In Caps and Gowns: The Story of the School for Graduate Nurses, McGill University, 1920-1964 9780773594005

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IN CAPS AND GOWNS

The Story of

I

The School for Graduate Nurses McGill University 1920-1964

CAPS

ND G WNS Barbara Logan Tunis, B.N.

PUBLISHED FOR THE FLORA MADELINE SHAW MEMORIAL FUND COMMITTEE AND THE ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION OF THE SCHOOL FOR GRADUATE NURSES BY

McGILL UNIVERSITY PRESS MONTREAL, I966

Copyright Canada 1966 by McGill University Press All rights reserved PRINTED IN CANADA

DEDICATED TO FLORA MADELINE SHAW Never was a school with such a splendid record of almost fifty years founded with less ceremony than this one. GRACE M. FAIRLEY

Foreword

he fiftieth anniversary of the McGill School for Graduate Nurses will take place in 1970, and it has been the ardent wish of many of its graduates that a record of these years, many fraught with grave anxieties, but many with great achievements, be recorded. The story of unremitting zeal and dedication of a few members of the nursing profession and a few generous and able supporters in getting the School established against formidable odds is one of both historical and human interest. It is difficult now in 1966 to realize the attitude of most "seats of higher learning" in 1920 to recognizing professional schools such as ours, as a part of their establishments. Nursing with its long history of apprenticeship training and comparatively low educational entrance requirements, was especially vulnerable. It therefore had a long uphill battle to gain recognition of vii

its new status as a profession with high standards of practice and educational requirements. The Alumnae Association, and The Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee, spurred on by the indomitable will and perseverance of Miss Fanny Upton, R.R.C., raised $40,000.00 to keep the School financed during the period McGill was unable to do so; and then raised $50,000.00 more to endow the "Flora Madeline Shaw Chair of Nursing". We wish to record our thanks to the Governors of McGill University for accepting this token amount for the Chair and granting our request. The history of the first forty-six years is now written and presented to the many hundreds of past graduates of the School and to the many future graduates as an inspiration to these members of the nursing profession, trusting that they will continue to support the School in every way possible. It is the duty of all of us to make sure that the heroic efforts of our predecessors were not in vain, and that this story will be an inspiration to us all. We owe a great debt of thanks to our author, Mrs. Barbara Tunis, who has worked under almost impossible conditions to collect the material. We trust that this story will be thought of not only as a history of the School for Graduate Nurses, McGill University, but also as an important part of the history of the development of higher education in nursing in Canada. On behalf of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee I commend this story to all our nurses. Eileen C. Flanagan CHAIRMAN, FLORA MADELINE SHAW MEMORIAL FUND COMMITTEE

MONTREAL MARCH, i966

VI"

Preface

his is a history of the struggle for higher education for nurses at one Canadian university. The resolution of the Alumnae Association and the unfailing effort of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee led to the establishment of a Chair of Nursing at the School for Graduate Nurses, McGill University, in 1957. This event had been foreseen by the first director of the School, Flora Madeline Shaw, and was the final outcome of thirty years work by the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee. Graduates of the School, determined to make nursing education an integral part of the university, raised more than $5o,000 towards an endowment. In addition, the Alumnae Association carried all expenses of the School at a period when it would have been closed down for lack of funds. This devotion is the background against which the story is told. Flora Madeline Shaw set a pattern of dedication to the School and to the cause of higher education for nurses. x

Each subsequent director has shown the same high-mindedness and singleness of purpose and, in her own way, has woven herself into the fabric of the School. Graduates are interwoven in the tapestry of nursing in Canada and throughout the world. Wherever they have gone, nursing has been the richer, for something of the spirit of the School has, in turn, been woven into their lives. The writing of the history has been an interesting and rewarding task; but without the co-operation, assistance, and encouragement of numerous graduates and friends of the School, it could not have been accomplished. First, the author is indebted to the late Isabel M. Stewart, a foremost authority on nursing history, for her enthusiastic approval of the initiation of the project. Her personal interest was an inspiration and challenge; her assistance and that of Anne L. Austin are gratefully acknowledged. Secondly, without the "memories" of Grace M. Fairley, the early history of the School could not have come so readily alive. For her help, encouragement, and keen interest, the author is deeply grateful. Thirdly, friends and family of the first three directors gave invaluable assistance: Florence Rothwell, close friend of Flora Madeline Shaw; J. Eric Hossack, nephew of Bertha Harmer; Mrs. Elena MacKay, sister of Marion Lindeburgh. It is impossible to acknowledge all who have contributed by letter or interview, but included are: Mabel K. Holt, Mrs. J. T. Allan (M.A. McCammon), Mrs. Mary Young, Caroline V. Barrett, Ann Peverly, the late Frances (Reed) Fisher. E. A. Electa MacLennan, whose association with Marion Lindeburgh covered many years, provided extensive background material. Helene Lamont made available interesting documents pertaining to Mabel Hersey and Sir Arthur Currie. The following persons granted access to minutes pertinent to the School: Helena Reimer, Secretary-Treasurer of the Association of Nurses of the Province of Quebec; Colin M. McDougall, Registrar, McGill University; J. H. Holton, Secretary to the Board of Governors, McGill University; Dr. E. H. Bensley, Vice-Dean of Medicine, McGill University. Appreciation is extended to the staff of The Canadian Nurse, particularly Margaret E. Kerr, Editor, and Jean E. MacGregor, formerly Associate Editor; and to Cecile Desbarats, librarian, Osler Library. Mrs. Lydia Pope, formerly librarian of the School for Graduate Nurses was x

also ever ready to render assistance. The staff of the School provided space to work, patient listening, constructive comment. In particular, Rae Chittick and Elizabeth Logan gave guidance, support, and helpful criticism. Finally, acknowledgement is made to the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee, whose vision has now become fact. Blanche G. Herman and Eileen C. Flanagan have been active on behalf of the Alumnae Association for over thirty years. Their contributions to the School, and those of all alumnae, are recorded in these pages. This is their story. Barbara Logan Tunis MONTREAL, ig65

xi

Contents

FOREWORD

Vii

PREFACE I

iX

Today or Not at All

1

II A Genius for Organization

9

III "Course Endorsed. Hurrah!"

17

IV Miss Shaw's Sweet Summer

25

V A Crisis Curbs Achievement

37

VI One Foot in the Door

53

VII With Peace, the First Degrees

69

VIII A Remarkable Piece of Work

81

IX One Gives What One Can X The Chair that Graduates Built

93 105

A: Development of Professional Nursing Associations in Canada

119

B: Programme of Study for Students Attending the School for Graduate Nurses 1920-21

123

APPENDIX

C: Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund

132

APPENDIX

D: Alumnae Association 1921-64

139

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

141

INDEX

147

i. Grace M. Fairley, circa

1920

2. Mabel F. Hersey

3. Helen R. Y. Reid, Member of the second class of women to graduate from McGill University

IN HONOUR AND LOVING MEMORY OF

FLORA MADELINE SIIAW

4. Plaque honouring Flora Madeline Shaw which may be seen in the main lobby of Livingstone Hall, Montreal General Hospital OPPOSITE

5. Flora Madeline Shaw, Director of The School for Graduate Nurses, 192o-27

GRADUATE OF THIS SCHOOL 189d INS1 Nl1c LOR AT THE MG H IN THE FIRST PRELIMINARY COURSE IN NURSING ELMIC,ATION ESIABLISHED IN CANADA 1906 FIRST DIRECTOR SCHOOL FOR GRADUATE NURSES MSGILL UNIVERSITY 1920-1927 PRESIDENT THE CANADIAN NURSES ASSOCIATION 1926-1927 BORN JAN-ISL"1864 ENTERED INTO LIFE AUG 27,111927 (TLcTIS ST THC ALUVNAC ASSOCIATION . CC THE VONTSIAL CENTRAL HOSPITAL /7. SCHOOL POT NUNSLS

;i ■A

6. Bertha Harmer, Director of The School for Graduate Nurses, 1928-34

7. Marion Lindeburgh, Acting Director of The School for Graduate Nurses, 1934-39; Director, 1939-51

8. Rae Chittick, Director of The School for Graduate Nurses, 1953-63

9. Elizabeth Logan, Director of The School for Graduate Nurses, 1963-

io. Mary Samuel

1 i. Anne Slattery, Assistant Director of The School for Graduate Nurses, 1924-27 and 1928-29; Acting Director, 1927-28

12. Mary S. Mathewson, Assistant Director of The School for Graduate Nurses, 1933-46

13. E. Frances Upton

14. Eileen Flanagan

is. Blanche G. Herman

r

b••••••r

16. 348o University Street, near corner of Milton Street, on site of present McConnell Engineering Building

-40

17. Beatty Memorial Hall, 1266 Pine Avenue West

18. Morris Wilson Hall, McGill University,

3506 University Street

19. First graduating class of The School for Graduate Nurses, May 1921

20. First nurses to receive B.N. degree from McGill University, May 1946. From left to rigl►t,lr.ont row: Julie Walters, Marguerite Palmer, Ann-Bernice Connors, Barbara Logan, Frances Winchester. Back row: Jessie Portcus, Marian Thompson, Jean McLean, Helen Bright

zi. Students of five-year degree programme in Basic Nursing receive direction from Miss Moyra Allen

22. Seminar in the Master's programme, The School for Graduate Nurses. Left to right: Dr. Rae Chittick, Evelyn (Rocque) Malowany, Kathleen Dier, Irma Riley, Elizabeth Logan, Helen Moogk

Photographs by: Wm Norman & Son, nos. t, 8, 12, 13, 15, 22 Business & Industrial Photographers Ltd., no. at Coronet Studio Inc., no. 9 Canada Wide Photo, no. 3

Illustrations

i. Grace M. Fairley 2. Mabel F. Hersey 3. Helen R. Y. Reid 4. Plaque honouring Flora Madeline Shaw 5. Flora Madeline Shaw 6. Bertha Harmer 7. Marion Lindeburgh 8. Rae Chittick 9. Elizabeth Logan io. Mary Samuel ii. Anne Slattery 12. Mary S. Mathewson 13. E. Frances Upton 14. Eileen Flanagan is. Blanche G. Herman 16. 348o University Street 17. Beatty Memorial Hall i8. Morris Wilson Hall 19. First graduating class 20. First nurses to receive B.N. degree 21. Students of five-year degree programme 22. Seminar in Master's programme

Chapter I

Today or Not at All

Vi

he years immediately followingWorld War provided fertile soil for the seeds of higher education for women in America. It was a time of professional ferment and assessment.Women had obtained the vote; their self-assertion was gradually preparing the gound for acceptance in the wider fields of professions then considered "for men only." The United States had first admitted women to universities in 1837. In Canada, Mount Allison University led the way, opening its doors to women in 1862. Augusta Stowe-Gullen of Toronto, and Maude Abbott of Quebec, were pioneers in medicine.' The first woman lawyer was admitted to the Bar in 1895.2 1. Augusta Stowe-Gullen, M.D. (1855-1942), M.D. (Victoria College, Cobourg) 1883, first woman physician to be trained entirely in Canada; Maude Elizabeth Seymour Abbott, B.A., M.D. (1869-1940), B.A. (McGill) 1890, M.D. (Bishop's College) 1894, LLD (McGill) 1910. Dr. Abbott and Dr. Victoria (Ritchie) England, B.A. (McGill) 1888, M.D., were the first women medical students at the Montreal General Hospital, (1890). 2. Clara Brett Martin, admitted to the Ontario Bar, 1895. I

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

McGill University, which had provided Arts courses for women since the foundation of Royal Victoria College in 18843, was reluctant to admit women to courses in medicine, dentistry, or commerce. The Faculty of Law had graduated its first woman student in 1914;4 but it was the pressure of the post-war years which compelled the university to accept women in other faculties. The years 1918-19 saw registration of women in Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Commerce, and Agriculture. Young ladies taking Physical Education were now admitted to the same classes as men. Two new departments uniquely designed for women were established: Household Science and The School of Social Study and Training, today known as The School of Social Work. Nurses, too, were anxious to improve their educational background. There was a broadening concept of the meaning of "profession." Liberal education as well as practical training was becoming requisite for nurses. Those who had served overseas felt a need for further education to cope with scientific and technical changes wrought by the war. Public health nursing, which was gaining momentum in Canada, required special preparation. Higher educational standards in hospital training schools, brought about by the enactment of registration laws for nurses in successive provinces, demonstrated the need of specially prepared teachers and supervisors in schools of nursing. In Quebec, Montreal nursing leaders were to take the initiative in securing higher education for nurses. With a view to obtaining provincial registration and raising standards in smaller hospitals, a small group of nurses formed the Graduate Nurses' Association of Montreal in July, 1917. This was the forerunner of the Association of Nurses of the Province of Quebec5, which in 1964 boasted a membership of 23,000 nurses. 3. Royal Victoria College, founded in 1884 as a College of McGill University by Donald A. Smith, Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal. Today all women undergraduates at McGill are automatically members of the R.V.C. whether in residence or not. 4. Mrs. Annie Langstaff, D.c.L. (McGill)1914. Because of her sex, she was refused admission to the Bar. Women in Quebec were not admitted to the Bar until 1942. 5. The Graduate Nurses' Association of Montreal was dissolved in 1920 to be known subsequently as the Association of Registered Nurses of the Province of Quebec. In 1946 a new act created the present association under the name of the Association of Nurses of the Province of Quebec. For the history of the A.R.N.P.Q., see E. F. Upton, An Experiment in Mutual Understanding, (Montreal, 1945).

2

TODAY OR NOT AT ALL

In 1917, the Graduate Nurses' Association of Montreal was a small but dedicated group under the leadership of two nurses of vision and purpose. These were Grace M. Fairley, President, Lady Superintendent of the Alexandra Hospital, and Mabel F. Hersey, Secretary, Superintendent of Nurses at the Royal Victorial Hospital. These two women, backed by the pioneer association, were to be personally responsible for persuading the Faculty of Medicine at McGill to consider plans to establish a School for Graduate Nurses at the university. Miss Fairley had come to Canada in 1912 from Scotland, where she had attended Edinburgh Ladies College and Edinburgh School of Home Economics before training in nursing at the Swansea General Hospital, Wales. She was to make a significant contribution to the nursing profession in Canada, both in providing leadership in its professional organizations, and in raising standards of nursing education through her administrative skill. She was to become, subsequently, Superintendent of Nurses at three Canadian general hospitals.' Miss Hersey, an Ontario-born graduate of the Royal Victoria Hospital, had been its Superintendent since 1908, one of the few Canadiantrained nurses to hold a comparable position at that time. She too was to prove one of Canada's outstanding nurses and to attain international recognition. For her contribution to nursing education, she was to receive, on her retirement from the Royal Victorial Hospital in 193 8, an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from McGill University, the first of her profession to be thus honoured. But in 1918 this was a possibility undreamed of. Had the thought of such an honour crossed her mind, it would have been lightly dismissed, for the struggle for university education for nurses in Canada was just beginning. Miss Fairley recalls the turmoil of the time: We were so busy during those early years, 1912-20, and took ourselves quite seriously. We had no Provincial Association till 1919, our only professional organization being a Montreal Graduate Nurses' Association, Dorchester Street, and in which many of the early conference and committee meetings of what developed into the McGill School were held. Nineteen-fourteen found us in the throes of war, 6. These were the Hamilton General Hospital (1919-24), the Victoria General Hospital, London (5924-29), and the Vancouver General Hospital (1929-44). While at the Victoria General Hospital, she played a part in the creation of the School of Nursing at the University of Western Ontario.

3

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

Øy of the McGill Medical Faculty were overseas, as was the first Montreal Nursing Unit. Hospitals were under-staffed (the 1918 influenza epidemic crippled all hospitals), and it was no easy matter to find time to consider anything quite so important as a Collegiate School for Graduate Nurses.?

