The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

12 The Health Bulletin December, 1951anti-aircraft installations. That is whyCivil Defense is imperative. We can notprevent enemy attacks from happening,but we can prevent the enemy fromcompletely demoralizing us.Nurses in North Carolina, as well asnurses in all of the States, have begunthe job of instructing all nurses in theState in "Nursing Aspects of AtomicWarfare." The course includes basicinformation about policies, responsibilities,communications, organization,etc. for many civil defense services andhow nursing service would fit in withthe total over-all program.The present day Civil Defense programfor nurses is based on atomicwarfare. What will happen if atomicbombs fall on our cities? Why is anatomic bomb so destructive? How tosurvive under attack? What type of injurieswould result from an atomic attack?What is radiological contamination?In addition to information regardingatomic warfare the course includesinformation on special weaponsdefense such as biological and chemicalwarfare.Six North Carolina nurses were appointedby Governor Kerr Scott in January,1951 to attend a teachers' courseat Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.,which was given under the auspices ofthe National Security Resources Boardand the U. S. Public Health Service.The six nurses returned home and immediatelycontacted the State MedicalSociety, the N. C. State Nurses' Associationand the State Civil Defenseauthorities. A teaching manual wasformulated which was mimeographedand used in teaching two days institutesin Elizabeth City, Fayetteville,Wilmington, Durham, Wilson, Raleigh,Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Charlotteand Asheville. Three hundred and thirtythree nurses received instructionwhich prepared them to teach in turnother nurses. To date approximatelyeight hundred nurses have had thisinstruction. Many classes are beingtaught during the Pall and Wintermonths and will continue until all ofthe approximately eight thousand registerednurses in North Carolina havehad an opportimity to enlist in thisundertaking, which will be a safeguardto themselves and to the citizens of ourState. Where classes have been taughtin Hospitals, the instruction has beengiven, not only to registered nurses, butalso to practical niirses, nurses' aidesand to student nurses. Niu-ses have, inmany places, shared this informationfreely with civic groups, P.T.A. organizationsand others. The Army trainingfilms used have been shared with physicians,members of fire departments andpolice departments.Civil Defense means that you protectyourself and others if trouble comes.We dare not wait until total disasterstrikes to train personnel because ittakes time and energy and funds. Theniirses of North Carolina are indebtedto the N. C. State Nurses' Association,the State Civil Defense organizationand the State Board of Health for theirsupport in making this instruction possible.The nursing committee whichguided the program is grateful to allnurses who have given their time andtalent in teaching the classes. The jobis not complete and no one knows howmuch time is left. Instruction given atthe institutes is only a beginning andtime will bring changes in Civil Defenseplanning and development.Nurses and all interested personsshould keep up-to-date by ordering newreference material from the Superintendentof Documents, U. S. GovernmentPrinting Office, Washington 25,D. C. Local, State and National agenciesare also releasing informationwhich will help in understanding thenation's civil defense activities on alllevels and to interpret them to others.The pamphlets which the U. S. Governmenthas published and will continueto publish are especially helpfuland, since they are "official," nursescan use information from them freely;there need be no question about theirauthority. The North Carolina StateNurses' Association has a State -wideCommittee on Resoiurces for Civil andMilitary Nursing needs, and twenty-twodistrict committees. Some of the functionof these committees are