July 18, 1982

AS if it didn't have enough worries of its own, Pan American World Airways is now fighting to dispel the ghost of Braniff International. Shades of the now-bankrupt airline seem to be almost everywhere. The three men charged with the task of rescuing beleaguered Pan Am - C. Edward Acker, John J. Casey and Russell Thayer - are all former presidents of Braniff. And Pan Am's advertising agency is none other than Wells, Rich, Greene, which was responsible for Braniff's jellybean-colored planes in the 1960's, and whose chairman, Mary Wells, just happens to be married to Harding Lawrence, who for 15 years was Braniff's chief executive. Such coincidences have not escaped the notice of Pan Am's employees, particularly those at corporate headquarters. ''Welcome to Bran Am,'' quipped a secretary on the 46th floor of the airline's Park Avenue offices, reflecting the gallows humor that might be expected at a company struggling for survival and one that has so many personal ties with the first major American carrier to go under.

The summer solstice has passed and the sound of the music festival is now heard in the land. A distinct and unmistakable sound, like the muffled beating of drums, it emanates from the offices of impresarios and publicity directors. It is insistent and not to be ignored, obviously sending important messages of some sort. But what messages? What may we hope to learn from, say, this year's commemorative celebrations in behalf of Stravinsky and Haydn? Perhaps very little beyond the obvious fact that the promoters of summer concert series, now generically and indiscriminately called festivals, are in constant need of a theme around which to build their programs. From an educational standpoint, neither of those composers can be said to be in need of exposure. They both are, in fact, popular entertainers, using the words in their best and most respectable senses.

Bobby Clampett nearly gave away the British Open today, but luckily for him no one took it. That could happen Sunday in the final round, because half a dozen players were within four strokes of him. After five holes, the 22-year-old Clampett had a seven-stroke lead in what appeared to be a runaway. But by the end of the day, he was leading by only one, and the tournament was competitive again. The leader in the first two rounds, Clampett lost six strokes to par, three on the par-5 sixth hole. He finished with a 78 in the third round at the Royal Troon Golf Club for a total of 211, five under for 54 holes.

MINEOLA WHEN Alice Brown of Merrick graduated from Molloy College's nursing school recently, she received job offers from four hospitals on Long Island. The personnel directors at two of the hospitals called so often while she was considering their proposals, she said, that she was tempted to take her phone off the hook. In the end, she passed up all the local offers to take a job in a hospital in Houston. Miss Brown's decision illustrates a growing problem for Long Island hospitals - the recruiting of nurses. Out of 1,000 graduates this year from the six nursing schools on the Island (Molloy, Adelphi, Stony Brook, Nassau Community, Farmingdale, Southampton), 600 have left the Island. In addition, the number of nursing graduates from Long Island institutions has been steadily declining. According to Edward Smith, a spokesman for the Nassau County Medical Center in East Meadow, the number of nurse graduates in New York State last year was 10,000, as compared with 14,000 three years ago, and the number graduated on the Island dropped to an approximate total of 1,000 from 1,400 three years ago.

Some of the most expensive apartments in Manhattan are taking shape on the top floors of the Barbizon Hotel at 63d Street and Lexington Avenue and will go on the market Aug. 2. The 18th to 22d floors of the hotel have been divided into four condominiums.