Provincial associations were part of a long history of increasing selfgovernment for nurses. As they formed across Canada, they affiliated with the Canadian National Association of Trained Nurses (C.N.A.T.N., later the Canadian Nurses' Association, C.N.A.) . This group and its parent association, the Canadian Association of Nurse Education, (c.A.N.E.) laid the foundations for nursing education in Canada as we know it today .8 In 1918 and 1919, they were sounding boards for increasingly vocal overtures towards Canadian universities. In the wake of the United States which had established its first basic nursing programme affiliated with a university in 1909, and by 1918 had twentyone schools affiliated with universities, nurse educators in Canada began to seek admission for nurses at Canadian institutions of higher learning. Up until the year 1919, Canadian nurses wishing to further their education had to go to the United States to do so. Many of these did not return to Canada. Canadian women, indeed, played a significant part in the development of the nursing profession in America. Isabel Hampton Robb, a Canadian, Superintendent of Nurses at the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing (1889-94),and pioneer nurse educator, was instrumental in the creation of the Hospital Economics Course at Teacher's College, Columbia University in 1899. M. Adelaide Nutting, Quebec-born student of Miss Robb's, was a leading influence in nursing education for more than twenty-five years. She was the first full-time director of the Department of Nursing and Health at Teacher's College (1907-25) and the first nurse in the world to occupy a University Chair of Nursing. Her successor at Teacher's College was Isabel Maitland Stewart, a graduate of the Winnipeg General Hospital who had been associated with Miss Nutting as student and coworker since 1907. One of the foremost professional nurses of this century, Miss Stewart made immeasurable contribution to nursing education and history. Nursing in Canada and the United States at the turn of the century was a closely knit profession, recalls Miss Stewart: 7. Letter to the author from Grace M. Fairley, March 13, 1962. 8. For the development of professional nursing organizations in Canada, see Appendix A. 4

TODAY OR NOT AT ALL

Because of the greater wealth of population of the U.S.A., nursing schools got an earlier start and multiplied more rapidly. Canadian nurses soon made a very good reputation for themselves [in the U.S.] and this tended to attract larger numbers to their schools, but there was a very close relationship between nurses in the two countries and a constant exchange of ideas. The `mother' of the first collegiate program for nurses at Teacher's College was the bi-national organization The American Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses, organized in 1893, and this group not only initiated the idea of advanced collegiate training for graduate nurses but supported the plan financially and otherwise. Among the early students who attended the Hospital Economics Course were many Canadians ... this was distinctly an international project which soon began to attract nurses from a wide variety of nations.'

The subsequent separation of the bi-national organizations in order to allow each country to focus on its own problems did not interfere with the close relationship between nurses in Canada and the United States, Miss Stewart recalls. The interchange of ideas with American nursing leaders cannot be disregarded in the development of nursing education at Canadian universities. However, as Miss Stewart points out in relation to the establishment of the McGill School for Graduate Nurses: There are differences in the two countries and in different universities in those countries, and I have no doubt that these were considered in the creation and development of the nursing program [at McGill].10

A growing literature of nursing education, appearing in the first decades of the century, was exerting its influence. In 1908, Miss Stewart, writing in The Canadian Nurse had expressed the hope that before long a course such as that offered to nurses at Columbia might be available at a Canadian university.1' An address given by Miss Nutting in 1918 before a joint session of the C.A.N.E. and C.N.A.T.N. in Toronto contained an impassioned plea for higher standards of nursing education. She cited the growing number of American universities offering affiliation to nurses and hoped that similar educational opportunities would soon "be open to nurses in Canada through the great universities here." She made especial mention of McGill, which had just inaugurated a degree course in Household Science. "[There can be] no traditions so 9. Letter to the author from Isabel M. Stewart, June 30, 1962. s o. Ibid. I I. Isabel M. Stewart, "The Hospital Economics Course," The Canadian Nurse, Vol. 5, 1908, 122. S

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

venerable and no precedent, no prejudices, no customs so entrenched that could make [the university] deny ... educational advantages and opportunities to nurses," she said. She was interrupted frequently by applause; her enthusiasm, dedication, and dynamic personality were revealed between the lines of her address. In prophetic vein, she ended, "I hope that before long we will come back to the University and find — perhaps not in this hall, but elsewhere — groups of nurses, in caps and gowns, being presented for their degree by the Dean of a School of Nursing."12 At the June 1918 Meeting of the C.A.N.E. and C.N.A.T.N. at which Miss Nutting had so strongly advocated university education for nurses, Dr. Helen MacMurchy of Toronto revealed that Canadian nurses had already taken the initiative in this regard. A questionnaire had been distributed to every university in Canada inquiring about the possibilities of nurses using these institutions to further their education. Dr. MacMurchy, first woman to intern at the Toronto General Hospital, and pioneer woman physician, was a staunch supporter of nursing education. She had served as first editor of The Canadian Nurse (190510) and was later to be Chief of the Division of Child Welfare, Ottawa (192o-34). Of the replies to the questionnaire, most of which favoured the idea of nursing being included in the university, only McGill could provide a definite affirmative. Sir William Peterson, K.C., C.M.G., LL.D, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill from 1895-1919, wrote as follows: It so happens that we are taking steps towards the university education of the nursing profession, but as the scheme is still in embryo, I fear I am not able to report anything very definite at the present moment. The scheme, however, will in all probability be in operation next year."

How much "in embryo" the scheme was becomes apparent when we realize that the first knowledge the Principal had of such a course being established was obtained but three weeks previously. Sir William Peterson had chaired a meeting of the Medical Faculty at which the Dean of Medicine, Dr. H. S. Birkett, had read a letter from Miss Fairley and Miss Hersey, requesting that a university course in nursing be con12. M. Adelaide Nutting, "War Conditions in the Nursing World," The Canadian Nurse, Vol. 14, 1918, 1292-1303 and 1352-55. 13. Helen MacMurchy, "The Possibilities of Using Canadian Universities for Nurse Education," The Canadian Nurse, Vol. 14, 1918, 5284-92.

b

TODAY OR NOT AT ALL

sidered. The matter had been referred to the Educational Committee of the Faculty of Medicine. Miss Fairley recalls just "why and how it all began." In a delightful two and a half pages of "memories", she relates the events leading up to consideration of the course by the medical faculty. First, she recalls the urgent need for advanced education for nurses in Canada which existed in the years 1912-16, and the constant loss of Canadian nurses to the United States following postgraduate experience there. Then she continues: Miss Mabel Hersey and I were very worried about this situation and discussed it long and freely. The longer it continued the more serious it became and we, who at our own hospitals were fortunate in a close contact with "McGill" through the Medical staffs and our Boards of Governors, wondered if we could arouse sufficient interest to develop a School within McGill University. Personally we thought there was no reason why we should not at least make the overture. Neither of us was very old, but neither was Miss Adelaide Nutting, Dean of Columbia School, or Miss Isabel Stewart, her assistant. From time to time we attended meetings of the American Nurses' Association and American Hospital Association and had opportunities of discussing with them (Miss Nutting and Miss Stewart) our problems in which, as Canadians, they were keenly interested. We finally decided to make the approach to McGill, but how? Dr. Charles F. Martin at that time was Secretary of the Medical Faculty and his father-in-law, Mr. R. B. Angus, who was a good friend to both our hospitals, was on the Board of McGill. We felt we were on fairly firm ground. I remember well the day we chose to visit Dr. Martin's office on Sherbrooke Street. It was wet and cold. We both knew what we wanted but we had not a thing prepared other than to present the need verbally as we saw it, with all the urgency at our command. We walked back and forward, and once Miss Hersey said, "Let's go home and think it over." I, being more tenacious, said, "No, today or not at all." As Dr. Martin did not know that a few universities had opened their doors to Schools of Nursing, he was not too optimistic but decided to make enquiries. Miss Hersey and I decided to invite Miss Nutting to come to Montreal to discuss the matter and offer her opinion should we be in any way successful in our request. Dean Birkett was gracious and we felt hopeful, and a meeting was then arranged and held in the Nurses' Residence, Royal Victoria Hospital. Miss Nutting had accepted our invitation to come to Montreal to meet the representatives of McGill, but she was ill at the date arranged and deputed Isabel Stewart to come in her stead. The expenses were not heavy as she was guest at the R.v.H., and travelling expenses, were not what they are now, but that was the simple way things were carried out in those days."

14. Recollections enclosed in letter to the author from Grace M. Fairley, April 21, 1962.

7

Chapter II

A Genius for Organization

t was the winter of 1917-18 when Grace M. Fairley and Mabel F. Hersey approached Dr. C. F. Martin requesting the admission of nurses to McGill University. Following the May 1918 meeting of the Faculty of Medicine, chaired by Sir William Peterson, Dean H.S. Birkett asked Miss Fairley and Miss Hersey to draw up a schedule of work for submission to the Education Committee. When Isabel M. Stewart of Teacher's College, Columbia University, met with members of the medical faculty in December, 1918, this outline was well advanced. Unfortunately, Miss Fairley left Montreal at this time to take up duties in Hamilton, but Miss Hersey, together with a small committee of Montreal nurses, continued the work. DeanBirkett, who had espoused the cause so readily, also left the city in December on a year's leave of absence for overseas service. 9

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

However, Acting-Dean G. E. Armstrong did not let the matter drop, and the Education Committee, under the Chairmanship of Dr. F. G. Finley, continued discussion of the question. In March 1919, Dr. E. W. Archibald, Chairman of the sub-committee which had worked on details of the scheme, brought the following recommendation before the medical faculty: While the desirability and even the necessity of a course of advanced nursing is realized, and while the Faculty should lend every aid and encouragement towards its establishment, it appears that the end may be better obtained by the Medical Faculty recommending to the Corporation of McGill University that such a Department be established as a separate Department, which would require at least one full-rime director suitably paid by the University.'

Members of the sub-committee, besides Dr. Archibald, were Dr. A. T. Bazin, Dr. A. H. Gordon, and Dr. J. C. Meakins. The Corporation of McGill, receiving the report of the sub-committee at its April meeting, resolved that it be sent forward to the Board of Governors "for action." Sir William Peterson, who had been taken ill three months previously, was officially retired in May 19192, and action concerning the proposed course for Graduate Nurses was postponed. In the autumn the matter was returned to the Faculty of Medicine for further consideration. Dr. Birkett, recalled from overseas at the request of members of the faculty, had resumed his duties as Dean; he reapplied himself to the question of nursing at McGill. Copies of the proposed syllabus, prepared by Miss Hersey's committee, were distributed to the medical faculty for study and approval. At the December faculty meeting, it was decided again to refer the subject to Corporation which was meeting that same week. In presenting the report, Dean Birkett recommended to Corporation that nursing be established as a separate department within the university. He moved that a committee of Corporation be appointed "to report on the whole matter as to the details of the course, the instruction required, the probable cost of instruction, the best means for carrying out the idea, and any other matters which may be considered relevant."3 1. Minutes of Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 1913-23, p. 360. z. Following Sir William Peterson's retirement in May 1919, Sir Auckland Geddes was appointed Principal but never assumed office. From May, 1919, until May, 192o, Dr. Frank D. Adams, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science, was Acting-Principal. On the appointment of Sir Arthur Currie as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill in May 1920, Dr. Adams became Vice-Principal. 3. Minutes of the Corporation of McGill University, 1918-24, p. 81. IO

A GENIUS OF ORGANIZATION

On December is, 1919, Acting-Principal F. D. Adams appointed Prof. J. A. Dale of the Department of Education, chairman of this committee. Members appointed to serve with him were Dr. F. G. Finley, Dr. T. A. Starkey, Dr. H. S. Birkett, and Dr. W. W. Chipman. Professor Dale had been a member of the Department of Education since 1908. As some of the courses proposed would be given in the Deparment of Education, his appointment seemed logical.Unfortunately, illness prevented him from taking an active part on this committee, and in April, 192o, he was replaced by Miss Helen R. Y. Reid. This choice was to prove fortunate, for in retrospect it seems evident that Helen R. Y. Reid, more than any one person, was responsible for the establishment of the School for Graduate Nurses in the summer of 192o. Helen Richmond Young Reid was a woman of outstanding ability, and in relation to McGill as in other fields, a pioneer. She was a member of the first class of women at McGill in 1884, although she graduated one year later than the rest of her class because of illness. A Gold Medallist, she received first class honours in modern languages. Travel and study abroad followed, consolidating two interests which were to dominate her activities: a sense of community responsibility and internationalism. Highly intelligent, capable, fluent, and forceful, she was associated with many educational and philanthropic organizations in Canada, often in a founding capacity. Among these were The Charity Organization Society, The Victorian Order of Nurses, The Canadian Public Health Association, The Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and The Child Welfare Association. But it was for her work with the Canadian Patriotic Fund, of which she was convenor of the Auxiliary of the Montreal Branch Relief Committee for many years, that she received her greatest recognition. In this capacity, she gave herself untiringly, whether in administration, lecturing in Canada and the United States, or in organizing and training volunteers for social work. An American observer described her as "the woman who brought experience and courage and sacrifice and more besides — a genius for organization and the unmistakable flair of leadership."4 4. Paul U. Kellogg, Sociologist, writing in "The Survey", quoted in "McGilI Women's War Work,"McGilI News, Vol. 1, 1919-2o, 7-8. II

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

In April 1918, for her "conspicuous services" with the Patriotic Fund, Miss Reid was appointed a member of the Corporation of McGill, the only other woman member being the Warden of Royal Victoria College. She took her place as Governor's Fellow in December, 1918, a tall, slight, fair-haired woman in her late forties. Upholding the interests of her sex, outspoken when necessary, Miss Reid was a watchful and critical member of Corporation for fifteen years. She received many honours in her lifetime both at home and abroad. In 1916 Queen's University granted her an honorary LL.D degree. Five years later, her Alma Mater, which had honoured few women previously, bestowed on her its LL.D honoris causa. At the time of her death in 1941, she was a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a Lady of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and a recipient of the King's Jubilee Medal and the Coronation Medal. She had also been awarded medals by the French and Italian governments. When Miss Reid was appointed to succeed Professor J. A. Dale as Chairman of the Committee to consider "the proposed course for the Training of Graduate Nurses", she had been a member of Corporation for nealy a year and a half. During this time, she had taken an active interest in the School of Social Study and Training. This department was established as a direct result of her efforts in the training of social work volunteers for the Patriotic Fund. She was a charter member of its Committee of Management and in the early years, a lecturer. By coincidence, Professor Dale had chaired the Committee on Social Service and Training which had resulted in the establishment of this department and was chairman of its Committee of Management until his resignation from McGill in the autumn of 192o. Handing over the work of the Committee on the Proposed Course for Graduate Nurses to Miss Reid, he wrote regretting his "dereliction of duty." With apparent understatement, he ended the letter "I am sure you are the right person to take it up."5 Helen R. Y. Reid, educationist and social worker, was indeed the person for the task. Widely respected and having unlimited capacity for work, she was "au fait" with the members of the medical faculty, some of whom had been fellow-students at McGill. She had friends within the Corporation, and on the staff of the university. She knew personally some members of the Board of Governors through her philanthropic 5. Letter to Helen R. Y. Reid from J. A. Dale, April 22, 1920. I2

A GENIUS OP ORGANIZATION

activities. Above all, she had a stubborn streak in her nature which but reinforced her resoluteness of purpose. The establishment of a School for Graduate Nurses at McGill would give women one more entry into the field of higher education. This was a responsibility she felt morally bound to accept; she determined to make the School a fact. Miss Reid's initial task was to assess what had already been accomplished. She had been present at the December 1919, meeting of Corporation, at which Dean Birkett had recommended the creation of a nursing department at the university. Her interest in this proposal had prompted her to obtain course outlines from the University of British Columbia, which had just initiated a five-year combined degree programme in nursing and was planning a four-month course in public health nursing .6 Professor Dale had obtained similar outlines from American universities. Miss Reid studied these, together with the course outline prepared by Miss Hersey's committee. Dr. J. W. Scane, Registrar of the Faculty of Medicine, pledged his assistance in whatever way needed. The first objective seemed clear: to obtain formal approval of the proposed course outline by the Faculty of Medicine. Wholehearted support of this influential faculty would considerably strengthen the work of the Corporation Committee, Miss Reid believed. Two committees were active. One, the Corporation Committee, consisted of the four representatives from the Faculty of Medicine — Dean Birkett, Dr. Finley, Dr. Starkey, and Dr. Chipman. The other, Miss Hersey's Committee, was composed of six leading nurses from the hospital training schools in the city. As well as Miss Hersey these were: Flora Madeline Shaw, soon to be appointed first Director of the School for Graduate Nurses; Olive Delany, District Superintendent, Montreal Branch, Victorian Order of Nurses; Sarah E. Young, Superintendent of Nurses, Montreal General Hospital; Jane Craig, Superintendent of Nurses, Western Hospital; and Mary Samuel, former Superintendent of Nurses, Lakeside Hospital, Cleveland. Several meetings ofthese committees wereheld in the next few weeks, until by early June an outline of the proposed course was ready to present to the Faculty of Medicine. On June 8, 192o, just two years after 6. For development of University Schools of Nursing in Canada see Appendix A. 13

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

the matter was first considered in the faculty, formal approval was given. A new committee from the medical faculty was appointed to cooperate with Miss Reid in further elaborating the course. Three of those named — Dean Birkett, Dr. Finley, and Dr. Starkey — were already members of the Corporation Committee. The fourth, Dr. A. T. Bazin, who had served on the original sub-committee, was to be for many years a friend and advisor to the School. Miss Reid's next step was to prepare a report for Corporation. Letters were sent to various hospitals and organizations in the city requesting co-operation in the matter of field work for the proposed course. Similar requests were sent to some of Montreal's industrial firms. Curriculum was studied and appropriate teachers considered. Where possible, lectures already being given in existing departments of the university, such as Physical Education, Social Study or Education, were to be included. This was essential in the interests of economy, for beyond $1,800 budgeted for the salary of the proposed nurse-director, expenses were to be kept at a minimum. Fees were set in accordance with those charged in similar departments at McGill; an Advisory Committee for the management of the School was proposed. This was to include two members of each of the existing committees, plus the heads of the Department of Education and the School of Physical Education. Miss Reid, of course, was to be chairman. By June 23 the report was in order. A suitable nurse-director had been proposed. Flora Madeline Shaw, a member of Miss Hersey's Committee, a graduate of the Montreal General Hospital and Teacher's College, Columbia University, was one of Canada's most outstanding nursing instructors. She had been forced by illness to retire from active nursing and when her health improved she served as volunteer social worker for the Canadian Patriotic Fund, where she had worked closely with Miss Reid. Pending appointment to the post at McGill, she was prepared to enroll at her own expense in a six weeks' summer course at Teacher's College, Columbia. The one weakness in Miss Reid's report for Corporation was lack of budget. Except for Miss Shaw's salary, there was no estimate of expected cost. The Provincial Red Cross Societies in other provinces of Canada were giving substantial support to university education for nurses, a policy endorsed by the Canadian Red Cross Society as part of 7. For financial assistance given by the Canadian Red Cross Society to university schools of nursing, 192o-24, see Appendix A.

