GUIDE FOR THE TRAINING OF 
VOLUNTEER NURSES’ AIDES 
0CD Publication 3020-1 
Prepared by the U. S. Office of Civilian Defense 
in collaboration with the American Red Cross 
To meet the anticipated need for the expan- 
sion of nursing facilities during the period of 
national emergency, the U. S. Office of Civilian 
Defense proposed to the American Red Cross 
in August 1941 that its Volunteer Nurses’ Aide 
Corps be greatly enlarged and that the program 
be sponsored jointly by both agencies. This 
challenge was accepted by the Red Cross and 
the plan for training 100,000 Nurses’ Aides is 
now in progress throughout the United States. 
In collaboration with the Medical Division 
of the U. S. Office of Civilian Defense, the 
curriculum was revised to meet wartime 
needs, and the course of instruction was re- 
duced to 80 hours to be given in 7 weeks. The 
first unit of the course (35 hours) is given at 
the local Red Cross Chapter House or other 
suitable place, followed by the second unit 
(45 hours) of supervised practice in a hospital 
which has been approved as a training center 
(Syllabus of Course of Instruction, ARC 774). 
The purpose of the Nurses’ Aide Program 
is to train a corps of dependable women to 
serve in wartime as aides to nurses in hospitals 
Sind health organizations, and as members of 
Mobile Medical Teams in the Emergency Med- 
ical Service of the Office of Civilian Defense. 
The Aides always work under the supervision of 
graduate nurses and, by carrying out many 
nontechnical procedures, they release nurses 
for the technical services for which they are 
prepared. 
Nurses are being called daily for service with 
the armed forces, leaving hospitals and health 
organizations seriously understaffed. Volun- 
teer Nurses’ Aides have demonstrated that they 
are able and willing to help. Hospitals and 
nurses in many communities are enthusiastic 
about the excellent service which they are 
giving, and are demanding that their numbers 
be increased. Nurses’ Aides are now serving 
in Army Hospitals and in hospitals of the Vet- 
erans Administration. 
The Civilian Defense Volunteer Office, which 
is established in most local Offices of Civilian 
Defense, serves as a clearinghouse for all 
volunteers. Those who are interested in be- 
coming Nurses’ Aides and who can meet the 
requirements in regard to age, education, and 
availability are referred by this office to the 
local Red Cross Chapter, where the candidates 
for the intensive training course are carefully 
selected. It is important that applicants be 
chosen with care and be made to realize that 
they are enrolling for wartime service in a dis- 
ciplined Corps which demands patriotic devo- 
tion to duty. Emphasis must be laid on physi- 
cal fitness, emotional stability, mental alertness, 
and adaptability to unexpected situations as 
well as on ability to accept the discipline of the 
Corps. 
Requirements for Establishing a 
Nurses9 Aide Corps 
A Red Cross Volunteer Nurses’ Aide Com- 
mittee must be set up in each chapter as a 
16-33648-1 
I subcommittee of the Volunteer Special Services 
Committee. The committee membership must 
include nursing and lay representatives, the 
local Chief of Emergency Medical Service, the 
local Nurse Deputy, and a representative of 
the local Civilian Defense Volunteer Office. It 
is responsible for maintaining training stand- 
ards and discipline and for supervising the 
service (Red Cross Form 1901). 
The instructor for the course must be a well- 
qualified, registered, graduate nurse, authorized 
annually by the Area Headquarters of the 
American Red Cross (qualifications and appli- 
cation, Red Cross Form 1529). 
The eighty (80) hour Syllabus, ARC 774, is 
to be used. 
> 
Volunteers chosen to take the training must 
meet stated physical and educational require- 
ments, and must agree to accept all regulations 
concerning future service in the Volunteer 
Nurses’ Aide Corps (Red Cross Form 1239-A). 
A maximum of thirty (30) aides is allowed in 
each class. 
The duties authorized for the service must be 
adhered to by the local Red Cross Volunteer 
Nurses’ Aide Committee and by hospitals and 
organizations using the volunteers (ARC 775). 
It is expected that each local Red Cross 
Chapter establishing a Volunteer Nurses’ Aide 
Corps will adhere strictly to the basic require- 
ments stated above. Because of the widely 
diverse situations existing in local communities, 
it may become necessary in some chapters for 
the Nurses’ Aide Committee to make minor 
adjustments in the general plan. 
Hospitals approved as training centers should 
be general hospitals caring for men, women, and 
children and should be on the approved lists 
of the American Medical Association and the 
American College of Surgeons. Exceptions to 
these requirements may be granted on the 
basis of the hospital’s standard of nursing 
practice, the availability of supervision by 
graduate nurses and the local need for Nurses’ 
Aides and must be approved by the Red Cross 
Area Office. Acceptability of hospitals is de- 
termined in each State through a joint confer- 
ence of the State Chief of Emergency Medical 
Service, the State Nurse Deputy, representa- 
tives of the State Hospital Association and the 
State Board of Nurse Examiners, and a nurs- 
ing consultant of the Red Cross Area Office. 
