INTERESTING VISITOR.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 204, 30 July 1937, Page 11

INTERESTING VISITOR.

LONG NURSING CAREER. WORK OF NATIONAL COUNCIL. Miss A. M. E. Bodley, of Birmingham, who arrived in Auckland this week on a 6ix months’ visit to New Zealand, and will arrive in Palmerston North early next week, has had an interesting career. Until her retirement a few weeks ago, Miss Bodley was matron of the large Belly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, a position which she had held for over 27 years. Training at Guy’s Hospital in London, Miss Bodley has been following her nursing career .for 40 years. The Belly Oak Hospital, she said, was one of the largest general hospitals in England, with a staff of over 200 nurses and 150 probationers. It possessed over 550 beds.

An important work of the hospital was the training of registered nurses. The ordinary counse of training was for three yew’s and three months, while the midwifery training lasted for an additional 18 months. Nurses in England worked 48 to 54 hours a week.

Although up till the present nursing and hospital management has been ber main interest and occupation, Miss Bodley 6aid that she was interested in a great many other aspects of life. She was a member of an archaeology society, and after her return to England intended to take a more active interest in that work. She was also greatly interested in all forms of women’s work and had been a member of the National Council of Women for about 20 years. In England the National Council of Women had a large voice in public affairs, she said. Beginning as the National Union of Women Workers, it had grown in strength of purpose and membership until to-day it was one of the most important of women’s organisations. Miss Bodley is also a member of the Victoria League in England. At present Miss Bodley is realising one of ber greatest ambitions, in visiting New Zealand, where she has several relatives, and which is her mother's country. After leaving New Zealand Miss Bodley planned to visit Australia and South Africa. She said that she was greatly impressed with her visit to the United States. Although she had only a few hours in Suva, Miss Bodley found time to visit the hospital, which she considered to be remarkably good. She was particularly impressed with the practice there of training young men for work among the natives in the interior of the islands. The students were trained for four years at the hospital, after which they were sent either to Australia or New Zealand for a further period of training.