Page:A short history of nursing - Lavinia L Dock (1920).djvu/335

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319
A Short History of Nursing

Nursing in the World War 319 for the pupils were to be placed in units in the camp hospitals all over the country. As they progressed they would release many of the fully trained women then on duty in camp and cantonment, and as they finished they would go to the front them- selves. It was also arranged that hospitals might send their third-year pupils for military experience to the army school, and many met this arrange- ment. To aid the disciplinary problems of such a school, a system of student government, often called the "honour system," was established in each unit. After the war, the army school was estabhshed on a permanent basis. The organization of Nursing-Preparatory Courses in Vassar and other colleges during the summer of 191 8 has already been described in Chapter X. The Committee on Nursing advocated these courses and assisted in their development. Had the war lasted longer, a large number of col- leges would have followed this plan. The British army gave the first example of definite army status for army nurses, when the Queen Alexandra Military Nursing Rank for Service was formed. True, the British °^ses regulations do not specifically confer rank upon ^ nurses, but their status was defined in the following regulation :