14

A GENIUS OP ORGANIZATION

its post-war programme. Miss Reid was confident that the Quebec Branch would similarly assist a course at McGill. However, in spite of the generous example set by the Canadian Red Cross Society in Nova Scotia, British Columbia, and Ontario, there was no guarantee that the Quebec Society would lend financial support to the scheme at McGill. This lack of a positive source of funds was to prove almost fatal to plans for the School. On the completion of the report for Corporation in the early summer of 1920, Miss Reid was optimistic. Through Dr. J. A. Nicholson, Registrar of McGill, she had arranged a special meeting of Corporation to be held on June 28. She wrote to the members of her Committee urging their attendance and asking them to use their influence with members of the Board of Governors, for she expected a meeting of the latter to be called as soon as Corporation had given its approval. Time was an important factor, for Miss Reid wanted an official announcement of the course to be made at meetings of the C.N.A.T.N. and C.A.N.E. which were being held in Fort William, July 7-9. She was also anxious to give Miss Shaw some word of confirmation before the latter embarked on her course at Columbia. She wrote to prominent members of the Board of Governors summarizing the work of the Committee, urging their support for the proposed course and underlining the necessity for Red Cross assistance. Dr. Adams, Acting-Principal, was out of the city. Miss Reid wrote to him regretting his absence, but hoping he would be back in time to call a meeting of the Board of Governors the following week. She intimated that the Quebec Red Cross Society might well provide "$S,000 or $ro,000 for scholarships, Nurse-Director's salary, printing and incidentals," and reminded him that the Board of Governors contained several important members of the Society. She re-iterated the need for a speedy decision and added, "I think it most necessary for you to be the sponsor together with Dr. Birkett of this new University Service .... The presentation will lose immensely in value and strength without your presence."8 On Monday, June 28, 192o, at a special meeting of the Corporation at McGill, the report of the Committee on the Proposed Course for the Training of Graduate Nurses was adopted. Eight members of Corpor8. Letter to Frank D. Adams from Helen R. Y. Reid, June 26, 1920. IS

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

ation were present. Of these, Dr. A. T. Bazin was the sole member of Miss Reid's committee. On his motion "it was unanimously resolved ... to call the attention of the Quebec Branch of the Red Cross Society to the great need for such a School in the hope of securing their sympathy and practical support especially as the Red Cross Societies of the Provinces where such schools have been established have given most generous assistance to the undertaking."9 It was also resolved that the report be sent to the Board of Governors with the request that an early decision be made.

9. Minutes of Corporation of McGill University, 1918-24, p. zsi. r6

Chapter III

"Course Endorsed. Hurrah!"

n the approval of the proposed course for graduate nurses by the special meeting of the Corporation of McGill University on June 28, 1920, Miss Reid was confident that the Board of Governors would do likewise. As planned, she arranged for distribution of pamphlets concerning the course at the Nurses' Convention meeting at Fort William. She could not, however, have foreseen the stumbling blocks that would arise. On June 29, she received a telegram from Dr. Adams: "Letter received. Have written Dr. Nicholson." Not content to wait on the "powers that be", she herself contacted Dr. J. A. Nicholson, Registrar of the University. It seemed, the latter informed her, that the Bursar and Secretary of the Board of Governors, Mr. A. P. S. Glassco, was at a golf tournament, and the Board of Governors could not be convened 17

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

without his authorization. She telephoned again the next day without success, and by the end of the week when Dr. Adams returned, she called him personally. The results of that phone call must have been most disappointing, for Dr. Adams told her that the matter could not be brought before the Governors until a proper budget was submitted, including all details of anticipated expenses. This apparent set-back only increased Miss Reid's determination. She halted the distribution of pamphlets at the forthcoming nurses' convention, but instructed that a tentative announcement be made. The next morning, she wrote to Miss Shaw who was already enrolled in her course at Columbia: "In view of the fact that the Doctors' Committee and Corporation considered the report and recommendations complete enough to be placed before the Governors, I am going to send same forward myself, disregarding Dean Adams' remarks, and I shall ask Mr. Glasgow [sic], from the Committee, to place the report at an early date before the Finance Committee and the Governors." "I cannot think it possible that the plan will be frustrated," her letter to Miss Shaw continues, and she advises the latter to continue with her course "and take the very good chance of using the information later this Fall at McGill in your position as Director." Before the letter could be posted, she was able to add a jubilant P.S. "Dr. Adams has just rung up evidently contrite and repentant for he has changed round completely and has written Mr. Glasgow [sic] asking him to call a meeting of the Finance Committee and the Governors on Monday ... I am delighted at his morning's good resolutions."' Dr. Adams' letter to the Bursar, requesting a special meeting of the Finance Committee on July 5, was favourably inclined towards the proposed course. "As the sum involved is not a very large one," he wrote, "in all probability the Board would be satisfied to have the announcement made provided the Finance Committee approves the plan."2 Encouraged by the turn of events, Miss Reid also wrote to Mr. Glassco itemizing a proposed budget of approximately $2,000 and suggesting possible sources of financial support. She intimated that the Quebec Branch of the Red Cross Society might well subsidize the scheme. 1. Letter to F. M. Shaw from H. R. Y. Reid, July 3, 1920. 2. Letter to A. P. S. Glassco from Frank D. Adams, July 3, 1920. i8

"COURSE ENDORSED. HURRAH!"

Unfortunately, her letter did not reach Mr. Glassco before the Finance Committee meeting. Thus a second set-back occurred, when the Bursar, without consulting Miss Reid, presented a budget of $5,000, more than twice that estimated. The Finance Committee, of whom only two members were present, declined to approve this amount. Miss Reid described her reactions in a letter to Miss Shaw written three days later: I challenged Mr. Glassco's statement but the meeting was over and only yesterday did Mr. Glassco come to see me. We went into full details and he acknowledged that he was mistaken and that with our present arrangement of lectures, the first year's expense should not be more than $z,soo.00. It was too late however to have another meeting of the Finance Committee before the Fort William meeting... . Things are dragging on as you see, but I still feel sure the course will go through.'

Miss Reid was determined more than ever, in the face of this obstruction, to get a decision from the Governors, or in some way to ensure the commencement of nursing courses at McGill in October, 192o. She wrote to Mr. Charles Fleet, who had been present at the meeting of the Finance Committee, and had his answer that the course would have been authorized had the budget presented not been so large. "I shall be most grateful to you," she wrote, "for anything you can do in expediting an early and favourable decision on behalf of the nurses of the community at large, as well as in the interests of the University."4 For the first time she suggested that McGill should not lag behind other Canadian universities in providing education for nurses. She wrote to Mr. William Birks, another member of the Board of Governors, expressing her disappointment, and urging him to use his influence with the Red Cross Society. She was convinced that if Red Cross support could be assured, the course was as good as approved .5 In this respect, it was imperative to secure the sympathy of the Honorary Secretary of the Quebec Branch of the Canadian Red Cross Society, David Law, who was expected momentarily in Montreal. On July 20 a meeting was arranged, and Mr. Law, escorted by Mr. Birks, was received by Miss Reid in her office. In retrospect, it would seem that the latter's conviction that the Quebec Red Cross Society should sponsor the proposed course was not shared by Mr. Law. In this first meeting, she later wrote to Miss Shaw, 3. Letter to F. M. Shaw from H. R. Y. Reid, July 8, 192o. 4. Letter to C. J. Fleet from H. R. Y. Reid, July 1o, 192o. s. Letter to Wm. Birks from H. R. Y. Reid, July 1S, 1920. 19

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

"business-like and friendly" as it was, Miss Reid sensed that he showed a "disregard of the University ... interests and stressed entirely the good work [of the Red Cross] and evident need for same." However, these feelings did not deter her in her effort to secure financial aid for the School. "I asked straight out for a permanently endowed Chair," she continued to Miss Shaw, "so that I hope we shall get the $100,000 which I told Mr. Law would be necessary to cover our needs, present and future. As he rose to go, Mr. Law, in rather an undertone, said to me, `I think, Miss Reid, you can count on getting what you want from us.' This is most encouraging."' She had first expressed her hopes for an endowment early in July in letters to Mr. Glassco and Dr. Bazin. She had read newspaper reports of $5o,000 promised by the Ontario Red Cross Society for the newlyestablished Department of Public Health Nursing at the University of Toronto. That these reports were grossly exaggerated did not deter Miss Reid. She was acutely aware that provincial branches of the Red Cross Society were underwriting courses in public health nursing at Canadian universities.? She determined that the Quebec Branch should do no less for McGill. After her meeting with Mr. Law, it did not seem unreasonable to Miss Reid to hope that the Quebec Society, with $800,000 in its funds, might undertake to endow a School for Graduate Nurses. But the decision of the Red Cross Society was to be otherwise, and it would be many years before an endowment would be realized. On July 27, 192o, at a special meeting of the Board of the Quebec Branch of the Canadian Red Cross Society, the course for graduate nurses at McGill University was endorsed, the amount of the grant to be "a sum not exceeding $S,000 per year for three years." The financial hurdle was cleared. The university could not now refuse to approve the course. Five thousand dollars would more than meet expenses and, although far short of what had been hoped for, was actually the sum first suggested by Miss Reid to Dr. Adams as a possible grant. One can only sense the relief with which Miss Reid must have sent the jubilant wire to Miss Shaw: "Course endorsed. Hurrah !"8 It was just three months since Miss Reid had been appointed chairman 6. Letter to F. M. Shaw from H. R. Y. Reid, July 23, 1920. 7. See Appendix A. 8. Telegram H. R. Y. Reid to F. M. Shaw, July 27, 192o. 20

"COURSE ENDORSED. HURRAH!"

of the Corporation Committee, one month since the Corporation of McGill had approved the course. In that period she had displayed an incredible faculty for intensive and painstaking work, over and above her duties with the Patriotic Fund. It was to be two months before formal approval of the programme for graduate nurses would be given by the Board of Governors, but Helen R. Y. Reid, by her dynamic energy, organizational skill, and tenacity of purpose had made this a mere formality. But the task was not yet done. At least another month of unremitting toil was needed to complete details of curriculum, field work, timetable, lecturers. Solicitation of scholarships and distribution of publicity were also necessary. Miss Reid applied herself to this work with renewed vigour. Regular committee meetings were held throughout the summer. The exchange of letters with Miss Shaw continued. "I do not wish to go too far forward without your sound advice and help," she wrote Miss Shaw following the endorsement of the course by the Quebec Red Cross Society .9 The official announcement of the course was published in local newspapers early in August, while application forms and programmes were distributed from the Registrar's office to sixty training schools for nurses. Preliminary announcement had been made at the Fort William Convention early in July, but the final outline of the course did not appear in The Canadian Nurse until October. Enquiries and applications began to arrive. Final problems of curriculum were discussed in committee and by mail. Both Miss Reid and Miss Shaw agreed that for the first year flexibility was essential. Students would have a choice of Course A (Public Health Nursing) or Course B (Teaching and Supervision in Schools of Nursing). Successful completion of either course of eight months' duration would lead to the granting of a diploma. Members of staff of Teacher's College, Columbia University, particularly Lillian Hudson, Lecturer in Public Health Nursing, and Isabel Stewart, gave valuable advice concerning the planning of the course. Miss Reid, hoping to ensure degree courses for nurses at McGill, suggested a two-year course leading to a degree. Miss Shaw consulted with Miss Stewart and replied that "to be truly useful and successful, such a 9. Letter to F. M. Shaw from H. R. Y. Reid, July 29, 192o. 2I

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

department must grow — must begin slowly.... Miss Stewart says to attempt at present in any way to arrange for two-year courses would be a real injury to our undertaking."10 The final announcement of the course included the statement that it was hoped "in the near future" to establish a degree course; but it was to be twenty-six years before this hope became a reality. Miss Shaw wished to appoint an assistant in public health nursing for both teaching and field supervision, preferably on a part-time basis, but this could not be confirmed until registration was complete. Meanwhile, Mr. Glassco authorized her own appointment as from August 1, 192o. The composition of the Advisory Committee was discussed." With the addition of a representative from the Quebec Red Cross Society (Mrs. William Miller), it would number eight. Both Miss Reid and Miss Shaw felt that its membership should not exceed ten persons, and on mutual agreement, Mrs. Robert Reford and Mary Samuel were added. Mrs. Reford, who had worked with Miss Reid and Miss Shaw on the Patriotic Fund, had demonstrated her ability and influence in such ventures as the School of Social Study and Training, and the Board of the Victorian Order of Nurses. She was to prove a staunch friend to the School for Graduate Nurses, remaining a member of the Advisory Committee for the next sixteen years. Lecturers were slowly obtained for each course. Particularly gratifying was Dr. Maude Abbott's consent to give her "History of Nursing" course, a required subject for all students. Dr. Abbott, a friend of Miss Reid's from undergraduate days, was keenly interested in the establishment of the School, and was its loyal supporter throughout her lifetime. She taught at the School for Graduate Nurses until her retirement from McGill in 1936. Another area of interest to the Advisory Committee was the procurement of scholarships for worthy students. Scholarships would stimulate interest in the School and allow some nurses to attend who might otherwise be forced to postpone or forego such study. Miss Reid requested such assistance from various hospitals and organizations. The Royal Victoria Hospital and the Montreal General Hospital replied favourably; the Board of the Montreal Branch of the Victorian io. Letter to H. R. Y. Reid from F. M. Shaw, August 4, 1920. For the composition of the Advisory Committee, 1920-64 see Appendix B.

11. 22

"COURSE ENDORSED. HURRAH!" Order of Nurses offered a private scholarship for the first year. The C.N.A.T.N. promised $50012, the newly-created Association of Registered Nurses of the Province of Quebec (A.R.N.P.Q.), $3 5o. From the Hamilton General Hospital, where Miss Fairley was presently Director of Nurses, came the promise of a scholarship at McGill. One organization which could not be persuaded to award scholarships was the Quebec Branch of the Red Cross Society. Miss Reid, aware of similar assistance being given in other provinces, urged Mr. Law on this point. She was already experiencing some friction in the apportionment of the budget which Mr. Law wished to have in detail before any decision was made regarding scholarships. Until registration was complete, only an approximate budget could be submitted. On the question of scholarships, Mr. Law remained adamant. Despite three letters from Miss Reid in which she asked for five $350 scholarships, the request was turned down. Miss Reid's impatience was evident. Already one applicant could not attend without financial assistance. Now Miss Reid arranged through personal friends for a private scholarship of $350. It had been a long, hard, and exceptionally hot summer; fatigue and tension had taken their toll. When Miss Shaw returned from Teacher's College in the third week of August, Miss Reid agreed to a well-earned rest. Last minute arrangements of time-table, courses, and applications were taken over by the Nurse-Director. Lectures began on October 4, 1920, with fifteen students registered, six in Course A (Public Health Nursing), nine in Course B (Teaching and Supervision in Schools of Nursing). In addition there were eighteen students taking partial courses. The School for Graduate Nurses was now a reality. This modest beginning was the end result of Miss Hersey's and Miss Fairley's representation to the Faculty of Medicine more than two years before. It was also the beginning of a prolonged struggle on the part of nurses at McGill to establish the School as an integral part of the university and to maintain and increase standards of nursing education at this level. But in October 192o, the immediate struggle was over. Sir Arthur Currie, newly appointed Principal of McGill, responded to a letter of 12. This was not granted until the 1921-2z session (first recipient Jean S. Wilson).

23

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

welcome from Miss Reid, in warm terms of interest in the School and best wishes for its success. There was no reason to doubt that its future was assured.

