To the 2023 Directors of the BCHNS

President: Geertje Boschma

Hello everyone! I am looking forward to meeting and working with all of you! I am a professor at the UBC-V School of Nursing and teach in the undergraduate and graduate programs. My research centers on the history of nursing and mental health care. I am faculty-co-lead of the Consortium for Nursing History Inquiry in the School of Nursing, and a longstanding member of the BCHNS. I am excited to join the BCHNS board as its president, and to work with a great and committed group of people.

 

Vice President: Lenore Radom

Hello to all, I am pleased to join this new team of Directors for the BCHNS Board, who have willingly stepped forward to lead the group. I have been an active member, participating on several committees, mainly Chair of the BCHNS website. We look forward to your continued support.

 

Treasurer: Marg Gorrie

Hello, my name is Marg Gorrie, and I am pleased to join the BCHNS board in the role of Treasurer. My interest in nursing history is centered on psychiatric/mental health nursing and community nursing. Prior to retirement, I taught in the Bachelor of Science Nursing program at BCIT.

 

Secretary: Michelle Danda

Hello there! I am a Registered Nurse (RN) experienced in professional practice, healthcare informatics, mental health, substance use, and harm reduction. I am also a doctoral candidate in the School of Nursing at the University of Alberta. My research is on the history of Registered Practical Nurse education in BC.

Kathy Murphy receives Honourary Membership

The BC History of Nursing Society (BCHNS) held its Annual General Meeting on April 11, 2023. The highlight of the meeting was the presentation of Honourary Membership to Kathy Murphy who has been our President for the past 14 years.

 

Kathy’s commitment to leadership in the BCHNS is commendable. Her dedicated efforts on behalf of the Society will continue to strengthen nursing history and honour its past. Congratulations, Kathy!

 

 

To read Kathy’s complete nomination, written by Lenore Radom BCHNS Vice President, on behalf of the Board and members, click here.

February 2023 BC Historical Federation BUZZ

This issue of the Buzz is archived at https://tinyurl.com/48kjaun6.

The February issue has several interesting articles and video presentations for your reading and viewing pleasure.

Supporter of BCHNS Lisa Anne Smith  recently spoke to the Vancouver Historical Society about the historic Old Hastings Mill Store Museum, Vancouver’s oldest surviving building (c. 1868).

BCHNS member Anne Wyness is author of The Larder of the Wise, a book which tells the story of James Inglis Reid Ltd. a Vancouver business which operated from 1908 to 1986. Anne appears in conversation about the business in a video from the Museum of Vancouver.

CTV’s Mike McCardell has The Last Word on Amelia Douglas the Indigenous woman who was the wife of B.C.’s first governor, and how she changed history.

MOVING ON….BEST WISHES

ThinkTechnica.com Anita Petersen

Anita Peterson, our web site diva and graphic designer of the BC History of Nursing Society Newsletter, has worked behind the scenes  for many years creating our attractive, readable newsletters and our award winning website.

She is now moving forward in her career and recently shared this with Lynne Esson the BCHNS Newsletter Chair: “It is with regret that I need to inform you that I can no longer work on the newsletters. My business has changed focus in the past few years and I am doing much more intense strategic development for my clients.

The level of work I have been doing does need to be taken over by a graphic designer and I have suggested that Cassidy Mantle, a designer I have worked with would easily be able to move forward with you. Cassidy is a young designer with the right experience and is easy to work with, kind, responsive and considerate.

I have loved working on the newsletters (46 in number!) and wish you the best in the future, I will, of course be on hand to help transition to Cassidy.”

Cassidy Mantle

Best Wishes Anita moving forward in your career, we ‘Thank you’ for sharing your creativity, talents and special ‘care’ for nurses over the years,  knowing though, you are still there for our website!!

A very warm welcome to Cassidy producing Newsletters and assisting with Website!!

Remembering Jessie Middleton (1916-2019)

Jessie Lee Middleton passed away peacefully on May 22, 2019, at the age of 102. The youngest of 12 children, she was born and raised on the family farm in Murrayville BC. She entered the nursing program at the Royal Columbian Hospital and graduated in September of 1939 just one day after Canada declared war on Germany. Eager to serve her country, Jessie joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1942 and nursed injured soldiers both in Canada and England. She considered this work as “the greatest privilege for me.”

A recent book by author Elise Baker highlights Jessie’s life and wartime experiences and her picture wearing a Bluebird uniform is featured on the book cover. In Nightingales, Bluebirds, and Angels of Mercy (October 2022) the author tells true stories of the courage and heroism of nurses from the United States. United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand who served on the front line in WWll.

These stories of nurse’s courage, bravery and heroism are truly inspiring and will not be forgotten.

