A NEW PROGRAM IN THE TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT OF WARD PERSONNEL

We feel that the project, started over 2 years ago, has already certain accomplishments to its credit. It has been proved that it is possible to recruit intelligent, well-educated men and women who are motivated to devote themselves to psychiatric nursing as a career. It has been shown that it is possible to make function an intensive, 500-hour training program to prepare the members of this ward staff for future responsibilities. It is still too early to judge how effectively this staff can carry out the therapeutic responsibilies assigned to them, or to determine whether the task is sufficienty challenging to hold their interest and keep them as members of a professional group. Even though the ultimate therapeutic limit of this ward staff has not been ascertained, our experience has convinced us that the success of any mental hospital program is dependent upon highly qualified and well-trained nursing personnel.