24

Chapter IV

Miss Shaw's Sweet Summer

he School for Graduate Nurses, at the time of its establishment in the summer of 1920, was located in the East Wing of the Arts Building on the third floor. It was in this wing that the first classes for women at McGill were held in 1884. One large room which doubled as Director's office and classroom constituted the new department from which thirteen students were to graduate the following spring. Adjoining was the Department of Social Service (formerly the School of Social Study and Training) and a reading room common to the students of both departments. Full-time and part-time students combined to tax to the uttermost the limited facilities of the new school. Some of the students shared living accommodation at the hostel of the School of Physical Education, obtaining their meals at Royal Victoria College, directly across the street. For others, Flora Madeline 25

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

Shaw, the Director of the School, arranged private room and board. Nothing was too much for Miss Shaw, if it meant the welfare and happiness of her students, whether it was meeting them at the train, finding suitable lodging, entertaining at tea in her apartment, or advising in problems of work or school. University fees for the School for Graduate Nurses in 1920 were $ioo. Partial students paid $7.50 for a full course of one lecture per week, $5.00 for a half-year course, or $1o.00 for a double course of two lectures weekly. Room and board were available at $13.00-$18.00 per week. When books and incidentals were included, the estimated cost for the academic year was between $550.00 and $700.00. This was comparable to expenses in other universities in Canada. The six scholarships of $300-$350 each, which were offered to students at the McGill School in 1920, were of considerable help to those receiving them.' Lectures in nursing subjects were given in the School classroom where Miss Shaw did most of the teaching herself. Other classes were shared with students of various departments of the university such as Social Service, Physical Education, Arts and Science, where overlapping curriculahad been arranged. Without the assistance and co-operation of these and other departments at McGill, notably the Faculty of Medicine and the Departments of Education and of Household Science, the School could not have functioned. Although the fee per lecturer was extremely low ($5.00 per one-hour lecture), the budget was so stringent that lectures for nurses alone were avoided as much as possible. For field-work experience, the School was dependent on local hospitals and community agencies. Mrs. Mary A. Young, a member of the first class at the School for Graduate Nurses, recalls that the nurses as a group were well respected and did not feel out of step with university life. Others may have been conscious of their slightly older age group, suggests her classmate Mrs. Margaret (McCammon) Allan, or sensed that they were merely skimming the surface of academic learning' r . Scholarships awarded at McGill School for Graduate Nurses, 192o-21: Royal Victoria Hospital (Beatrice Watson); Montreal General Hospital (Margaret McCammon); Hamilton General Hospital (Nora MacPherson); friends of Miss Reid (Kathleen Panton); A.R.N.P.Q. (Anne Slattery); Montreal Branch of V.O.N. (Janet James).

2. Letter to the author from Mrs. Mary A. Young (T. & s. 1921), May zs, 1962, and interview with Margaret (McCammon) Allan (T. & S. 1921), February 19, 1963. 26

MISS SHAW'S SWEET SUMMER

However, the students of that first year were unanimous in their praise of the course and the total university experience. Beatrice Watson, who led the Teaching and Supervision class of 1920, addressed the 1922 meeting of the C.A.N.E., recalling her year at McGill: We had no time for repetition. All we learned was engagingly new. The subjects were placed with ever-changing aspect. The days were all too short for the rush from class to lecture-room. We delighted in the quiet hours spent in making ourselves familiar with the countless possibilities of the museums. We enjoyed to the full the chance half-hours, when master-minds gazed in pity on us from those wellordered library shelves. We felt that we were absorbing wisdom by our mere proximity to the great intellects and rejoiced that we had been caught in this maelstrom of art and learning.3

For the first time nurses were enabled to partake of the cultural and intellectual life of McGill; the taste was to linger with all who savoured it. Problems of administration of the School were handled by the Advisory Committee, whose members included representatives of the university, local hospitals, and other organizations. Original members of this committee, under the chairmanship of Miss Reid, included Dr. A. S. Lamb, head of the School of Physical Education, Dr. A. T. Bazin and Dr. F. G. Finley of the Faculty of Medicine, Miss Hersey and Miss Delany. Except for Miss Delany, this group, augmented by Miss Samuel and Mrs. Reford, was to guide the policy of the School throughout Miss Shaw's tenure as Director. Additional members appointed in these years included Sarah E. Young (1921), Margaret L. Moag (1922), Dr. A. G. Fleming (1925). Miss Reid was succeeded as chairman in 1932 by Miss Hersey who served on the Advisory Committee for eighteen years, watching over the growth of nursing at McGill for which she and Miss Fairley had been so largely responsible. Assistance to Miss Shaw in carrying out her dual responsibility as director and teacher was given by Miss Samuel, who lectured in administration and supervision in schools of nursing and directed the fieldwork experience of the students in the teaching and supervision course. 3. Beatrice Watson, "Instructor's Course, McGill University," The Canadian Nurse, Vol. 19, 1923, 229-30. 27

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

Mary Samuel4, a native of Hamilton, Ontario, had spent almost twenty years in hospital training school administration in the United States. She had come to Montreal in 1915 where she was drawn into the welfare work of the Montreal Branch of the Canadian Patriotic Fund. Her keen interest in nursing administration and its problems was a bond in her friendship with Miss Shaw, and her advice and experie:.ce were sought in the original planning of the course at the School for Graduate Nurses. Although she assisted Miss Shaw in the first year of the school's existence, she was not officially appointed to the staff until 1921. She carried out her duties as Instructor in Administration, at the same time acting as Official Visitor to Quebec nursing schools for the A.R.N.P.Q. Fluently bilingual, she did much to promote friendly relationships between French and English nurses in Quebec. Caroline V. Barrett, formerly nursing superintendent of the Royal Victoria Montreal Maternity Hospital, who succeeded Miss Samuel as Official Visitor, recalls this hard-working, unassuming woman: She was well qualified to assist Miss Shaw — and her excellent practical experience ... enabled her to teach and impart to her students a well-balanced knowledge of the problems and duties they would have to face in the field of administration in schools of nursing ... [She] had a great deal of dignity and was of a reserved nature, but she was always most considerate of the younger generation of graduate nurses.'

As a member of the Advisory Committee of the School, Miss Samuel served from 1920-35, six years after her full retirement from teaching. She was honoured by the School in 1942 when her portrait was placed in the library and her signature was entered on the first line of the School Guest Book. Always proud of her association with the McGill School, Miss Samuel lived quietly in retirement until her death in 1945. A familiar figure at graduation exercises, she watched the School develop for almost twenty-five years, a tangible link between the generations of graduates. 4. Mary Samuel, graduate of New York Hospital School of Nursing and Sloan, 1893; Assistant Superintendent and Matron, Post-Graduate Hospital, New York, 1897; Superintendent of Nurses and Principal, Roosevelt Hospital, New York, 18981910; Superintendent of Nurses and Principal, Lakeside Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, 1910-I5. 5. Recollection sent to the author from C. V. Barrett, March 1o, 1963. 28

MISS SHAW'S SWEET SUMMER

But in 1921, the first graduation of nurses from McGill was a new and exciting prospect. For the thirteen students involved it was a busy week, culminating in a joint Convocation ceremony with women of two other departments of the campus — the School of Physical Education and the Department of Social Service. Neophytes at McGill, these three departments were not included in the regular Convocation until the following year, when McGill nurses led the long line of students receiving certificates, diplomas, or degrees. The graduation exercises of the School for Graduate Nurses in 1921 were held on the afternoon of May 28 in the Royal Victoria College. Vice-Principal F.D. Adams presided in the absence of Sir Arthur Currie. Each director gave a short account of the year's work; graduating students came forward to receive diplomas or certificates; prizes were awarded — in nursing, by Miss Reid. Following this, the School of Physical Education entertained graduates and their families and friends in an exhibition of dancing. "A most auspicious beginning for the School for Graduate Nurses," reported the local newspapers.6 Mrs. Mary A. Young, one of the graduating class, recalls that "directly following our Graduation we as a class journeyed to my room and there and then the Alumnae Association was organized."1 Discussion of the formation of an Alumnae Association had taken place the previous day at a class luncheon at the Windsor Hotel. On Graduation Day, May 28, 1921, the constitution and by-laws were presented and approved, and the first officers of the Association elected. These were: Honorary President, Flora Madeline Shaw; President, Margaret A. McCammon; Vice-President, Anne Slattery; SecretaryTreasurer, Ethel M. Sharpe. Four persons, "instigators of the school," were unanimously elected as honorary members: Helen R. Y. Reid, Mabel F. Hersey, Grace M. Fairley, Maude E. Abbott. The pride which this small group had in the School and the respect and devotion with which its members regarded the first director were to stimulate the growth of the Association in succeeding years. A decade later, when the very life of the School was threatened, this body was to prove its loyalty in material and moral support. The commencement of classes for graduate nurses at McGill University in October 192o, was a major advance in nursing education in 6. The Gazette, Montreal, May 29, 1921. 7. Letter to the author from Mrs. Mary A. Young (T. & s. 1921), May 25, 1962. 29

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

Canada. Postgraduate courses in public health nursing were available at other Canadian universities. Several universities were shortly to institute five-year undergraduate courses leading to a degree. But it was to be five years before any other Canadian university provided certificate courses in teaching and supervision.8 Praising the work of Miss Shaw at the School for Graduate Nurses, Miss Nutting wrote from Columbia University in March 1923: I think you arc to be warmly congratulated on having got together in so short a time such a number of lecturers and such a substantial body of instructors.... It is very clear, I think, that we need to lay great stress on the training of our teachers, both of the practice and of the theory of nursing.'

This was the great contribution of the School for Graduate Nurses in its early years. The work of Miss Shaw and Miss Samuel cannot be under-estimated. In the training of teachers for schools of nursing, McGill played a unique role in Canada, paving the way for professional and public support of this area of nursing education. In 1925 a two-year course leading to a diploma in nursing education was introduced. Courses in training school administration, first offered in 1921, were also unique in Canada. Louise M. Dickson, Superintendent of Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children from 1924-30, a graduate of the 1924 class in administration, assisted Miss Samuel in this work from 1926-29. Public health nursing at McGill developed rapidly following its introduction in the autumn of 192o. One year later, Elizabeth Laurie Smellie was appointed instructor in this field, taking over the teaching previously done by Miss Shaw. Miss Smellie remained at the School until December, 1923, at the same time acting as field supervisor for the Montreal Branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses. Daughter of a McGill graduate, trained in nursing at the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing, she had served overseas in the Canadian Army Nursing Service. After the war she was assistant to the Matron-in-Chief in Ottawa, resigning to study public health nursing at Simmon's College, Boston. 8. For development of university schools of nursing in Canada, see Appendix A. Western Ontario in 1925 was the second university to offer certificate courses in teaching and administration in schools of nursing. In 1928 the University of Toronto offered a similar course. Gladys Hiscocks (T. & s. 1926) was appointed special assistant to develop this programme. 9. Letter to F. M. Shaw from M. A. Nutting, March 27, 1923. 30

MISS SHAW'S SWEET SUMMER

While at the School for Graduate Nurses, Miss Smellie reorganized the public health curriculum, setting a standard of preparation in this field which was preserved in the years following her resignation when she became Chief Superintendent of the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada. In this position, she was one of Canada's most widelyknown nursing leaders, and during the Second World War served as Matron-in-Chief for the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, (R.c.A.M.c.) Nursing Services. Through the years, she has maintained her interest in the McGill School. Miss Smellie's successor, and Miss Shaw's first full-time assistant, was Anne Slattery10, top student in the first class in public health nursing at the School. She was the recipient of a scholarship from the Royal Victoria Hospital, where she had graduated the previous spring. Wellqualified academically, she had obtained a B.A. degree from McGill in 1909 and had taught school prior to embarking on her career in nursing. From 1921-24 she worked in the dispensary service of the Winnipeg General Hospital and in Grand'Mere, Quebec, where she engaged in public health nursing. A native of Cape Breton Island, Miss Slattery was very popular with her students, recalls Gertrude Yeats (T. and S. 1937), a friend of many years: "She was tall, red-haired, rather plain, but a dynamic, extremely clever person.... She took a great interest in postgraduate work of any kind and encouraged young students to further their education." After Miss Shaw's death in 1927, Miss Slattery became acting-director until her resignation in 1929 when she returned to Nova Scotia to work in the Provincial Department of Health. Her latter years were spent in private duty nursing in Montreal, where she died in 1950. In the gay pre-depression era, there were but faint rumblings of the financial storm which was to break before the end of the decade. Enrollment at the School was fairly constant; various hospital boards and nursing organizations throughout Canada contributed annual scholarships. The physical facilities of the school, increased by a second room in 1921, still left much to be desired, but the esprit de corps of the students was high. lo. Miss Slattery was appointed to the staff of the School for Graduate Nurses in September, 1924. From January to May 1924, following Miss Smellie's resignation, the Public Health programme was carried by Annie Curwell (P.H.N. 1923) and Miss MacDonald of the Child Welfare Association. 31

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

In the early years, several traditions were established, one of which was the annual graduation dinner held in May. Another tradition was the presentation of the annual book prize given by Helen R. Y. Reid to the student obtaining the highest marks in the administration course. In 1927 silver and bronze medals were awarded by the LieutenantGovernor for the first time to the two students ranking first in the teaching and public health courses respectively.11 Graduates of the School were in great demand across Canada; the prestige of the McGill School for Graduate Nurses continued to mount. By 1927, Miss Shaw could report that of a total of 122 graduates, fifteen were superintendents of schools of nursing, six were assistant superintendents, seven were supervisors, thirty-two were instructors, thirty-one were engaged in public health nursing. In addition, one graduate was a missionary, one was the executive secretary of the Canadian Nurses' Association.l2 Under Miss Shaw's direction, the School for Graduate Nurses provided leadership and opportunity for study to nurses working in the Montreal area. From 1923-26 annual extension courses in nursing were sponsored jointly by the School for Graduate Nurses and the A.R.N.P.Q.13 Among those registered for the first institute was E. Frances Upton, Superintendent of Nurses at the Sherbrooke General Hospital, who was destined to play a vital role in the survival of the School for Graduate Nurses at McGill. In provincial associations, McGill graduates played an increasing role in the struggle for nursing legislation and control of nursing practices. Through the medium of the C.N.A.T.N. and later the c.N.A., alumnae of the McGill School promoted the elevation of standards of nursing and nurse education. In the international nursing world, McGill received recognition when Miss Shaw was asked to preside at a round table discussion at the 1925 sesssion of the International Council of Nurses (i.c.N.) in Helsingfors, Finland. II. In 1933-34, as the course in administration was not given, the Book Prize was awarded to a student in the supervision course and was then discontinued. The Lt.Governor's Medals were discontinued in 1936. 12. F. M. Shaw, "School for Graduate Nurses, McGill University," The Canadian Nurse, Vol. 23, 1927, 342. 13. Institutes given at the School for Graduate Nurses 1923-26: 1923, Administration, supervision and teaching in Schools of Nursing; 1924, 1925, 1926, Private duty nursing; 1924, Public health nursing. 32

MISS SHAW'S SWEET SUMMER

It was while returning from an interim meeting of the I.C.N. held in in Geneva in 1927 that Miss Shaw, then president of the C.N.A., met her death. The death of Flora Madeline Shaw on August 27, 1927, was a shock to nursing leaders throughout the world. At the Interim Conference of the I.C.N. held in Geneva the previous month, she had extended on behalf of the nurses of Canada an invitation to hold the 1929 meeting in Montreal. Seven hundred and eighty-four nurses were present, representing thirty-four countries, and from this group, tributes and letters of sympathy poured in to the Canadian Nurses' Association on the loss of its beloved president. For those who had been associated with Miss Shaw at the School for Graduate Nurses, or who had been privileged to share the warmth of her friendship, it was a very personal loss. "Lovely beyond description" is how one graduate recalls the freshcomplexioned, rather plump, motherly woman who guided the destiny of the School in its early years. Others remember Miss Shaw for her thoughtfulness, her kindly, gentle manner, and the sincere personal interest she took in each of her students. Easy to approach, yet maintaining a certain professional distance, she endeared herself to all who knew her. Flora Madeline Shaw was born in Perth, Ontario, January 15, 1864, daughter of Henry Dowsley Shaw and Flora Madeline Matheson. The Shaws and Mathesons were pioneer families, prominent in the political development of the province. Both grandfathers, the Hon. James Shaw of Smith's Falls, and the Hon. Roderick Matheson, had been members of the first Canadian Senate at the time of Confederation. An uncle, the Hon. Arthur J. Matheson, served as treasurer of the Ontario Government for some years. Henry Shaw, a prosperous merchant, carried on the business established by his father-in-law in 1816. It was a cultured, progressive family with a strong sense of community responsibility. As individuals, however, they retained the spark of the pioneer. Two aunts had sought independent careers in New York, the one in music, the other in nursing: Joan Matheson was one of the early graduates of the Bellevue Hospital, and served with distinction in the Riel Rebellion of the Northwest in 1885. Doubtless their influence on the young Florrie was strong, as she 33