Hospitals that wish to train or use the services 
of Volunteer Nurses’ Aides should apply to the 
Nurses’ Aide Committee of the local Red Cross. 
Requirements for Applicants 
Age.—Between 18 and 50 when enrolled. 
Citizenship.—American or friendly alien. 
Physical.—Satisfactory physical condition. 
(A physical examination is required and must be 
reported on Form 1239-B.) 
Education.—Graduation from high school 
or its equivalent. 
Requirements for Membership in 
Red Cross Volunteer Nurses9 Aide 
Corps and the Nurses9 Aide Unit of 
the U. S. Citizens Defense Corps 
Satisfactory completion of the 80-hour course 
(ARC 774). 
Completion of Standard Red Cross First Aid 
Course (20 hours) within first year of service. 
Agreement to serve at least 150 hours an- 
nually. 
Agreement to serve without pay. 
Agreement to accept the policies and rules 
of the Corps as defined by the Office of Civilian 
Defense and the American Red Cross, 
Agreement to serve in emergencies in local 
hospitals and casualty stations. 
Oath of membership in Nurses’ Aide Unit, 
U. S. Citizens Defense Corps. 
In order to include the services of Volunteer 
Nurses’ Aides in the civilian defense program, 
a Nurses’ Aide Unit has been established in 
the U. S. Citizens Defense Corps. The oath of 
membership is administered without cost by a 
representative of the local defense council and, 
whenever possible, Nurses’ Aides who have 
successfully completed the 80-hour course 
should receive their Red Cross certificates and 
be admitted to membership in the Citizens 
Defense Corps at a joint ceremony. If this 
should be impracticable, they should be in- 
ducted into the Citizens Defense Corps at the 
earliest opportunity so as to be fully authorized 
to wear the prescribed OCD-Red Cross sleeve 
and cap insigne identifying them as Nurses’ 
Aides. 
The Curriculum 
The Syllabus (ARC 774) is the revision pre- 
pared with the collaboration of the Medical 
Division of the Office of Civilian Defense to 
2 
10—33048—i meet wartime needs. The instructional mate- 
rial is presented in outline form only. No 
attempt has been made to cover each subject 
exhaustively. It is expected that the instructor 
will draw upon her own knowledge and experi- 
ence to elaborate on the outline and to interpret 
properly the subject to the class. 
Volunteer Nurses9 Aide Course 
Two units—Total time, 80 hours. 
Unit I. Instruction on Care of the Sick in the 
Hospital 34 hours. 
(One hour of lecture and demonstration and 
one or more hours of practice daily, five 
days a week.) 
Unit I may be given in the local Red Cross 
Chapter House or other suitable and 
properly equipped room. 
Unit II. Supervised Practice in the Hospi- 
tal 45 hours. 
(Three hours a day for five days a week.) 
Unit II is to be given in a hospital desig- 
nated for this purpose as a training center 
for Volunteer Nurses’ Aides. 
Examination 1 hour. 
Adjustments in the distribution of the re- 
quired number of hours may be made for 
evening classes. 
Duties 
Nurses’ Aides never assume independent 
nursing responsibilities and always work under 
the supervision of a graduate nurse. 
The authorized duties which the prescribed 
training and practice prepare Aides to perform 
are listed in Chapter Organization and Adminis- 
tration of Red Cross Volunteer Nurses’ Aide 
Corps (ARC 775 and ARC 775C). These 
duties are subject to the approval of the indi- 
vidual institution or organization to which the 
volunteer is assigned. A partial list includes: 
In hospitals. — Make beds and ether beds; 
give baths; take temperature, pulse, and respira- 
tion; give cleansing enemas; apply unsterile hot 
and cold compresses; keep patient’s personal 
ward or room neat and orderly; put away sup- 
plies; take care of linen closet; clean equipment 
trays; take care of rubber goods; prepare 
patients for meals; feed patients; take patients 
to and from treatment rooms; chaperon and 
drape patients for doctor’s examination. 
In clinics.—Similar to above and assist in 
registering; undress and dress children; weigh 
and measure patients; keep clinic equipment 
clean and in order. 
In community health agencies.—Nursing 
duties approved by the organization; home 
visits to obtain information or give routine 
instructions. 
In emergency services.—Perform v usual 
duties in hospitals; assist doctors and nurses in 
Casualty Stations and Mobile Medical Teams of 
the Emergency Medical Service; home visits 
under direction of the health agency responsible 
for follow-up of casualties and nursing care of 
patients in homes. For effective service in 
Civilian Defense activities, Nurses’ Aides should 
be made familiar with the organization of the 
local Defense Council, with the general duties 
and operation of the Emergency Medical Serv- 
ice, and with its relationship to other protection 
units of the U. S. Citizens Defense Corps. 
Uniform und Insignia 
The uniform which is to be worn after the 
first 34 hours of the course by Volunteer 
Nurses’ Aides who are being trained for service 
in Civilian Defense is a blue cotton jumper 
apron, worn over a regulation white blouse, 
plainly tailored and inexpensive. 
A 3-inch Civilian Defense-Red Cross insigne 
will be worn on the left sleeve. This consists 
of a red cross on the white triangle within a 
blue circle to indicate that the Aide has been 
enrolled and trained by the Red Cross for Civil- 
ian Defense. 
