Not just a shortage of girls: the shortage of nurses in post World War II New Zealand 1945-1955

Abstract

This thesis explores the shortage of general hospital nurses in post World War II New Zealand between 1945 and 1955. Historical inquiry is used to identify the causes of the shortage and the response to the shortage by the Health Department, hospital boards and nurse leaders. Christchurch Hospital, administered by the North Canterbury Hospital Board, is used to illustrate the situation at one large, public, general hospital. Information was collected from a variety of primary and secondary sources. The review of secondary sources establishes that a shortage of nurses did indeed occur, and that this had a negative affect on the functioning of the hospital system and the working lives of nurses. Primary sources provided the majority of material which informed this thesis. Primary sources included published journals, books and official records. Unpublished material included documents held in the Wellington and Christchurch Branches of Archives New Zealand and the Canterbury Medical History Trust. Material from two oral history participants is used to illustrate the situation at Christchurch Hospital providing a portrayal of the realities of nurses' lives at the time. Two themes emerge regarding the causes of the shortage of nurses: those that were readily acknowledged by nurse leaders and other health professionals at the time, and those which were less widely discussed, but which contributed to the nature of nursing work appearing less attractive to potential recruits. In response to the shortage the Health Department, hospital boards and the New Zealand Registered Nurses Association mounted several recruitment campaigns throughout the decade. As the shortage showed no sign of abatement the focus turned from recruitment to retention of nurses. While salaries, conditions and training were improved, nurse leaders also gave attention to establishing what was nurses' work and what was not. Nurse leaders and others promoted nursing as a profession that could provide young women with a satisfying lifelong career. Due to these efforts, by 1955, this episode in the cycle of demand and supply of nurses had begun to improve.