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

grew up in the shaded, family home, receiving her early education at a private school in Perth. Later she attended Mrs. Mercer's Academy in Montreal, and prepared for the role of the fashionable, young, middleclass woman of her day. But this role was not to satisfy Miss Shaw for long. By 1894 she had determined to follow the career of nursing and entered the Montreal General Hospital from which she graduated in 1896. She became almost immediately second assistant to the director of nurses, Norah Livingstone, where her administrative and teaching abilities were quickly recognized. After a year as superintendent of nurses in a small Boston Hospital, she returned in 1900 to Montreal as first assistant to Miss Livingstone. Her desire to be more fully prepared for her work took her to New York in 1903 where she registered in the Hospital Economics Course at Teacher's College, Columbia. In the next three years, as well as obtaining a diploma in Teaching in Schools of Nursing, she gained experience as matron of the nurses' home of the Presbyterian Hospital, New York, and as instructor in dietetics. In 1906, Miss Shaw returned to the Montreal General Hospital to initiate a programme unique in Canada — the first course of preliminary instruction for probationers. In the next few years she displayed her readiness to accept responsibility in professional organizations. In 1908, she represented the Alumnae Association of her hospital at the founding meeting of the C.N.A.T.N. held in Ottawa and was elected honorary secretary. Unfortunately, illness prevented her attending the International Council of Nurses in London in 1909, at which meeting the C.N.A.T.N. became an official member. At the same time she was forced by illness to resign from her position at the Montreal General, spending the next few years in sanatoria at Saranac Lake, N.Y., and Ste Agathe, Que., and in travelling abroad. By 1914 the "cure" was complete, and Miss Shaw was able to return to active work, choosing a war-time job as volunteer social worker with the Montreal Branch of the Canadian Patriotic Fund. Here, with her childhood friend, Mrs. Robert Reford, she supervised other volunteers in the East End of the city, working closely under the direction of Helen R. Y. Reid. Her contact with nursing was not lost during this time, even though many of her hospital friends were serving overseas. Mabel Holt, direc34

MISS SHAW'S SWEET SUMMER

tor of nurses at the Montreal General Hospital from 1927-47, recalls that it was Miss Shaw who influenced her to study nursing in 1915. It seemed inevitable, as her health continued to improve, that Miss Shaw should be asked by Miss Reid, on behalf of the Corporation Committee of McGill, to accept the position of Director of the School for Graduate Nurses. In this position her innate capabilities for teaching and providing leadership found full expression. With tact, good judgement and clear vision, she developed the School as a respected department of the university. When the Canadian Red Cross Society withdrew its support from the School in 1923, there was no hesitation on the part of the university in assuming responsibility for the department. Miss Shaw's professional standards were of the highest, and it was not long before she was recognized across Canada as a leading authority on nursing education. She played a significant role in the evolution of the C.N.A. while president of the C.A.N.E. from 1922-24. As president of the A.R.N.P.Q. from 1922-26 she represented the Association at various meetings both national and international. In Quebec she established a firm basis for understanding and co-operation between French and English nurses and received special recognition in 1925 for her part in the amendment of the Registration Act. She was a member of both local and national Boards of the Victorian Order of Nurses, a frequent speaker to professional groups or other organizations, and an active member of the Church of St. John the Evangelist. In 1926 she gave up her leadership of the A.R.N.P.Q. to become president of the C.N.A., a position she accepted on August 27, 1926, exactly one year before her death. As president, she would represent Canada at the I.C.N and to Miss Shaw this was a concrete means of promoting international co-operation, of demonstrating her own deep, personal conviction that peace and understanding from man to man was possible. To this end, she attended the Interim Conference in Geneva, in July 1927, impressing all who met her with her charm, graciousness and sincerity. Returning to England with Miss Smellie, who also attended the Geneva meeting, she died unexpectedly in the Royal Infirmary at Liverpool on August 27. A memorial service conducted in the Lady Chapel of Liverpool Cathedral was attended by representatives of almost every nursing organization and many hospitals in Great Britain.14 In Montreal, where 14. A photograph of this chapel, presented by the nurses of Great Britain, hung for many years in the offices of the C.N.A. 35

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

funeral services were held in early September, nurses of Canada paid their final respects. Devotion to the highest ideals, the determination of a pioneer spirit, and marked qualities of leadership, combined in Flora Madeline Shaw to produce one of Canada's most outstanding figures in the nursing profession. Significant tribute was paid to this distinguished woman, herself not a university graduate, by the Corporation of McGill: During the seven years since the inauguration of the School Miss Shaw has guided its destinies with tact, earnestness and efficiency .... Her loss will be keenly felt— to a special degree by those with whom she was closely associated in her university work.... Miss Shaw's pioneer work for nursing education has added to the reputation of the University both at home and abroad."

At the Montreal General Hospital, a tablet to her memory was unveiled in 1934. Her death was to occasion a thirty year mission on the part of the Alumnae Association of the School for Graduate Nurses to establish a fitting memorial — The Flora Madeline Shaw Chair of Nursing at McGill.

is. CorporationMinute Book No. 9, October 3, 1927, p. 71. 36

Chapter V

A Crisis Curbs Achievement

he news of Flora Madeline Shaw's death on August 27,1927,was received with sorrow and alarm by those at the School for Graduate Nurses. Less than six weeks remained before the commencement of classes. The loss of friend and adviser was great but the loss to the School of a skilled director and teacher was immeasurable. On Anne Slattery fell the responsibility of acting-director, on the Advisory Committee the task of fmding a successor to Miss Shaw. Temporary arrangements had to be made for the present academic year, for Miss Shaw had undertaken the bulk of teaching in all courses except public health. Miss Slattery felt able to give preliminary lectures in the teaching course, but a qualified instructor for the later work was essential. It proved impossible to obtain a full-time instructor on such short notice. Through Miss Stewart of Teacher's College, Columbia, the 37

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

services of Prof. Carolyn Gray, Dean of the School of Nursing, Western Reserve University, were procured. Miss Gray came to Montreal for two weeks that winter and again the following spring to give intensive courses in teaching in schools of nursing and in administration. Miss Shaw's course in supervision was presented that year by Louise M. Dickson and the administration course given jointly by Miss Dickson and Miss Samuel. For the twenty-four students enrolled, classes proceeded much as normal during that trying year. In September, five members of the Advisory Committee met to consider the appointment of a new director.' By November they were unanimous in their decision to approachBertha Harmer, M.A., B.Sc., R.N., Assistant Professor of Nursing at the Yale University School of Nursing. Miss Harmer, a Canadian by birth and graduate of the Toronto General Hospital and Columbia University, was a noted authority on nursing education. In January 1928, she came to Montreal to be interviewed and two months later accepted the position of Director of the School for Graduate Nurses. "I shall be proud and delighted to be associated with McGill, an institution [with] such a long and honourable history," she wrote to Miss Reid' Relief was felt by all those concerned with the School. The months since Miss Shaw's death had not been easy. During this period Miss Slattery had displayed remarkable ability and leadership in carrying on the work of the School. In addition to the many hours devoted to administrative and teaching tasks, she also gave freely of her time to student and alumnae activities. During her term as acting-director, the History of Nursing Society of McGill Univeristy was formed on the suggestion of Dr. Maude Abbott. Composed of students and alumnae of the School, it was patterned on a similar organization at Teacher's College, Columbia. The primary aim of the society was to collect and preserve historical material on nursing, which could be used eventually in the compilation of a history of nursing in Canada. Nettie D. Fidler (Teaching 1928) was elected first president and members of the executive included Miss Slattery and Miss Dickson. Honorary members were: Dr. Maude Abbott, M. Adelaide Nutting, Dr. Helen R. Y. Reid, Mabel F. Hersey, i. Members of this sub-committee were: H. R. Y. Reid, M. Hersey, M. K. Holt, Dr. C. F. Martin, Dr. A. G. Fleming. a. Quoted in letter of H. R. Y. Reid to Sir Arthur Currie, March 9, 1927. 38

A CRISIS CURBS ACHIEVEMENT

Isabel Stewart, and Rev. Mother Mailloux (Notre Dame Hospital). In order to further the work of the society, it was decided to publish a booklet on pioneer nurses in Canada for distribution and sale at the Congress of the I.C.N. which was to convene in Montreal in 1929. This booklet, dedicated to the memory of Flora Madeline Shaw, was edited by Miss Slattery.3 In 1930, the name of the society was changed to the History of Nursing Society of Montreal and its executive broadened to include members of French-speaking nursing schools and hospitals. Although the society was never formally disbanded, its activities decreased in the years following Dr. Abbott's retirement. Its archives, however, were accessible to the editors of a history of nursing in Canada which was published in 19474 , thus fulfilling one of the primary objects of the society. At the sixth Quadrennial Congress of the I.c.N., July 8-13, 1929, over 7,000 nurses from 34 countries throughout the world converged on Montreal for the largest convention ever held in that metropolis.' Although the formal responsibility for arrangements fell on the C.N.A., of which Miss Hersey was then president, and on the A.R.N.P.Q. as the local representative body, nevertheless the School for Graduate Nurses and its individual members and graduates contributed significantly to the unqualified success of the project. More than one hundred Canadian nurses, English and French, served on committees or in other ways, and of these almost one third could claim a tie with the McGill School. One of the social events arranged during this period was a garden party held on the campus, attended by some 4,000 persons. Miss Nutting was among those who addressed the Congress and Miss Stewart presided over a joint meeting of the History of Nursing Societies of McGill and Columbia Universities. It was indeed an event long-cherished in the memory of all those participating. During the winter of 1927-28, members of the Alumnae Association of the School for Graduate Nurses discussed ways and means of establishing a suitable memorial to Flora Madeline Shaw. Again in this matter, Anne Slattery provided leadership. 3. Anne Slattery ed., Pioneers of Nursing in Canada, (Montreal, April 1929). 4. John M. Gibbon and Mary S. Mathewson, Three Centuries of Canadian Nursing, (Toronto, 1947)• 5. For a detailed description of this congress see Miss Upton's description in her history of the A.R.N.P.Q., An Experiment in Mutual Understanding, pp. 6873. 39

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

In the six years since the formation of the Alumnae Association, its loyalty to the School and to Miss Shaw had remained constant. In 192627 its members had raised $250 for a scholarship in the teaching course.' It became apparent that the furthering of nursing education would be the most appropriate memorial to one who had devoted her life to this cause. At a meeting of the Alumnae Association, February 9, 1928, (the same evening that the History of Nursing Society was formed) it was proposed by Miss Slattery that the memorial take the form of a fund "to advance nursing education at the School for Graduate Nurses, McGill University ... the nucleus of the fund to be raised by the Alumnae."' In the next two months a circular letter was sent to all members of the association soliciting donations, for it was planned to collect $1,000 before making outside appeals. The fund was named "The Flora Madeline Shaw Endowment Fund" and a proposed endowment of $60,000 was the goal for 1932. At the annual meeting of the Alumnae Association in May 1928, the president, Frances L. Reed, handed over the work of the fund to a special committee of which Miss Slattery was elected chairman. Miss Slattery held this position until her resignation from the School in November 1929, by which time almost $4,000 had been raised towards the endowment.8 Miss Slattery's successor as chairman of the Flora Madeline Shaw Endowment Fund Committee was E. Frances Upton, a graduate of the 1924 class in administration, who had just been appointed executivesecretary and registrar of the A.R.N.P.Q. Miss Upton questioned the form which the memorial to Miss Shaw had taken, stating that its terms were not clearly defined. She felt that the need for scholarships at the School was urgent and that a memorial fund from which annual scholarships could be awarded would serve a more immediate purpose in perpetuating the memory of Miss Shaw. 6. Recipient was Loretta Charland. 7. Minutes of the Alumnae Association of the School for Graduate Nurses, February 9, 1928, pp. 126-27. 8. Contributors included: the A.R.N.P.Q. ($80o with a further $1,200 promised); Mrs. Robert Reford ($1,000); the College of Nursing, London; Isabel Stewart and M. A. Nutting. 40

A CRISIS CURBS ACHIEVEMENT

She envisaged a Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund on the same lines as the scholarship and loan fund established in the United States to the memory of Isabel Hampton Robb. The fifteen nurses present at the November, 1929, meeting of the Alumnae Association, voiced their approval, and plans were intiated to award the first of seven Flora Madeline Shaw Scholarships. Out-of-town members were notified and one voice in protest was raised, that of Miss Slattery. In a formal letter to the secretary of the Alumnae Association, written March 17, 1930, she labelled "unconstitutional" the means by which the monies raised for one purpose, an endowment, were being diverted. She reminded the members of the pressing need for financial independence on the part of the School, if nursing education were to flourish at the University .9 But her voice was not heeded. In the next six years, $2,25o in scholarships were awarded out of the fund.'° However, the original aim of an endowment for the School was not forgotten. In June 1932, the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee transferred $4,000, the original sum raised by Miss Slattery's committee, to the authorities of McGill for further investment. By 1936 negotiations were begun with the university on the establishment of a permanent endowment fund. The awarding of scholarships in the depression years served an immediate purpose, that of assisting nurses to advance their education. It also stimulated interest in the development of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund. But the financial crisis which arose at the School for Graduate Nurses in 1932 was to hamper seriously further progress of the fund. In 1928 the "crash" was yet to come; Canadian nurses rode optimistically on the crest of the wave of prosperity; the tides of change were favouring nursing education. The Rockefeller Foundation had instituted travelling fellowships for nurses which facilitated an interchange of thought between nurse educationists in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. A conference on university courses in nursing, held at Teacher's College, 9. Letter to Dorothy Cotton from Anne Slattery, March 17, 1930. to. Recipients were: 1930-31, Evelyn M. Wales ($Soo), 1931-32, Flora MacKeen ($Soo), Madeleine Flander ($z5o), Nora C. Martin ($z5o); 1934-35 Kathleen I. Donnolly ($250); 1935-36, Marian Barbara Bie ($z5o); 1936-37, Winnifred King ($z5o).

4'

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

Columbia, early in 1928, was attended by eleven representatives from Canadian universities and hospitals. A joint committee of the C.N.A. and the Canadian Medical Association had been formed in 1927 to study nursing in Canada, and the study was already in progress, under the direction of Dr. George M. Weir, Professor of Education at the University of British Columbia." Although Canada could boast of only four universities which granted degrees in nursing, new developments in this area seemed imminent. At McGill, the question of degree courses in nursing had been raised in the Advisory Committee of the School for Graduate Nurses in June 1927, before Miss Shaw's death, when a sub-committee under Dr. C. F. Martin was appointed to study the matter.12 A second committee13 pursued the question, and following Miss Harmer's appointment in 1928 placed the recommendation before the Principal, that a six-year undergraduate course leading to a degree be established at the School for Graduate Nurses. Hospital administrators and personnel were not convinced of the feasibility of the scheme and many persons in positions of influence doubted that nurses required university education. However, Dr. C. F. Martin, Dean of Medicine, supported the proposal; Sir Arthur Currie, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, was openly sympathetic. Sir Arthur had written to Miss Reid earlier that "When we establish the degree course [at McGill] we can promise that Miss Harmer's rank will be that of Professor."14 The calendar of the School for the 1928-29 year listed this course as a development of the "near future". The climate of the university seemed distinctly favourable for the creation of a degree course for nurses; the appointment of Miss Harmer was made with the object of implementing such a programme. Miss Harmer brought to McGill fifteen years' experience as instructor, author, and administrator. A woman of high ideals, she was closely identified with the university movement in nursing education in the United States and through her writing and teaching was in its vanguard. 1i. George M. Weir, A Survey of Nursing Education in Canada. (Toronto, 1932). 12. Members of this committee were: H. R. Y. Reid, M. F. Hersey, M. K. Holt, M. L. Moag, A. Slattery. 13. Members were: Dr. A. T. Baca, Dr. A. G. Fleming, M. Hersey, M. Pickard (n.v.n.), M. K. Holt, F. Strumm (M. G. H.). 14. Letter to H. R. Y. Reid from Sir Arthur Currie, March I, 1928. 42

A CRISIS CURBS ACHIEVEMENT

She had spent four years on the staff of Yale University School of Nursing where she had made an outstanding contribution to the curriculum and the organization of that school. Her keen mind and ability to extract the essence in nursing education more than offset a native shyness and reserve which resulted in a tendency to work alone. She was anxious that the prestige of nursing at McGill be enhanced and deplored the fact that nurses must go to Columbia or elsewhere to get a degree. McGill, she felt, had a decided advantage in the availability of its teaching hospitals. She was conscious of the approaching International Congress of Nurses when the School would be under the critical observation of the nursing world. She was anxious that by then nursing at McGill should be established on a sound educational and professional basis "worthy of our Canadian ideals and the reputation we have for thoroughness and substantial achievement."15 Nineteen hundred and twenty-nine, Miss Harmer averred, was the ideal year to commence the degree course. To this end she set about re-organizing the curriculum at the School for Graduate Nurses. Short courses were co-ordinated or replaced by others taken in the Arts and Science faculty. Miss Harmer considered a "core curriculum" of basic subjects, academic and professional, essential for all students in the School. Nurses were encouraged to take electives such as French, history, philosophy, political economy, English. Students at the School during this period studied under Dr. Stephen Leacock, The Hon. Cyrus Macmillan, Sir Frederick Clarke, M.A., and other leading scholars of the university. Five major programmes of study 16 were offered in the revised curriculum, each of which could lead to a diploma after two years. The ground work was laid for the establishment of a degree course, and Miss Harmer, through her Advisory Committee, expressed the urgency she felt in this matter. Expansion of the curriculum entailed provision of adequate and qualified staff. Miss Dickson and Miss Samuel had resigned at the end of the 1927-28 session, and Miss Slattery the following year. Miss Harmer, despite limited physical endurance, conducted two major courses 15. Letter to Mrs. Robert Reford from Bertha Hanner, February zz, 1929. 16. See Appendix B, Programme of Study at the School for Graduate Nurses, 192o-64. 43

