Elizabeth (Walton) Fitzpatrick

Honourary Membership received April 11, 2013

After an interesting, illustrious, and rewarding nursing career, mainly in nurse-midwifery, Beth  devoted 20 years to helping establish a strong history of nursing presence in British Columbia. Her hard work with the BCHNS, especially in communications, has helped make the Society internationally known and recognized. She has been the mainstay of the History of Nursing Newsletter for the last 15 years, taking over as editor of a small newsletter and transforming it into a worthy publication.  She writes for almost every issue, and has encouraged and developed writers for its pages – and for other publications as well.

Beth's dedication to improved communications  led to development of an award-winning  website for the Society at a time when similar organizations were not yet involved with this then-new social media. She continued to be involved throughout the growing pains of website development and helped shepherd it into a viable and valuable social media outlet that promotes knowledge of history of nursing and provides an unparalleled “virtual museum and archives” site. She continues to encourage the Society’s further involvement in use of newer social media such as twitter and Facebook.

Beth Fitzpatrick is entirely deserving of recognition by the BC History of Nursing Society through a Lifetime Membership Award.

In 2014 Beth received the Alumni Recognition Award from the UBC School of Nursing. This award recognizes her pioneer work in nurse-midwifery and her significant contributions to the BC History of Nursing Society.

In 2019 she was selected to receive the UBC School of Nursing Centenary Medal of Distinction. The award was established in celebration of the School’s one hundred years of university=based nursing education.  Medal winners have brought high honor to the School or to the profession of nursing.