Making Good on Private Duty | Page 8

as to how to keep yourselves in

good working order. In the first place, then, never go to a case unless
you are feeling well. It is far wiser, as far as you are concerned, and
better also for the sick one, for you to say so frankly, if you are not well.
Tell the one who comes for you, that you could not do justice to the
case, as indeed you could not. Sick people are as sensitive as babies to
the subtle influence exerted by the one who is so constantly over them.
If you are in full health and strength, your rubbing will be quieting and
effectual, your very presence, if you are careful and gentle, will be
soothing. On the contrary, if you yourself are suffering and are using
the nervous force you ought to be giving your patient in hiding your
own malady, your presence will not be so eagerly welcomed; your
patient will not know what is the matter, but she feels rather a relief
when you are absent. Going to a case feeling perfectly well, the next
thing is to keep well.
Be careful about your eating. Your meals will of necessity be often
irregular, that is unavoidable, but eat only wholesome things. Do not
eat candy; and at dinner, which you will probably have in the evening
after the family are through, avoid patties, and rich puddings, ice cream,
and such like. You will always find plenty of plain food and fruit in the
most luxurious homes; eat these and let the rest alone. If you want to
keep your stomach and whole digestive apparatus in good order, you
must care for it, and not overtax it. If you have a pretty good stomach it
will bear a good deal of abuse, but in the end it will grumble, and a
dyspeptic nurse is not an attractive object. As to your night suppers,
which you should always have, should your case require constant
watching, I would recommend plenty of coffee, tea, or cold milk, if you
can drink it, bread and butter, cold meat and fruit. Never eat candied
fruits, cake, or pies at night. Have eggs if you care for them, and
pickles if you like. Remember, the plainest food, the most easily
digested, the most nourishing is what you must have. Believe me, you
will be rewarded for the temperate use you make of all the dainties you
see, by a clear complexion, and good color, which will make you "good
to look at," especially good for a sick person to look at.
As to the nurse's night toilette, it is quite a problem sometimes as to just
what is best to wear. When the patient is not ill enough for the uniform

to be retained for night duty, the nurse should be comfortable enough
so that she can sleep; yet dressed enough for any emergency. I think a
house gown of pretty material much neater than the kimono. Be sure
this fits about the shoulders, and never have loose flowing sleeves. A
white frill in the neck looks very trim, and is always becoming. The
corset and all tight clothes should be removed, stockings and
underwear kept on. The hair should be arranged simply, but not
allowed to hang in a loose braid, unless you are very sure you will not
see any but the patient, and even then it may be unwise, as a braid of
hair has an exasperating way of slipping from its proper place (hanging
down the back) and dipping into whatever you are stooping over.
Dressed thus, with night shoes to protect the feet, one can lie down on a
lounge and sleep very comfortably, being freed from tight clothes, and
yet being entirely presentable, no matter what happens. To undress
regularly and put on the diaphanous low-necked short sleeved night
dress of the present mode, and go to bed, when you are sure you will
have to get up one or a dozen times during the night is not good
judgment, I think. You get out of a warm bed, and if you only put on
your shoes and stockings, your patient must wait while you do it. If
anything serious occurs suddenly, you either run the risk of taking cold
from being insufficiently clad while doing what must be done, or your
patient must wait while you dress--both bad.
Never get into bed with your patient. This seems to most people a quite
unnecessary caution, but it is the commonest experience of the
successful nurse, that a woman, feeble and nervous, should ask and
almost insist that she shall lie down by her, or get into bed with her. I
always wonder that a sick woman can not realize that she is not a