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

in her initial year at McGill, and for the next three years gave courses in all programmes except public health nursing. For the 1929-30 session, four new members of staff were appointed, each of whom was exceptionally well-qualified. They were: Marion Lindeburgh, Instructor in Health Teaching; Kathleen Hill, part-time assistant in Administration; Isabel Manson, Assistant Director and Instructor in Public Health Nursing; and Eileen Flanagan, Research Worker and Lecturer in Supervision. Marion Lindeburgh came to McGill following six years as director of the Health Education Department of the Provincial Normal School at Regina. She had twelve years' experience as a school teacher in her native Saskatchewan before embarking on a career in nursing at St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, New York, where she had been a pupil of Miss Harmer's. She was to be associated with the School for more than twenty years. Miss Hill, holding at the same time an administrative position at the Royal Victoria Hospital, remained on the staff of the School only one year, to be succeeded by Blanche G. Herman in the 1931-32 session. Isabel Manson (Mrs. William Prince), a niece of Miss Stewart's, had received exceptional preparation in the field of public health nursing in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. Continuing her studies while at McGill, and taking an active part in the professional life of Canadian nurses, she developed and broadened the scope of the public health nursing course during her four years at the school. She was succeeded in September 1933, by Ethel R. Parkinson'', and two months later by Mary S. Mathewson (P.H.N. 1929). Miss Flanagan's appointment was made possible by a fellowship granted by Dr. C. F. Martin, Dean of Medicine. Research in nursing was an area in which Miss Harmer was particularly interested, and in which she felt that McGill could provide leadership. Miss Flanagan, who had studied under Miss Harmer the previous year, was a graduate of the Royal Victoria Hospital. She remained on the staff of the School until 1932, later becoming director of nurses at the Montreal Neurological Institute until her retirement in 1961. She was to become closely identified with the School for Graduate Nurses through her contribution to the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee. 17. Ethel R. Parkinson, December 1933. 44

R.N.,

B.s., resigned because of illness and died suddenly in

A CRISIS CURBS ACHIEVEMENT

With the addition of these members of staff, Miss Harmer felt assured that the commencement of a degree course in nursing at McGill was imminent. Hopes that the proposed degree course at the School for Graduate Nurses might soon be approved, increased in the autumn of 193o when the Principal, Sir Arthur Currie, requested that a critical evaluation of each faculty and department be made. Committees were appointed to undertake the university-wide survey, to outline "not merely the accomplishments but also ... the tendencies and opportunities ... that are, for one reason or another, not being seized."I$ Three meetings of the Survey Committee of the School for Graduate Nurses". were held, and a report submitted to the Principal in April 1931. Three recommendations were included: the first advised the establishment of a six-year undergraduate degree course; the second urged the interim granting of a B.N. degree to nurses studying at McGill who met the required academic and professional qualifications; the third proposed the formation of a Teaching Health Centre in the City of Montreal which would serve as a model for instruction and practice in all branches of public health. A strong plea for more adequate accommodation for the School was appended. Problems of financing a degree programme were uppermost in Miss Harmer's mind. Despite increased enrollment, the School incurred annual deficits. Miss Harmer knew that this could not go on much longer. She considered an endowment absolutely essential, and personally felt that the proposed objective of $6o,000 should be raised to $1oo,000. She considered it important to keep the needs of nursing education before the public so that funds for this purpose might be forthcoming, both as private and public donations. McGill's policy in the granting of degrees was changing, for degrees were being given in departments such as Household Science, the School of Commerce, and Library School. Members of the Survey Committee maintained that if this represented the general policy at McGill, then the School for Graduate Nurses should also be eligible. But the main recommendations of the Survey Committee's Report were not to be fulfilled. The only immediate result was the transfer of I8. Letter to B. Harmer from Sir Arthur Currie, November 26, 1930. 19. Members of this committee were: Professor F. Clarke, Professor C. A. Dawson, Dr. A. G. Fleming, Dean Ira MacKay, Dr. C. F. Martin, Bertha Harmer. 45

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

the School from its overcrowded location in the Arts Building to the top floor of a rambling red brick building at 348o University Avenue, formerly the Theological College. A graphic description of the physical difficulties under which the School had previously operated was contained in the Report: We have no class room of our own and must depend on classrooms available after all other schedules have been arranged ... our available shelves are filled to overflowing ... and owing to problems of weight and building construction, we are not permitted to put up more shelf space or to add to the weight in any way. The shelves are placed in an overcrowded staff office and, because of the problem of weight, in a position which makes the material accessible to only one person .. . There is no reading space available for the students.Y°

The new quarters, shared with the School for Social Workers, included offices, classrooms, conference rooms, reading room, and library. The bottom floor of the building was occupied by the university contingent of the Canadian Officers Training Corps and Eva R. Younge, a member of the staffof the School for Social Workers at this time, recalls the discomfiture of passing the open door of the men's common room each time one entered or left the building. Special accommodation was provided for students of the School in the Redpath, Medical, and Osler Libraries. In 1932, Miss Harmer was asked by the Rockefeller Foundation to prepare a report on the McGill School for a nursing volume to be published in connection with a current series on Methods and Problems of Medical Education.21 It was a factual report, full of praise for the educational facilities and resources of the School, full of optimism for the future of nursing at McGill. Miss Harmer felt that courses at the School could compare favourably with the best offered at any other university. She had attempted to secure a statement of future policy from Sir Arthur Currie without success and, despite this, felt confident that McGill would fulfill the remainder of the recommendations of the Survey Committee. Her hopes were reinforced by the recent publication of "A Survey of Nursing Education in Canada," the result of Dr. George M. Weir's study commenced in 1929, which stressed the need for special prepara20. Report of the Survey Committee of the School for Graduate Nurses, pp. 9-lo. 21. B. Harmer, "School for Graduate Nurses, McGill University," Methods and Problems of Medical Education (The Rockefeller Foundation, 1932). 46

A CRISIS CURBS ACHIEVEMENT

tion for teachers and supervisors in schools of nursing. Nurses attending the biennial meeting of the C.N.A. at Saint John, N.B., in June 1932, were optimistic that Canadian universities would continue to provide this preparation. But in 1932, Canadian universities were feeling the full effect of the depression. At McGill the School for Social Workers and the School of Pharmacy were forced to close.22 The School for Graduate Nurses, which was already proving a steady drain on university finances, was next to be threatened. Miss Harmer, in presenting her report to the Rockefeller Foundation, must have privately hoped for a grant to carry on her work at the School. However, in 1932 Rockefeller grants went elsewhere. McGill University received S i % million dollars to build and equip the Montreal Neurological Institute; almost ironically, the University of Toronto received a grant to develop its nursing programme 23 At a meeting of the Board of Governors of McGill University, July 20, 1932, it was resolved that unless "the Nurses' Association and others interested ... can raise sufficient money to support the School for a five-year period, it will be discontinued a year hence."24 To Miss Harmer, this was the final blow to her hopes and dreams of establishing a degree course in nursing at McGill; for the School for Graduate Nurses it was to presage a long and difficult struggle for mere existence. Bertha Harmer was born March 2, 1882, at Port Hope, Ontario, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Harmer. Together with two brothers and four sisters, she received her early schooling at Port Hope, moving with her family to Toronto when she was eleven years of age. Here she attended Dufferin Public School and Jarvis Street Collegiate, early 22. The School for Social Workers, so named in 1923, re-opened in 1933 as the Montreal School of Social Work, financed by donations from Welfare Federations, private, and corporate donors. In 1945 it was acknowledged academically by the University with the commencement of a Master's programme, but was not financed fully by McGill until 1950. 23. The grant was to initiate an experimental undergraduate course of three years leading to an R.N. Diploma. It was not a degree course. 24. Minutes of the Board of Governors of McGill University, July 20, 1932, Governors' Minute Book 1919-35, p. 639. The total charge of the School for Graduate Nurses against general funds of the University since 1920 was reported at this meeting to be 874,772.07. 47

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

showing a fondness for books which was to be a guiding force in her life. She was a serious student even at this time, shy and reserved, tending to be withdrawn from others. After graduating from high school, young Bertha became an accountant for the William Davies Company in Toronto, and it was the secretary of this company who recognized her potential and persuaded her to take up nursing as a career. She graduated from the Toronto General Hospital in 1913 at the head of her class and for the next two years served as head nurse, supervisor, and instructor in various departments of the hospital. Two of her older sisters were teachers and Bertha Harmer turned naturally to this aspect of nursing. In 1915 she enrolled at Teacher's College, Columbia, to study for a s.sc. degree in Administration and Teaching in Schools of Nursing, and later (1927) was to return for her A.M. degree. The girls in the Harmer family all had drive and ambition, recalls a nephew, J. Eric Hossack of Toronto, but "Bertha was the one who surpassed them all." She was not motivated by personal gain, but by a sincere desire to better the lot of those around her. In her chosen career this drive was channelled towards nursing education and the elevation of standards and conditions in nursing in whatever area she was associated. After graduation from Teacher's College in 1918, Miss Harmer instructed at Vassar Training Camp, where college girls were being given short courses in nursing in preparation for military service. The same year she became Instructor of Nursing Arts at St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, New York, and while there produced the work for which she was to receive international acclaim — her Textbook of the Principles and Practice of Nursing, published in April 1922. Miss Harmer's ability as a scholar had been recognized at Teacher's College where as a student she had assisted Miss Stewart in the Department of Nursing Education. On the latter's recommendation, the Medical Public Health Department of the Macmillan Company approached Miss Harmer and persuaded her to write a book on nursing arts. This book became the standard text in leading hospitals throughout North America and was translated into several languages for use abroad. Her second book, Methods and Principles of Teaching and Practice of Nursing, was published in May 1926. The second edition of her Textbook appeared in June 1928, and the third edition in July 1934. After 48

A CRISIS CURBS ACHIEVEMENT

Miss Harmer's death, these were revised by Virginia Henderson, Yale University School of Nursing. Miss Harmer had found her forte in the written word. But the very act of writing forced her to withdraw more and more from group activities, except those involving her students, in whose work she was always interested. To all but a few intimates, she seemed essentially a solitary person. In her writing and teaching she revealed not only the brilliance of her mind and the clarity of her thinking, but also an awareness of the intensely human aspects of nursing. Nursing as an art, a science, a vocation, was ber life; the advancing of nursing education her goal. In 1923, Miss Harmer was asked by Dr. Annie Goodrich, D.SC., Dean of Nursing at the Yale University School of Nursing, to assist in organizing that school. As an experimental school, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, it could explore newer methods and policies of education. Miss Harmer served as Assistant Professor at the Yale University School of Nursing from 1923-27, at the same time acting as First Assistant in Administration at the New Haven Hospital. Although she had undergone a major operation prior to accepting the position at Yale, and was also writing her second book, nevertheless Miss Harmer left her imprint on the Yale School. She was particularly interested in the undergraduate programme and the training of teachers. "I asked [Miss Harmer] to come to Yale," Dean Goodrich averred, "because I believed she had a much sounder and more comprehensive grasp of the educational problem than anyone I know and her work with us strengthened rather than weakened that opinion ... I do not know anyone who could have made exactly the contribution that Miss Harmer made to this curriculum."25 In January 1927, Miss Harmer was forced to give up teaching in order to take an extended rest. During this time, as well as preparing the second edition of her Textbook, she completed work for her Master's degree at Teacher's College in the field of general education. In the spring of 1928, Miss Harmer accepted the positon of Director of the McGill School for Graduate Nurses, taking up residence in Montreal in June of that year. The Advisory Committee of the School had indicated to her their hopes that an undergraduate degree course in nursing would be established soon. Miss Harmer, fresh from her ex25. Letter to H. R. Y. Reid from Dean A. Goodrich, November 25, 1927. 49

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

perience at Yale and despite uncertain health, was anxious to commence this project. Driven perhaps by a knowledge that time was short, she devoted herself to the work at hand, the attainment of degree status for nurses at McGill. At forty-six, Bertha Harmer was not yet at the peak of her career. Although she had lived and worked almost exclusively in the United States for more than ten years, she was still at heart a Canadian. She had gone south, as did many Canadian nurses of her generation, to take advantage of the broader educational and job opportunities there. She had family ties in Canada, a loyalty to her British heritage, a love for and understanding of the Canadian people. When the opportunity presented itself, she was more than happy to return. While at McGill, Bertha Harmer lived quietly, surrounding herself with her beloved books and exercising her artistic taste in the furnishing and decorating of her small apartment. Good books, good art, and good theatre were her joy, the one respite she had from her work. In 1929, despite her natural aversion to social activities, Miss Harmer acted as one of the "hostesses" for the International Congress of Nurses which met in Montreal. But except for student or professional gatherings, she continued to live very much to herself. In person she was retiring, unaggressive, modest, but as a writer, the dynamic force of her mind was overwhelming. Her ideas and ideals tumbled forth in profusion, arranged by her facile pen into reports, letters, memoranda, curricula. A perfectionist, she was mercilessly selfcritical, content with nothing short of the best. Miss Harmer's faith in the ultimate success of the School never wavered, but its threatened closure in July 1932, was a disappointment from which she never fully recovered. Coupled with this, her health, which had not been robust when she came to McGill, began to fail. More and more she depended on Miss Lindeburgh, gradually relinquishing her teaching and administrative duties. In 1933, her course in administration was not given. Virtually bedridden, she refused to accept her salary, requesting that it be applied to the financial support of the School. She undertook voluminous correspondence in an effort to secure funds, despite deteriorating health. Her resignation in May 1934, was not submitted until the continuance of the School for yet another year had been assured. A complete revision of her Textbook, published in July 1934 was one of her last tasks, much of it carried out in bed. Miss 50

A CRISIS CURBS ACHIEVEMENT

Harmer's death occurred at her sister's home in Toronto in December, 1934.

Bertha Harmer's mark was left indelibly on the curriculum of the School for Graduate Nurses and on the minds of all who studied under her. In her short time as director she had elevated standards and established the School on a sound academic basis within the university. The tragedy was that the depression intervened. In the next ten years of struggle for financial support, much of the progress made by Miss Harmer would be undone.

