The geographic distribution of the students on the dates noted were:
Dental
' June 1950
Saipan. ee
Tinian.
Rota... co
Yap ce ee ee .
Ponape*
Le ee tee,
Majuro. oc ee
Kwajalein...........-.....-. tee pee ee ee
Wwiw WI AO OOO
Island
Nursing
June 1949
—
cs
OB ee OO Ot
|
Medical
June 1950
*Includes Kusaite.
One class was graduated from the School of Medical Assistants
during the period of naval administration. The twelve graduatesreceived their diplomas in December ro50 and returned to their home
districts to begin their internships in the dispensaries. No dental
assistants completed the dental course before the transfer of admuinistration to the Departmentof the Interior. A total of approximately
35 nurses from the Trust Territory were graduated from the Schoolof
Nursing before July 1951; of those, 23 were employed as of that date.
Attrition was high among the medical and dental students and
was usually traceable to lack of fluency in English and of preparation
in basic science. The whole problem of medical and dental training
was reviewed at various times but nosatisfactory substitute for the
Guam schools was devised. The Governor of Guam (GovGuam)
suggested, in the spring of rgqg, that students should be sent to schools
in the United States but his recommendation was disapproved along
the entire chain of command: the Fleet Medical Officer noted that the
students were not educationally prepared for schooling abroad and
the cost would be too high; '* DepCinCPacfeared that they would not
want to return to their islands after living in the United States;
HiComTerPacls stated that this country had a “moral obligation” to
provide means to train medical and dental assistants and that such
training was the “keystone of the medical program.” ”
CinCPacFlt MedOfF memo. n. d.
“ DepCinCPac memo dud 10 May 4g.
‘ HiComTerPaclsltr ser 003 dtd 24 Mav 4¢
930
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