After the course is satisfactorily completed, a 
cap, made of the same blue material as the 
uniform, with a facing of white, will be worn. 
An Office of Civilian Defense-Red Cross insigne 
(1 Vi-inch) for Nurses’ Aides is sewed in the cen- 
ter front of the cap on the white facing. The 
Red Cross Volunteer Nurses’ Aide pin is awarded 
at this time and is worn at the center front 
of the jumper at the neck line. 
A white service stripe, to be worn over the 
left breast, may be awarded upon completion 
of the first 150 hours of volunteer service on 
hospital wards. A second stripe may be 
awarded upon completion of 500 hours of work 
in hospitals, clinics, or health organizations, and 
an additional stripe for each additional 500 
hours of like service thereafter. Service stripes 
are not given for administrative work. 
15—3364S-1 
3 Responsibilities of the Local 
Civilian Defense Volunteer Office 
1. To serve as a place of registration and to 
assist with the recruitment of Nurses’ Aides in 
cooperation with the Nurses’ Aide Committee 
of the Red Cross, on which the Volunteer Office 
is represented. 
2. Through the Information Committee of 
the Defense Council to give publicity to the 
need for Nurses’ Aides for wartime services in 
civilian hospitals and health departments as 
well as in Casualty Stations and with Mobile 
Medical Teams of the Emergency Medical 
Service. 
Responsibilities of the Local 
Chief of Emergency Medical Service 
1. To serve as an active member of the 
Nurses’ Aide Committee of the American Red 
Cross. 
2. To assist local chapters in concluding ar- 
rangements with appropriate general hospitals 
to serve as training centers. 
3. To arrange for induction of Nurses’ Aides 
into the Citizens Defense Corps as members 
of the Nurses’ Aide Unit. 
4. To plan in advance with the Red Cross 
Nurses’ Aide Committee and with hospitals for 
the assignment of Nurses’ Aides for emergency 
service with mobile medical teams in Casualty 
Stations and in hospitals. 
5. In emergencies for which local civilian 
defense authorities assume responsibility, to 
direct the activities of Nurses’ Aides assigned 
to the Emergency Medical Service and to 
obtain, through the Nurses’ Aide Committee, 
additional aides to meet the emergency needs 
of the community. 
Responsibilities of the Red Cross 
Volunteer Nurses9 Aide Committee 
1. To recruit volunteers for enrollment in 
cooperation with the Office of Civilian Defense. 
2. To interview and select candidates. 
3. To supervise the training and administer 
the service of the Corps. 
4. To coordinate the aide service with the 
program of the local Office of Civilian Defense. 
5. To safeguard standards. 
6. To determine local policies. 
Responsibility for the 
Assignment of Nurses9 Aides 
When the course is satisfactorily completed, 
the Red Cross Volunteer Nurses’ Aide Com- 
mittee serves as a placement agency for the 
assignment of Aides to hospitals, clinics, health 
departments, school health, and visiting nursing 
services. 
As members of the United States Citizens 
Defense Corps of the Office of Civilian Defense, 
Nurses’ Aides will be on call for emergency 
service in hospitals, in Casualty Stations, and 
with Mobile Medical Teams of the Emergency 
Medical Service. The Red Cross Volunteer 
Nurses’ Aide Committee will reassign Nurses’ 
Aides to such emergency duties upon request 
of the local Chief of Emergency Medical 
Service, who will keep currently informed of the 
needs in all local hospitals, health and field 
nursing organizations. Personal qualifications 
and family responsibilities will be taken into 
account in determining the type of duty for 
which Nurses’ Aides are to be called. Plans 
should be made in advance regarding the as- 
signment of Aides as members of Medical 
Teams or as assistants in Casualty Stations. 
The Aides should be instructed by a member 
of the Emergency Medical Service in the duties 
they will be expected to perform in time of 
emergency. 
ADDRESS OF NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 
AND JURISDICTIONS AND 
ADDRESSES OF AREA OFFICES 
AMERICAN RED CROSS, NATIONAL HEAD- 
QUARTERS, 17th and D Streets NW., Wash- 
ington, D. C. 
NORTH ATLANTIC AREA: 300 Fourth Avenue, 
New York, New York: 
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode 
Island, VerrAont. 
EASTERN AREA: 615 North St. Asaph Street, 
Alexandria, Virginia: 
Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, 
Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missis- 
sippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South 
Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia. 
MIDWESTERN AREA: 1709 Washington Avenue, 
St. Louis, Missouri: 
Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Mich- 
igan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New 
Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, 
Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming. 
PACIFIC AREA: Civic Auditorium, Larkin and 
Grove Streets, San Francisco, California: 
Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, 
Oregon, Utah, Washington. 
INSULAR AND FOREIGN OPERATIONS: 17th 
and D Streets NW., Washington, D. C.: 
Canal Zone, Guam, Hawaii, Philippine Islands, 
Puerto Rico, Samoa, Virgin Islands. 
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U. S. COVKRNMEMT PRISTINA OIFICI Ifr—33648-1