MARRIAGE RATE OF NURSES 



Less Than Half of the Graduates of the Best Training Schools Marry 

 Probably One Important Factor in This 



Age 



T1I1-"RE arc in the United States 

 nearly 200,000 women equipped 

 to a j^'reater or less extent to do 

 nursing. About 79,000 of them 

 are sufficiently trained to be rej^nstered. 

 Phx'sically the trained nurses represent 

 a selection far above the average of the 

 population, since only the physically 

 superior can stand the strain ; and men- 

 tally, too, they are probably well above 

 the average. They represent, therefore, 

 a desirable class eugenically, and it is 

 important to know to what extent they 

 marry. 



Alumnae records of four of the larger 

 training schools were examined from 

 this point of view. The last class con- 

 sidered was 1901, since many of those 

 who graduated since that date have 

 still a possibility of marriage, while 

 graduates prior to that time, being now 

 more than 40 years old, are unlikely to 

 marry, or if they did, bear children. 



At the Massachusetts General Hos- 

 pital, 560 graduates were listed. Elimi- 

 nating fifty-six who died single, it was 

 found that of the li\'ing, 213 or 42^( are 

 married.' 



At the Johns Hopkins School for 

 Nurses, 228 graduates were tabulated, 

 of whom eleven had died single. Mar- 

 riage was shown for 93, or 43%, of the 

 living.'' 



At the Belle vue Training School for 

 Nurses there was a record of 650 grad- 

 uates,' 105 of whom had died single. 

 The 185 who are married make a mar- 

 riage-rate of 34*^, ( . 



At the Training School of St. Luke's 

 Hospital 201 had graduated and sixteen 

 died single. Ninety-seven, or 52%, 

 were reported as married.' 



The variation from 34% to 52% in 

 these complete married rates is consider- 

 able, and doubtless due to a very large 

 number of causes. It was not possible to 

 secure detailed class lists from other 

 institutions, but five of the more im- 

 ]X)rtant training schools courteously 

 furni.shed such information as they had. 

 Their data refer to all the graduates to 

 date, and it is obvious that such figures 

 are misleading, because the graduates of 

 at least the last 10 years may still 

 marry. 



The Presbyterian Hospital in New 

 York City states that its school of nurs- 

 ing has graduated 565 girls, of whom 163 

 have married. This makes a marriage 

 rate (extremely incomplete, as noted 

 above) of 29%. 



At the Illinois Training School for 

 Nurses (Chicago) 1314 graduates show 

 423 marriages, or 30%. 



Of the sixty-two graduates of the 

 Training vSchool at Washington Uni- 

 versity (St. Louis) since 1908. thirteen 

 or 21% have married. 



The Presbyterian Hospital of Chicago 

 has graduated 283 girls since 1906, of 

 whom eighty-seven or 31% are married. 



The University Hospital at Min- 

 neapolis is a young school ; of its forty 

 graduates only two have married. 



In these five schools, it was not stated 

 whether the total number of graduates 

 given included those who are now dead; 

 but presumably it did. Owing to the 

 varying lengths of time involved, the 

 rates given are not even comparable 

 with each other. 



BELLEVUE RATE LOW 



It is interesting to compute the mar- 

 riage rate of the graduates of Belle vue 



' .Massachusetts (jcneral Hospital (Boston) Training Scliool for Nurses, Report for 1916. 

 Classes of lS7.S-lf)01 inclusive. 



^ The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore) School for Nurses, circular of information, 1916- 

 1917. Classes of 1891-1901. 



3 Forty-third annual rcjiort of tlie Bcllcvuc 'I'raining School for Nurses, New York City, 1916. 

 Classes of 1875-1901. 



* St. Luke's Hospital '^Chicago) Training School for Nurses, announcement, 1917. Classes of 

 1887-1901. 



510 



