Nursing Timeline

Ainslay, Natalie, Courtney, Anusha, Ashasvi

1930

The "Heroine"

In 1982, Kalish and Kalish surveyed mass media, including print and non-print forms, and presented the five different images of nurses that were prevalent in different time periods.

The image of "The Heroine" existed from 1930 to 1945, and nurses were portrayed as dedicated, brave, rational, humanistic, and autonomous.

Impact of the Great Depression

The Great Depression "brought unemployment and hardship to nurses" (Allemang 1974, p.172), because of the crash in the stock market. People could no longer afford private working nurses, which was, at the time, the most guarenteed job for a nurse right out of school. The number of nurses working lowered each day and had a negative impact on societies.

The Great Depression also had a major effect on the Canadian Universities. Staff layoffs, reduced revenues and an increase in difficult working conditions, all had a huge impact on the declining number of graduating nurses, ultimately harming the overall health of societies.

McGill University 1930's

McGill was greatly impacted by the Great Depression, compared to other Universities. Because McGill was a privately funded school, after the crash, finances decreased, and paying bill was near to impossible. McGill tried for the longest time to create a nursing degree progam, but the crash was so impactful that the idea of creating the program was threatened to be forgotten. Bertha Harmer, the school's director, did not want to see this happen, and therefore gave up salary and raised money to see it thrive.

Bertha Harmer, sets a great example of a true leader. Her willingness to give up all she earned to open a program to upraise fine nurses impacted our society in a good way. She can also be a great role model to nurses, in that, many can learn the importance of self sacrifice and the need for putting others first.

During the past half century, The Canadian Nurse followed closely the careers of nurses such as Lieutenant-Colonel Harriett Sloan, a nurse who redefined the profession in World War II, and Dr. Helen Mussallem

The Weir Report

In 1932, Dr. George Weir reported the results of the first national study of nursing education. The CNA and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) focused on the nurses' worst fears including:

1. Conditions in the nursing schools being unacceptable

2. The health of students was put at risk and being compromised

3. Education was secondary compared to the hospital services.

The main outcome desired from the Weir Report was that nursing programs should be moved into the schools, and stray away from the hospitals. As stated above, nurses were taken advantage of, and because of Dr. Weir, the movement of educating in the schools began to flourish.

Nursing student numbers were already low due to the depression, and war was on its way. The demand for nursing increased drastically and change in the schooling was vital.

World War II

The First World War sought to improve nursing, yet when the Second World War came about, nursing continue to better itself. Flight and naval nurses were promoted, so that at the outbreak of war, people and hospitals were more prepared and ready for great injuries. Nurses gained administrative experience, which ultimately lead to furthering their career and offered leadership positions once the war was over.

"It was during this bloody war that one

learned and dared to be a nurse of the future."

(The Canadian

Nurse, 1966, p. 30).

A Nurse in the War

Being a nurse in the Army not only rewarded them with more income and authority, but also commended their acts of bravery and courage.

3,000 nurses volunteered to serve overseas in WWII, working eight hours on and eight hours off.

From there, nurses were able to give blood transfusions, and they had also improved anesthetics as well as penicillin.

Dr. Helen Mussallem

Dr Helen Mussallem, who herself fought in the war, stated that the war is another type of education. It forced many nurses to further their education. They were put into tough positions that required quick thinking. The War very much furthered the profession nursing is and bettered it for the good.

Growth in Nursing Education

During and after the war, a new interest in nursing education led to increased external university funding, more scholarships and bursaries from private foundations, the growth of existing schools, and the founding of new programs between 1941 and 1949.

Nursing Between 1930 - 1949

By 1930, there were approximately 330 nursing schools established in Canada.

Ash

Natalie

Anusha

Ainsley

Courtney

1932

1945

1949

In the 1930's, several five-year non integrated degree programs began at various Canadian universities in Canada, including University of Alberta, University of Ottawa, and the University of Western Ontario, l'Institut Marguerite d'Youville, and St. Francis Xavier University.

In 1930, the CNA became a federation of provincial associations.

Anusha

Natalie

Ash

Ainsley

Courtney

Anusha