2019 Veterans’ Week Poster

Maxine Bredt, a graduate from the Royal Jubilee Hospital, celebrated her 100th birthday on September 21, 2019. She recently received a quilt of valour and now is featured on the 2019 Veterans’ Week Poster.

2019 Veterans’ Week Poster

Canada remembers the Italian Campaign

This year Canada is observing the 75th anniversary of the Second World War’s Italian Campaign. It was one of our country’s most important contributions to the Allied war effort; more than 93,000 Canadians served in Italy from the summer of 1943 to early 1945. Our soldiers fought their way across the island of Sicily and up the boot of Italy across a challenging landscape of mountains and river valleys in the face of harsh weather conditions and a skilled enemy.

This special commemorative poster features Lieutenant Maxine Llewelyn Bredt. She was a Nursing Sister in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps who helped treat the sick and wounded during the Italian Campaign. A recent picture of Ms. Bredt in her former uniform is superimposed on an historical photo showing soldiers of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in the Sicilian town of Agira after capturing it in July 1943.

To see the poster click here https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/get-involved/remembrance-day/posters/2019

 

 

 

CAHN/ACHN Call for Abstracts

CAHN/ ACHN ANNUAL CONFERENCE;

June 10-12, 2020  in Ottawa, Ont

“Care in Conflict: Health Care Under Tension”

Deadline for submission:  December 1, 2019

The history of nursing is deeply marked by conflicts. Whether it is the struggle for professional identity, engagement in military conflicts as medical staff, or the various sociopolitical barriers as nurses sought to carry out their nursing practice. It is this tension, inherent in the history of nursing, that we wish to explore during this conference.
Papers touching on the broadly defined themes of tension and conflict within nursing and healthcare are welcome. The aim will be to highlight the different facets of conflicts in the history of health care.
Abstracts on other topics related to the history of nursing and health care will also be reviewed by the selection committee.

Please submit a one-page abstract (250 words max.) and a one page CV for consideration to the Online form.

August 29,2019 UBC Student Nurse Orientation

Two Nurses from “the past” addressed the incoming class of nursing students.  Cheryl Entwistle & Sheila Zerr dressed in costume to share traditions of nursing and “what it means to be a nurse”. Cheryl & Sheila are teachers at heart and enjoyed their time with the students, and they even attracted some Dental Students to share with.

A special program commemorating 100 years of academic nursing education at UBC, 1919 – 2019

BCHNS conference participants Lynne Esson and Irene Goldstone with Dr. Alice Baumgart in the audience
Geertje Boschma

 

The joint conference of the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine and the Canadian Association for the History of Nursing, held during the Congress 2019 at UBC from June 1 – 3, was host to a special program celebrating the centenary of the UBC School of Nursing. In a pre-lunch seminar session Geertje Boschma (UBC) and Margaret Scaia (UVic) examined the start and beginning decades of the first nursing degree program in Canada at UBC. They highlighted the contextual influences of public health and higher education that shaped the course of the degree program, and explored its meaning for women who took the program in the 1950s and 1970s.Continue reading

“Who is Taking Care of History?”

                     

2019 BCHF Annual Conference

                        June 6 – 9, 2019, Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland B.C.

 

Glennis Zilm and Nan Martin were delighted to represent our Society at yet another very successful BC Historical Federation conference in Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland. The meetings took place in the historic Native Sons Hall in Courtenay.  Many activities and events included fascinating local and historical information from passionate keynote speakers, field trips, and as always, an elegant BC Book Prize Gala. An Ideas Fair was added this year – see attached photos of the BCHNS half table display. Look for a detailed report in our summer newsletter.

Nursing Sister Maxine Bredt receives a Quilt of Valor

Joanne Whitelaw, daughter of the late June Newton, sent us an e-mail telling us that her mother’s friend and fellow nursing sister Maxine Bredt, had recently received a Quilt of Valor.   Maxine, a graduate of the Royal Jubilee Hospital served with her classmate June at hospitals in Italy and England during World War II.

The mission of the Quilt of Valour Society is “to ensure that injured Canadian Forces members are recognized for their service and commitment to our country. We give this support through the presentation of quilts to comfort our past and present Canadian Forces members.” To learn more about the Society visit https://www.quiltsofvalour.ca/about-qovc.html

Maxine was thrilled and honored to receive a quilt. Joanne plans to visit her mother’s friend later in the month and will share more pictures with us.

Nursing Sister Jessie Middleton passes away.

Jessie Middleton (nee Lee) 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 service in celebration and remembrance of Jessie’s life will be held at 2 pm on Friday June 7th at Trinity Memorial United Church in Abbotsford.

To read Jessie’s full obituary and find out more about her remarkable life as a Canadian nursing sister, here are some links:

https://www.abbynews.com/obituaries/jessie-annie-middleton-nee-lee/

http://elinorflorence.com/blog/canadian-nurses-wartime

 

UBC GALA a smashing success

The UBC Centenary Gala, May 2 2019 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver was a smashing success!!  In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the School of Nursing, 100 nurses were featured, who have over the years have made nursing proud. Dr Elizabeth Saewyc, Director of the School of Nursing gave the delightful award presentations and closing remarks.  BCHNS members were well represented in this evening event and several received awards.

The Vancouver Fairmont provided a beautiful setting in the BC Ballroom and served a top notch dinner for this grand occasion.  To see the list of awardees go to https://nursing-alumni.sites.olt.ubc.ca/100awardees/  For more photos please click on this link https://nursing.ubc.ca/gala-100.

 

 

CONGRESS OF THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 2019

Date: 01 Jun 2019 — 07 Jun 2019

Presented by: Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences | UBC

Room: Various UBC Point Grey sites

Unrivaled in scope and impact, the annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences is the convergence of over 70 scholarly associations, each holding their annual conference under one umbrella. Now in its 88th year, this flagship event is much more than Canada’s largest gathering of scholars. Congress brings together academics, researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners to share findings, refine ideas, and build partnerships that will help shape the Canada of tomorrow.

The joint conference of the Canadian Association for the History of Nursing and the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine will be part of the congress, from June 1st – 3rd.

A special program to commemorate 100 years of university nursing education in Canada and the UBC School of Nursing’s Centenary and is included on June 3.

For information on the joint CSHM – CAHN conference, visit the website of the Canadian Association for the History of Nursing: https://cahn-achn.ca/

Or the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine, annual conference: https://cshm-schm.ca/

For the preliminary program: https://cahn-achn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/70-cshm-schm-2019-04-07-DRAFT2.pdf

For information on conference registration and accommodation: https://www.congress2019.ca/register [register with the CSHM, Society #70, at the Congress]

Visit www.congress2019.ca for more details.