5r

Chapter VI

One Foot in the Door

D D ertha Harmer's death in 1934 had been preceded by that of Sir Arthur Currie, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill. With his death in December 1933, the School for Graduate Nurses lost one of its most influential supporters. A distinguished soldier, Sir Arthur had acquired a lasting respect for nurses during World War I. He was convinced of the need for advanced education for nurses and had occasion in his years at McGill to come to the defence of the School. In 1925 the Finance Committee of the Board of Governors had considered dropping the course in nursing which it described as the most expensive department in the university. Sir Arthur had expressed his desire to keep the School open, trying unsuccessfully then and in succeeding years to secure financial support from municipal and provincial governments. When the closure of the School became imminent in June, 1932, Sir 53

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

Arthur called a special meeting of the Advisory Committee of the School to discuss the matter. He had already approached Florence Emory, President of the C.N.A., concerning possible assistance from that body. In reply, she regretted that the national association could do nothing to alleviate the financial difficulties of the School, but asserted that withdrawal of the work at McGill would be calamitous. Mabel Hersey, too, considered the potential closing of the School "a serious and humiliating loss to us in Montreal, and a real tragedy to the nursing profession in Canada.''' She begged for a postponement of the decision in order to have time to raise the necessary funds. Helen R. Y. Reid, who had just tendered her resignation as chairman of the Advisory Committee of the School, also pleaded with Sir Arthur on behalf of the School. As a result, his sympathetic presentation of the needs of the School at the meeting of the Board of Governors on July 20, 1932, forestalled its complete closure. One year's grace was given in order to raise sufficient funds to sustain the School for a five-year period. "I consider that $40,000... would be sufficient," Sir Arthur wrote to Miss Hersey, "and at the end of this period we would all know where we are financially."2 Later in the summer he met with Miss Hersey and Miss Holt to discuss means of raising an endowment. His personal interest in and support of the School continued in the last year of his life. Wherever possible, he alleviated the charge against the School, both in cost of lectures and administrative expense. Dr. C. F. Martin, Dean of Medicine from 1923-36, who became Acting-Principal on the death of Sir Arthur Currie, was likewise sympathetic to nursing at McGill. Associated with the School since its inception, he was in a position as member of the Advisory Committee to interpret the problems which beset the School to those in authority. Registration of nurses at McGill had increased by almost so per cent in the year of crisis and neither threat of closure nor increased fees' reduced this number in the following year. At the University of Toronto, the School of Nursing was also reaching capacity, and should the I. Letter to Sir Arthur Currie from M. Hersey, July 35, 1932. 2. Letter to M. Hersey from Sir Arthur Currie, July zo, 1932. 3. Decision to increase fees at McGill was taken at the meeting of the Board of Governors, July zo, 3932. At the School for Graduate Nurses, fees were increased from $110 to ß15o per year. 54

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McGill School close, nurses in Eastern Canada would be forced once more to seek higher education in the United States. Other university schools of nursing in Canada, with the exception of that at Toronto which was sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, were also feeling the effect of the depression. At a time of widespread financial insecurity, nurses were called upon to come to the support of the whole fabric of nursing education in Canada. An editorial in The Canadian Nurse, May 1933, referred to the ominous situation at McGill, stating "the future of nursing education in Canada is at stake, and Canadian nurses must hear and heed the challenge."4 To the School for Graduate Nurses the challenge had been given. Means must be found to meet the cost of maintenance, or the School would be closed. This, it was agreed, would be disastrous. Sir Arthur Currie had already urged the establishment of an endowment, an idea long supported by Miss Harmer, Director of the School. Four thousand dollars were being held in trust by McGill for such a purpose, and the Alumnae Association of the School, through the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee, was loathe to relinquish this for current support. At a special meeting of the Alumnae Association held jointly with members of the Advisory Committee November 4, 1932, the financial crisis was reviewed. At this meeting a Special Finance Committee was appointed for the specific purpose of raising funds necessary for the continuance of the School. E. Frances Upton was elected chairman, and members of the committee included honorary members of the Alumnae Association, superintendents of English-speaking schools of nursing in the Province of Quebec, directors of public health nursing organizations, and other nursing leaders .5 Frances (Reed) Fisher assumed the duties of secretary. A second committee, appointed by the Advisory Committee and having Miss Harmer as chairman, undertook to approach the Carnegie Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, certain life insurance companies and other corporations, in an effort to secure funds. As these sources one by one proved unavailing, the responsibility for the survival of the School devolved upon the members of the Special Finance Committee and, through them, on the Alumnae and friends of the School. 4. Editorial, "The Crisis in Education," The Canadian Nurse, Vol. 29, 1933, 249-50. 5. For members of the Special Finance Committee, see Appendix C. 55

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From this Committee, the appeal went to each of the 264 graduates of the School scattered in all parts of Canada and abroad. A letter from Miss Harmer notified each one of the financial crisis facing the School, while the Committee followed up with a request for both individual support in the form of an annual pledgee and local support through the organization of regional sub-committees. Hospital alumnae associations and provincial nursing associations were also solicited. Response was slow. Nurses, faced with personal problems of low wages or unemployment, did not seem at first to comprehend the serious nature of Sir Arthur's ultimatum. By March 1933 only $373.25 in cash had been raised. At the April meeting of the Board of Governors the Principal was forced to recommend that the School for Graduate Nurses be closed at the end of the current session. In desperation, a second appeal was made by the Special Finance Committee and Miss Harmer to the Alumnae of the School and the nurses of Canada, together with a plea for assistance from interested citizens. Miss Harmer, despite serious illness, personally obtained from Sir Arthur Currie a guarantee that, if sufficient funds could be found, the School would continue on a one-year basis. Prominent members of the Advisory Committee including Dr. Fleming, Dr. Bazin, Miss Hersey and Miss Holt, published statements in the local press describing the contribution of the McGill School to nursing education. Support for the School was urged in Quebec and Ottawa newspapers; publicity in this regard was increased across the country. Miraculously, the money poured in. Within two months, more than $5,000 in cash was on hand and over $12,000 pledged. At the "Little" convocation ceremony', May 23, 1933, Sir Arthur Currie announced that he would request the Board of Governors to continue the School for one more year. The immediate crisis was past. In the next five years, the nurses of Canada were to contribute nearly 6. The Pledge Plan was to prove disappointing. By May 1937, out of a total 01355 graduates only 130 (36 per cent) had subscribed. Of these, 55 persons had sent in one subscription ($1o); only 5 persons had completed payment of the five-year pledge ($5o.00) 7. During the years 5929-33 students receiving diplomas and certificates in the following departments did not take part in the main Convocation ceremony of the University: Library School, School of Physical Education, School for Social Workers, Department of Pharmacy, Conservatorium of Music, School for Graduate Nurses. A separate ceremony known as "Little" Convocation was held in Moyse Hall. 56

ONE FOOT IN THE DOOR

$20,0008 in order that the School for Graduate Nurses might continue. At the same time, the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund was to increase almost twofold, so that by 1938 plans could be made to create a permanent endowment. Almost $8,000 of the total amount contributed during this period for the support of the School was raised by the Montreal branch of the Special Finance Committee through such undertakings as mammoth bridge parties (1933, 1934), dances (1934, 1935), and Christmas bazaars (1935, 1936). A sale and tea held in the McGill Union in December, 1936, cleared over $3,000. A Valentine Dance held in the Windsor Hotel in February 1935, by which $1,200 was raised, was a gala social event under the patronage of Lady Bessborough, Senator Cairine Wilson°, and other prominent citizens. Nursing at McGill undoubtedly won new friends and supporters through these endeavours. Students at the School were "drafted" into fund-raising activities and on graduation rounded up as active alumnae under the vigorous leadership of Miss Upton. An innovation introduced by Miss Harmer's successor, Miss Lindeburgh, which did much to increase public appreciation of the work of the School, was the "Annual Tea" at which the students and staff entertained those in university and medical circles who had contributed to the work of the School during the year. In other parts of Canada, fund-raising committees were busy. Most noteworthy was that in Ottawa, under the combined direction of M. Blanche Anderson (Teaching, 1927) and Mary Acland (Administration, 1928), which raised over $2,200 towards the endowment fund, over and above substantial donations to the current upkeep of the School. Student nurses at the Ottawa Civic Hospital pledged lot per person per month, which in a five-year period amounted to over $Soo. Other donations came from provincial nurses' associations, alumnae associations of various hospitals across Canada, hospital boards, and individuals. Mrs. Robert Reford, retiring from the Advisory Committee of the School in 1936, paid tribute to the nursing profession: "It is entirely due 8. For details see Appendix C. 9. Senator Cairine Wilson (Mrs. Norman Wilson) was instrumental in establishing in 1922 the Mildred Hope Forbes Scholarship awarded to a Montreal General Hospital graduate at the School for Graduate Nurses. During the period of financial crisis at the School, she gave strong support to the Ottawa sub-committee in its fund-raising efforts. 57

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to the courage, the faith, the perseverance, and the hard work of nurses, including in many instances sacrifice of slender resources of leisure and of means, that we have not witnessed the retrograde step of discontinuing the School."10 For their work on the Special Finance Committee three Montreal nurses received honorary membership in the Alumnae Association of the School. These were: Esther Beith, Director of the Child Welfare Association; Caroline V. Barrett, Director of Nursing at the Royal Victoria Montreal Maternity Hospital; Catherine M. Ferguson, Lady Superintendent of the Alexandra Hospital. But the indomitable and fiery power behind the Special Finance Committee was its Chairman, E. Frances Upton. With a dedication and an energy unmatched, she worked for the preservation of the School, and when its future was once more assured at the end of a fiveyear period, she was to undertake a second campaign for funds which would ultimately result in a permanent endowment. Sir Arthur Currie had estimated $40,000 as the amount needed to operate the School for Graduate Nurses during the five-year period 1933-38. During this period the Special Finance Committee assigned to the university approximately half this amount. That $20,000 was sufficient, in the face of Sir Arthur's estimate, was due in no small measure to the stringent economy practised by those involved in the administration of the school. Miss Harmer had set the example in her last year as Director by refusing to accept her salary. Dorothy King, Supervisor of Casework for the Family Welfare Association, gave her lectures without charge, and this organization waived payment for field work instruction. Esther Beith, Director of the Child Welfare Association, also served on a voluntary basis, and during these years other lecturers either reduced fees or gave their services without remuneration. Marion Lindeburgh, who succeeded Miss Harmer as acting-director, practised similar economies. She and Mary S. Mathewson, who was appointed lecturer in public health nursing in 1933, bought books for the School library from their own meagre salaries and contributed income from extra teaching for the upkeep of the School. Supplies and calendars were diminished in an effort to spare costs; secretarial help was Io. Letter to M. Lindeburgh from Mrs. Robert Reford, January 7, 1936.

58

ONE FOOT IN THE DOOR

reduced. Despite such economies there was constant uncertainty regarding the future of the School. Miss Lindeburgh and the Advisory Committee could not know until the end of one year whether the School would open the following autumn. Such uncertainty doubtless placed an added burden on a drastically curtailed staff. From the time of Miss Harmer's resignation in May 1934, until September 1942, Miss Lindeburgh and Miss Mathewson, except for lecturers in special fields, were entirely responsible for the teaching programme at the School. For five years of this period Miss Mathewson was employed on a part-time basis. Throughout the decade, both women worked without cease: they were active in committee and executive work for provincial and national nursing associations; both spent their summers studying to complete academic requirements; in 1936 they initiated an annual series of extension courses; after the outbreak of war in 1939 new pressures arose. That academic standards at the School should suffer during this period is not surprising. The course in administration was not given from 1933-40. In 1936, in an effort to minimize cost and decrease the teaching load, several changes were made in the curriculum. Two-year diploma courses were discontinued; courses in teaching and supervision previously presented separately, were combined; subjects taken in the Arts and Science Faculty were greatly reduced; all programmes of study at the School became one-year certificate courses only.I" This situation, arising directly out of the financial difficulties of the McGill School, reflected the problems of education during a period of economic recession. Few nurses could afford to attend university during these years. Registration, which had reached a peak in 1932 and 1933, decreased to a low of 16 students in 1938. The following year it doubled, and then increased steadily to a new post-war peak. World War II with its consequent demands on the nursing profession was to see many problems of staff, curriculum, and finances resolved. But in the years 1933-38 threat of closure, like a pall, hung over the School. Its dark shadow cast a gloom across the face of nursing in Canada. Each year, as the necessary funds were raised, penny by penny, with magnificent effort and great personal sacrifice, tentative approval was granted by the Board of Governors to continue the School. Permission included the proviso that "the continuance of this activity will II.

See Appendix B. 59

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

not involve the University in any expense."12 Only one ray of light was seen — Sir Arthur Currie's promise that a re-evaluation would be made at the end of a five-year period. As this time approached, the Special Finance Committee, through its chairman, Miss Upton, approached the Advisory Committee of the School, seeking its advice and assistance in securing permanent financial support. The Advisory Committee of the School for Graduate Nurses did not meet between November, 1932, and January, 1935, during which period every effort was directed towards the preservation of the School. In June 5935, McGill University revised its statutes whereby a newlycreated Senate would take over certain functions previously performed by Corporation. The School could now make representation to the Board of Governors through Senate instead of solely through the Principal, as formerly. Additional members of an enlarged and strengthened Advisory Committee appointed at this time were: Miss E. Beith, Mrs. Walter Vaughan, Mrs. W. W. Stewart, Prof. John Hughes, and Dr. W W. Chipman. The latter was also a member of the Board of Governors of the University. A new Principal was to be appointed shortly, and it seemed imperative to secure his sympathetic attention. The January, 1935, meeting of the Advisory Committee was called to discuss the financial difficulties of the School. At this meeting, Acting-Director Miss Lindeburgh traced the role of the School in nursing education in Canada, pointing out the urgent need for financial support and a permanent endowment. At the June meeting of the Committee, the plight of the School was further considered. Renewed attempts to secure outside support had failed and tribute was paid to members of the Special Finance Committee, and through them to the nurses of Canada, who were now largely responsible for the continued existence of the School. It was decided that members of the Advisory Committee should meet with the new principal, Mr. Eustace Morgan, submitting beforehand a detailed report on the problems confronting the School. To this end, Miss Lindeburgh and Dr. Chipman were received by Principal Morgan on November 7, 5935. Principal Morgan, the Advisory Corn12. Minutes of Board of Governors, McGill University, July 5, 1934. Minute Book 1919-35, p. 709.

60

ONE FOOT IN THE DOOR

mittee minutes reported, received the deputation with sympathy and advised that he would "look into the matter at his own convenience."13 More than a year was to pass before the Principal met with the Advisory Committee on December 4, 1936, to discuss a solution to the precarious situation. By this time, the Special Finance Committee of the Alumnae Association had contributed directly nearly $15,000 to the upkeep of the School. Four thousand dollars were set aside for expenses in the ensuing year. Total contributions by Alumnae and friends of the School to date were actually far in excess of this amount, as the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund now totalled $7,5oo, invested or earmarked for endowment, and a further $2,250 from the fund had been awarded in scholarships between 193o-36.Ia Miss Upton, Chairman of the Special Finance Committee, mindful of Sir Arthur Currie's promise to re-examine the case for the School, felt that the time had come to seek a more definite form of support for nursing at McGill — if indeed the future of the School were to be assured. " We can [not] expect our nurses to continue to make such financial sacrifice for an unlimited length of time," she wrote to the members of the Advisory Committee. " ... We believe that public interest in the School has not been sufficiently procured and that stimulation should be applied in our effort to do so." She pointed out that there was no guarantee that the University would assume responsibility for the School at the end of the present five-year period, and urged the securing of public support.I" Following discussion of Miss Upton's letter, Dr. A. G. Fleming, newly appointed Dean of Medicine, proposed a resolution to be forwarded to Senate requesting consideration by the university of its future policy concerning the School for Graduate Nurses. It was hoped that a decision would be made by the end of the 1937-38 term. Principal Morgan, speaking to the resolution which was seconded by Dr. Chipman, expressed his admiration for the loyalty of the Alumnae of the School. As a result of this resolution presented to Senate some ten days later, 33. Minutes of Advisory Committee of School for Graduate Nurses, December 4, 3936.

34. For growth of Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund, see Appendix C. IS. Letter to Advisory Committee of School for Graduate Nurses from E. F. Upton, November 5, 3936. 61

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a Joint Committee of the Senate and the Board of Governors was appointed to consider problems of the School and to submit proposals concerning its future. The Chairman of this Committee, appointed in February 1937, was Dr. W. H. Brittain, and members consisted of five representatives of the Board of Governors and six members of the Senate.16 On the resignation of Principal Morgan in May 1937, Dr. Brittain became Acting-Principal; and T. H. Matthews, Registrar of the University, succeeded him as Chairman of the Joint Committee. He in turn was succeeded by Dr. Fleming. Meetings were held during the summer and early autumn and gradually the report took shape. Miss Lindeburgh, in the midst of preparations for a summer course at Columbia University, had prepared a memo for submission to the Joint Committee in June. Miss Hersey and Dr. Chipman, representing the Advisory Committee, had approached Sir Edward Beatty, Chancellor of McGill University, to plead the case for the School. The C.N.A., also concerned over the possible closure of the School, had authorized its secretary, Jean S. Wilson, to so advise the Principal of McGill. By October, the report of the Joint Committee was completed. Miss Lindeburgh's memo, which constituted the basis for the report, underlined the importance of the School in nursing education in Canada. But it stressed professional rather than academic curricula and included none of the material prepared by her predecessor, Miss Harmer, which had convinced an earlier Committees' of the desirability of a degree course in nursing. The School in 1937 was fighting for its very existence; Miss Lindeburgh's sole object was to obtain a guarantee of its survival. Burdened by myriad responsibilities and conscious of the precarious financial situation of the School, she did not stress the possibilities of expansion of nursing education at McGill but advocated minimum professional preparation. i6. Members of the Joint Committee of the Senate and Board of Governors were: from the Board of Governors: Dr. W. W. Chipman, Dr. C. F. Martin, Lt. Col.. Herbert Molson, Mr. F. N. Southam, The Secretary and Bursar (Mr. A. P. S. Glassco); from Senate: Dean A. G. Fleming, Dean F. M. G. Johnson, Prof. C. M. McKergow, Dean W. D. Woodhead, the Registrar (Mr. T. H. Matthews) and the Principal (Mr. Eustace Morgan). 17. See p. 45. 62

