1 Dear Sir. Your letter of December 30, 1915 rethe foundation of a College of Nursing, together with a report on the matter prepared by Dr Kirkpatrick, were considered by the Board of this Hospital at the meeting on February 22, 1916. I am directed to inform you that the Board of Doctor Steevens' Hospital are anxious to consider favourably any scheme for the better organisation and training of nurses. While, however, it appears probable that the proposed College may effect this desired end my Board is unable to express any approval of it until opportunity has been given of considering the scheme in more detail than is at present possible. I am desired further to submit for your consideration the following general principles which my Board considers are essential to the success of any such College as is proposed. Should the scheme be developed further my Board will be glad to give it a very careful consideration. Yours etc To The Hon. Arthur Stanley, M.P., M.V.O. 2 Principles suggested by the Board of Doctor Steevens' Hospital
as essential in the foundation of the proposed College of
Nursing. 1. The Executive Board for the management of the College
should be largely in the hands of elected representatives of
the trained nurses themselves, and should also be respresentat —
ive of the various parts of the United Kingdom. 2. The relations that are to exist between this
Executive Board of Management and the General Council of the
College must be carefully defined so as to protect as far as
possible the various interest concerned. 3. The certificates of the college should be given only to
those nurses who have undergone a satisfactory course of
Hospital training, and passed the requisite examinations of
the College. 4. The minimum period of the curriculum, and also the size
of the Hospital where the training of the nurses is to be
carried out should be satisfactory. 5. Local centres for the training and the examination of
the Irish, Scotch, and Provincial nurses must be established
by the college. The teachers in such local centers should be
appointed by the Executive Board of the College. 6. The Board of Examiners that is to conduct the final
examinations of the College must be so constituted as not to
give undue preference to any centre for teaching and
examination. 7. All training schools recognized by the College must
rigidly satisfy the minimum requirements of the College, or
be struck off the list of recognised schools. Frequent and
efficient inspection of the schools will be necessary to
attain this object. Every facility should be extended to those
schools that do satisfy the requirements of the College, and 3 that desire to be recognized by the College. 8. It should be an object of the College to protect the
regularly trained nurse in every possible way from the unfair
competition of those who have not submitted themselves to
such training. 9. Provision should be made for recognition by the
College of those nurses in practice at the time of the
foundation of the College. 4 Letter from Steevens
to Mr Stanley
with suggestions re College.