H.—3l.

PART VI.—DIVISION OF NURSING. I have the honour to submit the report of the Division of Nursing for the year ending 31st March, 1935. Several important new developments have occurred during the year which have entailed a good deal of correspondence and personal negotiation. Exchange or Nurses. For some time New Zealand nurses have been very interested in the development of an exchange system between this country and overseas on the basis of the exchange between teachers. Definite agreements have been entered into during the past year, and in each case the approach has come from without New Zealand : (a) Melbourne. —Largely through the interest of Professor Marshall Allan, of Melbourne, and the New Zealand Obstetrical Society, an exchange between senior obstetrical sisters of the Melbourne Woman's Hospital and the larger New Zealand Obstetrical Hospitals has been arranged. The period of exchange is for six months ; each sister remains on the pay-roll of her own hospital and pays her own fare, the shipping companies allowing a 25-per-cent. reduction. Applications will be received for this exchange by the Health Department, who will be responsible for finalizing the agreement. The first exchange has actually taken place, and it is hoped to make the experience mutually beneficial. (b) Fiji. —Early in the year the Fijian Government approached New Zealand to know whether this country would be willing — (1) To supply a New Zealand matron for the Colonial War Memorial Hospital at Suva : (2) To supply sisters for the Nursing Service of Fiji either on a basis of exchange or on loan : (3) To permit European nurses trained at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital, Suva, to sit for the New Zealand Nurses State Examinations and be registered in New Zealand. An agreement has been entered into by which the Fijian Government pay the passage of nurses proceeding to Fiji; New Zealand nurses are given leave of absence without pay from their controlling authority for their period of service in Fiji, and the Fijian Government pay the nurses' superannuation contributions to the New Zealand Fund, so preserving their superannuation and seniority rights in New Zealand. The Nurses and Midwives Registration Board agreed to allow nurses trained in Fiji to sit for the State Examination provided the syllabus laid down by the Board was followed and that the trainingschool was inspected from time to time by an Inspector on behalf of the Registration Board. Miss Lea, a Nurse Inspector from the Department's staff, was appointed matron and already one sister has been granted leave of absence for this service by the Marlborough Hospital Board. (c) Shanghai.—The most recent agreement is one between the Shanghai Municipal Council and New Zealand, whereby sisters may be selected for this service. The Shanghai Municipal Council undertakes to pay the passage and will be prepared to pay the superannuation contributions in the same way as the Fijian Government. Two nurses with general and mental certificates have been selected, and proceed to Shanghai at an early date. In both instances applications for these services will be received by the Health Department, who will be responsible for the selection in a similar manner to the Melbourne exchange. Tropical Nursing Service. Now that New Zealand is definitely linked with Fiji in regard to its nursing service, our responsibilities in the South Pacific have been definitely increased, as Samoa, Niue, Rarotonga, Aitutaki, and at present Norfolk Island, are all staffed with New Zealand sisters. The problem of training native nurses among the Polynesians to the best advantage is a most important one and one to which it behoves us to give much thought. It is essential from many aspects, both racial and economical, that native staffs should be employed, and it is hoped by extending our field of service that sisters who are interested in this aspect of nursing will be prepared to specialize in this work and yet be given an opportunity for refreshing their knowledge in New Zealand from time to time. Scholarships. During the year scholarships have been awarded by both the Rockefeller and Carnegie .Foundations. This is the first time that these American Foundations, which have done so much to assist nursing in other countries, have helped New Zealand nurses. The Rockefeller Foundation granted a scholarship to the Assistant Matron of the Colonial War Memorial Hospital, Suva, to take the postgraduate course in hospital administration and public health in New Zealand. The Carnegie Foundation granted a scholarship to a Maori nurse to take a special course in arts and crafts and public health at Otago University to equip her to assist with health teaching among the Maoris. The Florence Nightingale Memorial Committee, composed of equal representation from the New Zealand Registered Nurses' Association and the New Zealand Red Cross Society, has raised £250 towards a scholarship to send a nurse to take the post-graduate course at Bedford College, London. At a meeting of this committee held in March it was agreed to hand this money over to the Health Department, provided it was subsidized, to select and send a nurse abroad to be trained to fill a senior position on the staff of the Department.

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