of motherhood is imbued with deeper significance; greater insight and modern methods of education are required of the teacher; and a less sentimental and more comprehensive interpretation of her function is demanded of the