2022 Nursing History Symposium

Public Health and Pandemic Caring in Context

November 8, 2022 at 9:30 am PT
at the Cecil Green Park House ($10 admission – lunch will be served) and online via Zoom (free)*

with Dr. Esyllt Jones, University of Manitoba

Pandemic Caring: public health nursing and community in the history of infectious disease

Dr. Esyllt W. Jones is a professor of history at the University of Manitoba. Her research interests include history of health, public health and pandemic history. She is the author of Influenza 1918: Disease, Death and Struggle in Winnipeg, and co-editor of the recently published Medicare’s Histories: Origins, Omissions and Opportunities in Canada (2022).

PROGRAM

9.30    Registration and refreshments
10.00  Opening Remarks – Geertje Boschma
Reflecting on the Legacy of Helen Shore
10.20    Keynote with Dr. Esyllt Jones | discussion
11.15    Break
11.45    Panel discussion with:
Dr. Susan Duncan, Professor, School of Nursing, University of Victoria
Dr. Sonya Grypma, Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia
Dr. Alison Phinney, Professor, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia
Dr. Mariko Sakamoto, Alzheimer Society of Canada Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Social Work, UBC
12.45    Closing remarks –     Elizabeth Saewyc
12.55    Lunch

*A ZOOM LINK WILL BE SENT TO ALL PARTICIPANTS ONE DAY BEFORE THE EVENT
If you registered “in person” but find you are not able to attend at Cecil Green Park on November 8, you are welcome to attend online. The event will be recorded for those unable to attend at all.

REGISTER

 

The Nursing World Pays Tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

ICN extends heartfelt condolences on the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

Geneva, Switzerland; 09 September 2022 – The International Council of Nurses (ICN) sends
a sincere message of condolence to King Charles III and the Royal Family, and all those
affected by the sad loss of Queen Elizabeth II.

ICN has sent messages of support and solidarity to the Royal College of Nursing, the Queen’s
Nursing Institute in the UK, as well as the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation,
all of whom have been profoundly and personally touched by the death of the Queen.

On behalf of the global nursing community, ICN expresses its heartfelt best wishes to King
Charles III and the Royal Family who are mourning the loss of their matriarch. The world’s
nurses are also mourning her passing as well as giving thanks for a remarkable life of service
that has made the world a better place and was the embodiment of public service.

ICN President Pamela Cipriano said, “The world’s nursing family mourns her passing and
sends a message of solidarity to Charles III and the Royal Family at this profoundly difficult
time. The Queen’s care, courage, and compassion shone out strongly across the globe, and
her values reflected those of nurses. She was a stalwart global leader, an inspirational figure,
and deeply respected. We pay tribute to her life of dedication and service.”

ICN CEO Howard Catton said, “As a British nurse I know that she has been a constant part of
our lives for as long as many of us remember, having carried her people through some of the
most difficult of times and this will be felt as a personal loss. It’s important now to mourn, to
share and give thanks. She’s gone but her values live on – her ability to care, unite, lead and
to make us smile and that’s a legacy nurses will commit to continue.”

Her patronage and support for Nursing during her reign around the world was steadfast. Most
recently she spoke personally to the President of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives
Federation, Professor Kathleen McCourt, on International Nurses Day to again express her
appreciation and gratitude to nurses.

Professor McCourt said “On behalf of the Commonwealth  Nurses and Midwives Federation
may I express sincere condolences to the Royal Family at this very sad time. The Queen will
be greatly missed by all, but her legacy will remain and her commitment to the nursing and
midwifery professions will never be forgotten.”

As the Head of State in 15 countries and a Global leader, the Queen promoted understanding,
collaboration and unity and showed a quiet strength that she deployed for the common good.
In her Queen’s Speech in 2020, Her Majesty personally thanked nurses and other healthcare
workers for their service and sacrifice during the pandemic.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

RCN President Dr. Denise Chaffer, expressing her condolences said, “Her Majesty was
admired and respected by nursing staff from across the world for the way she tirelessly
championed nurses and nursing issues.”
‘As patron of the Royal College of Nursing, she met with thousands of nursing staff and always
took enormous interest in our work. The royal family are in our thoughts at this very difficult
time.”

The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) expressed its sorrow and gratitude to the Queen for a life
of service and said the Institute and the Queen’s Nurses would always be inextricably linked
to the Queen as their Royal Patron.
Dr Crystal Oldman, QNI Chief Executive said, “We are deeply saddened by the death of
Queen Elizabeth II, our Patron. She was an outstanding supporter of the QNI and nursing,
both nationally in the UK and internationally in the many years of her reign.”

Messages from National Nurses Associations all around the world speak to a shared loss of
a woman, mother and queen who exemplified nursing values and will be greatly missed.