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As a result, the Joint Committee, in presenting its report, felt obliged to state that it "is not convinced that the carrying of the School is a proper educational function of the University" but agreed that "the School must either continue in the University or close its doors, leaving Eastern Canada without any provision for the training of graduate nurses."18 It was without doubt the loyal support of the Alumnae of the School in the previous four years which convinced the Committee of the need to continue the School. The report continues: "It would be difficult to imagine a more convincing proof of the value of the School than the fact that its graduates secured the funds to keep the School open, most of the money coming from the rather slender purse of the nursing profession."19 Final recommendations of this Committee, presented to Senate November 17, 1937, were as follows: i. That the University continue a separate school under the name of "School of Nursing." 2. That a Committee of Administration20, responsible to Senate, be appointed (this to replace the present Advisory Committee of the School). 3. That the University make available the sum required to run the School. 4. That the policy of the School continue as at present to raise gradually the standards of admission and educational requirements. 5. That approval be given to form an Auxiliary Committee of those interested in the welfare of the School.21 Senate, while endorsing the School as an integral part of the University, did not see fit to approve paragraph 3, and once again the loyalty of the Alumnae was to prove effective. The President of the Alumnae Association, Blanche G. Herman, and Miss Lindeburgh, met with the Bursar of McGill, Owen Stredder, early in January 1938, to discuss the 18. Report of Joint Committee of Senate and Board of Governors presented at meeting of Senate of McGill University, November 17, 1937, from Senate Minute Book 1936-38, p. 293, Minute No. 46. 29. Ibid, p. 294. 2o. Members of the Committee of Administration (Standing Committee) of the School for Graduate Nurses, appointed March 1938, were: the Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (Dean Fleming), the Professor of Education (Professor John Hughes), the Director of the School (Miss Lindeburgh), Dr. J. C. Meakins, and Mrs. W. L. Grant. 21. Report of Joint Committee of Senate and Board of Governors from Senate Minute Book 1936-38, p. 296. 63

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terms of the report. In order to give friends of the School a chance to secure permanent financial backing, the Board of Governors agreed to contribute annually for a period of five years a sum not exceeding $3,000, if necessary, to balance the annual budget of the School. Suggestions concerning sources of financial support were conveyed from the Board to Miss Lindeburgh. With what joy the Alumnae Association of the School heard the news at a special meeting January i3, 1938! Wholehearted co-operation with the university was immediately pledged. It was decided to open a public campaign for funds, the Alumnae Association to head the endowment with $10,000; Miss Upton and the Special Finance Committee would spearhead the drive. A vote of gratitude tendered Miss Upton for her work on this Committee was greeted with enthusiastic applause. At the 17th Annual Meeting of the Alumnae Association, May 1938, the second five-year campaign was launched. The key person in the second five-year campaign for the support of the School for Graduate Nurses, conducted from 1938-42, was John C. Newman, President of the Board of Governors of the Montreal General Hospital, and a member of the Board of Governors of McGill. Miss Holt, Director of Nurses at the Montreal General Hospital and a member of the Special Finance Committee, and Miss Herman, Secretary of the Committee, had consulted one or two prominent business men in Montreal concerning the management of the campaign. J. W. McConnell, well-known benefactor, had suggested a five-year pledge plan, whereby the needed amount would be provided on an annual basis. He himself pledged $zSo per year to the campaign, while Mr. Newman undertook to interest other citizens in this venture. Throughout the spring and summer Mr. Newman worked tirelessly, personally contacting scores of persons, securing from them substantial contributions and pledges in support of the School. The Special Finance Committee had printed a small circular to accompany written appeals for funds; all members co-operated in Montreal and in other parts of Canada to alert the public to the needs of the School. In September, Mr. Newman sailed for England; but the fruit of his labours continued to be harvested. By the end of 1938, 132 persons had subscribed almost $io,000 and had pledged amounts totalling more than $3,000 per year for the next four years. Several persons subscribed $250 annually during this period; others lesser amounts; some 64

ONE FOOT IN THE DOOR

single donations. The Provincial Government gave its first donation amounting to $200. The success of the campaign in response to a plea for support of nursing education marked the respect in which the profession and the School at McGill were held. In May 1942, when the campaign officially closed, a grand total of $29,215.00 had been subscribed. From this amount, plus student fees, the total operational costs of the School for Graduate Nurses were paid in their entirety for the years 1938-44. In that time, not a penny was used of the $3,000 per year promised in 1938 by the Board of Governors of McGill for the support of the School "if necessary". $24,431.79 of the subscription fund were paid directly to the University for the upkeep of the School, the unexpended balance later being applied to the Flora Madeline Shaw Endowment Fund.22 One of the recommendations of the Joint Committee of 1937 was that the name of the School for Graduate Nurses be changed to the School of Nursing of McGill University. Newspapers had printed a detailed account in May, 1938, of the success of the first campaign for funds and the resultant promise of the Board of Governors to continue the School under its new name as an integral part of the University. Letterheads at the School were changed to "School of Nursing", as was the frontispiece of the Calendar for the year 1938-39. But the change was to be shortlived. No official action was taken on this matter by the University authorities. In November 1938, Principal Lewis Douglas, who succeeded Mr. Morgan in January of that year, questioned the logic of the proposed new name. He pointed out to members of the recently-appointed Standing Committee of the School that its curriculum was in effect for graduate nurses. He suspected that the new name would lend confusion to the purpose of the School in the University, expecially since Royal Victoria College had already received enquiries concerning its supposed course in nursing. After discussion by members of the Standing Committee at its first meeting, November 18, 1938, the decision was made to retain the original name, the School for Graduate Nurses. This motion was subsequently approved by Senate. 22. For details of Subscription Campaign, 193842, see Appendix C. 65

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Meetings of the Standing Committee were held throughout the 1 93 8 -39 session. In accordance with the recommendation of the Joint Committee that standards in the School be elevated gradually the Committee worked to this end. For the past three years an extension course in ward teaching and supervision had been offered for local nurses. Similar courses had been arranged in health education, supervision in public health nursing, and industrial nursing. In addition, 104 nurses from Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia had attended a refresher course in curriculum for teachers in schools of nursing This type of programme was continued under the direction of the Standing Committee as one of the purposes of the School. The chairman of this Committee in the years 1938-40 was Maud Parkin Grant, Warden of Royal Victoria College. A member of the Senate of the University, an influential and outspoken person, she concerned herself intimately with the affairs of the School, and by dint of perseverance and hard work made known the problems of the School to both the Senate and the Board of Governors. On Mrs Grant's retirement from McGill and her consequent departture from Montreal, Miss Lindeburgh wrote expressing her heartfelt thanks for the work this capable woman had done on behalf of the School. Mrs. Grant, recalling her association with the School for Graduate Nurses replied: " ... the education, the inspiration and the friendship that I have had from you and Miss Mathewson and from my connection with the School and the nurses is so much greater than any small contribution I may have made to the work that the latter simply doesn't count.... My association with you [both] in this work will always be one of my ... happiest memories."23 At the twenty-fifth Anniversary celebrations of the School in July 1946, Maud Grant was to take a place of honour. The appointment of the Standing Committee in 1938 to replace the Advisory Committee marked the end of a long association with the School for several members of the latter committee Three members had been intimately involved in the establishment of the School and had served on the committee since its creation in 1920. These were Dr. Reid (Chairman 1920-32), Miss Hersey (Chairman 1932-38), and Dr. Bazin 23. Letter to M. Lindeburgh from M. Grant, April 14, 1940. 66

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(except for the 1927-28 session). Miss Moag had served on the Committee for fifteen consecutive years, Miss Holt for ten years. Dr. Martin, Emeritus Professor of Medicine since his retirement as Dean in 1936, as well as being associated with the founding of the School, had also been a member of the Committee since 1927. Two members of the earlier Committee were retained. These were Professor Hughes, who had been a member of the Advisory Committee for the past three years, and Dr. Fleming, who had served continuously since 1925. Dr. Fleming, who suceeded Mrs. Grant as chairman, was later referred to by Miss Lindeburgh as the "strong man" of the Standing Committee. Indeed, before his death in 1943, his association with the School for Graduate Nurses was to span the entire period from the days of Flora Madeline Shaw, through the vain struggle of Bertha Harmer to establish a degree course in nursing, through the ten years of financial crisis and fund raising, into the critical years of World War H. Under new Statutes enacted by the University in 1940 the School was placed under the administration of the Faculty of Medicine, whose Dean was responsible to the Principal and Senate. This entailed another change in Committee: an Advisory Committee to the Dean (Dr. J. C. Simpson) to replace the Standing Committee 2a With mixed feelings, Miss Lindeburgh and Miss Mathewson left the old building at 348o University Street which had housed the School through such trying times. Their new quarters, provided in a converted laboratory on the top floor of the Medical Building, included three offices, a bright, sunny library, a small sitting room, and a cloak room. "We have more space than we had before," wrote Miss Lindeburgh to Mrs. Grant. "Perhaps the worst feature is that ... the partitions are carried up only part way, [creating] a noise problem."26 Miss Lindeburgh obviously welcomed the changed administration. "We were at that time in a state of financial exhaustion, and in great need of sponsorships within the University," she wrote some years later. "Our relationships [with the Faculty of Medicine] ... are cordial and understanding ... frankly I am more than satisfied with being under [this] Faculty, which represents a professional service so closely allied and complementary to nursing."26 In the same letter she intimated 24. For changes in Advisory Committee, 192o-64, see Appendix B. 25. Letter to M. Grant from M. Lindeburgh, December 16, 194o. 26. Letter to E. Mallory from M. Lindeburgh, October 26, 1948.

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that her predecessor, Miss Harmer, might not have so decided, but for her part she welcomed the strength which the Medical Faculty offered. Moreover, the outbreak of War in 1939 had necessitated a close liaison between medicine and nursing in Canada in the providing of emergency training to meet wartime needs. The financial crisis at the School for Graduate Nurses was relieved, but it was to be followed by continued demand on the staff and facilities of the School to meet the new situation.

68

Chapter VII

With Peace, the First Degrees

ursing in Canada was revolutionized by the Second World War. For the first time in more than a decade, nurses enjoyed full employment. Nursing facilities were strained to the limit in an effort to meet the demand. Rapid developments in surgery, internal medicine, psychiatry, necessitated a new approach to the role of the nurse. World War II, as well as precipitating an unprecedented demand for nurses, also prompted critical thinking by nursing leaders on all aspects of nursing education. In 1938, during the dark days of Munich, Miss Fairley, President of the C.N.A., called on the nurses of Canada to enroll for emergency service. The National Joint Committee on enrollment of nurses for emergency service, jointly sponsored by the Canadian Red Cross Society and the C.N.A., had been in operation since 1927, but its strength was far short of what was considered essential. On the outbreak of war in 69

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September 1939, an urgent call for enrollment was issued to augment the 3 ,000 nurses already registered under this plan. At the same time a call for military service was proclaimed. Emergency services sprang into action: the St. John Ambulance Association and Bridgade provided instructor's courses for nurses in First Aid and Air Raid Precaution; plans were made to train a Voluntary Aid Detachment; the Women's Volunteer Service Corps was formed. Nurses were needed at every turn and responded to the call in a quiet and orderly fashion. Nursing leaders, through the C.N.A., kept abreast of these developments, providing leadership as needed. By 1940 it was obvious that the demand for nurses exceeded the supply. In order to make the most efficient use of nursing personnel, steps were taken for the licensing and control of subsidiary nursing groups. Miss Lindeburgh, as Chairman of the Nursing Education Section of the C.N.A., was intimately involved in this and other wartime programmes. Despite these efforts, the shortage of nurses persisted and became increasingly acute as the armed forces built up their nursing personnel.' In 1940 the Royal Canadian Air Force Nursing Service was formed, followed by that of the Royal Canadian Navy in 1941. Hospitals were being seriously depleted of nurses, including teachers, supervisors, and administrators. Student nurses carried an increased nursing load; shortcuts were taken in an effort to provide essential nursing service; insufficient teaching and supervision often meant that students were taking responsiblity for which they were not prepared. A crisis was fast developing. Sensing this, the Registered Nurses' Association of Manitoba suggested to the C.N.A. that a special wartime course for nurses, on the pattern of the American Vassar Camp of 1918, be arranged. Realizing that such a course, if implemented, would be held at a university centre, the executive of the C.N.A. called a joint meeting with university nursing heads to discuss the matter. On September 29, 1941, an historic three-day conference opened at the School for Graduate Nurses. Representatives of Canadian university r. Total number of nurses enlisted in Armed Forces 1939-45: RCAMC (overseas) 2,48o (Canada) 1,169 R.C.A.F.N.S. 373 325 R.C.N.N.S. J. M. Gibbon and M. S. Mathewson, Three Centuries of Canadian Nursing. p. 456.

7o

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schools of nursing met in consultation for the first time. At this Joint Conference of Directors of University Schools of Nursing and Canadian Nurses' Association Executive, although the suggestion of the Manitoba group was not adopted, problems of nursing created by the war were discussed and means taken to solve them.' Eight university schools of nursing were represented', and delegates included: Kathleen Russell and Nettie Fidler (University of Toronto), Kathleen Ellis (University of Saskatchewan), Grace Fairley (President of the C.N.A. and representing the University of British Columbia), and Miss Lindeburgh and Miss Mathewson (McGill). The School for Graduate Nurses had just moved into new quarters at 3466 University Street, adjacent to the building which had housed the School from 1932-40. Facilities were shared with the Graduates' Society of McGill University and included library, class rooms, students' lounge and offices. Brilliant sunshine flooded the conference room, lending an air of unreality to the gravity of the decisions taken in those crucial days. Momentum was given to nursing which was to have repercussion in ever-widening circles over the ensuing years. Among problems discussed at this Conference were: means of meeting the shortage of nurses; need for publicity; urgent need of funds for salaries, nursing services, and education. Following the conference, the C.N.A. made certain funds available for salaries of nursing personnel, and established a Bursary and Loan Fund to help finance nursing education. A brief was presented to provincial and federal governments, requesting funds to meet the needs of nursing services which had expanded so greatly under wartime conditions. Miss Ellis was appointed Emergency Nursing Advisor4 to co-ordinate the plans outlined at the conference. a. For details of this conference see The Canadian Nurse, Vol. 37, 1941, pp. 743 and 761. One outcome of the conference was the formation of the Provisional Council of University Schools and Departments of Nursing in 1942. Its first president was Kathleen Ellis, secretary, Mary S. Mathewson. In 1950, its name was changed to the Canadian Conference of University Schools of Nursing. 3. These were: University of Western Ontario, University of Toronto, University of Ottawa, University of Montreal, Laval University, University of Saskatchewan, University of British Columbia and McGill University. 4. Projects undertaken by the Emergency Nursing Advisor included: a survey of nursing, 1943; National Registration of Nurses, 1943. Mlle Suzanne Giroux was appointed associate advisor for French-speaking hospitals. In 1944, the role of the Emergency Nursing Advisor was absorbed by various committees of the C.N.A. 71

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In August 1942, the Federal Government announced a grant of $I15,000 for nursing education in all provinces of Canada, to be administered by the C.N.A. This grant was increased to $250,000 in 194344 and was continued annually until the cessation of hostilities in May 1945. It covered the cost of recruitment of student nurses, administration of the wartime programme, and individual grants to schools of nursing in hospitals and universities. A liberal proportion was allotted for bursaries at all levels of nursing education. Other financial aids for nursing education followed. In 1942 the W. K. Kellogg Foundation offered assistance to university schools of nursing in Canada in the form of bursaries and revolving loan funds. In 1943, the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada, which had awarded no scholarships for postgraduate nursing for ten years, re-established a scholarship programme for nurses attending university. In 1944, the Quebec Red Cross Society also made available scholarships in public health nursing. Results were quickly reflected in increased enrollment in both hospital and university schools of nursing.' Increasing numbers of nurses were also released from employment in order to obtain postgraduate preparation. For the time being the demand for nurses was filled. Nursing services were stabilized as much as possible under existing conditions; the shortage of nurses, though continuing, was not as acute as in the first years of the war; every effort was made by nursing leaders to maintain standards of nursing education. The increased tempo of the war years placed additional demands on the staff and facilities of the School for Graduate Nurses. Three weeks after the outbreak of war, the Standing Committee of the School met and, in a letter to the District Medical Officer of Military District No. 4, placed the facilities of the School at the disposal of the authorities. During the war years the School was a centre of war service activities at the university. First Aid instruction for graduate nurses was given at the School; subsequently members of staff conducted First Aid courses for other groups in the university. Under the direction of the St. John S. Three new University Schools of Nursing were established during this period: McMaster (1942), Queen's (1942,) and Manitoba (1943). The latter was supported initially by the Federal Grant for Nursing Education: 72

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Ambulance Brigade, bilingual courses in First Aid and Air Raid Precaution were sponsored by the School. All students at the School in these years obtained First Aid Certificates and received training in fire-fighting and gas drill. Miss Lindeburgh worked closely with Dr. Muriel Roscoe, Warden of Royal Victoria College, in planning a war service programme for the women of McGill. Miss Lindeburgh and Miss Mathewson continued to conduct extension courses, both at the School and in other centres, when requested. The war created an urgent need for knowledge in psychiatric nursing and mental hygiene, and in 1941 an extension course in this field, attended by seventy nurses, was offered. The following year Montreal played host to the biennial meeting of the C.N.A. at which Miss Lindeburgh was elected president. All graduates of the McGill School attending the convention were entertained at a reception at the School. Nineteen hundred and forty-two also marked the year when the Federal Government Grants for nursing education were announced. McGill's share of the Quebec portion the first year was $2,100. The following year it was increased to $6,000, which amount was given annually until a total of $21,750 was attained. To those at the School who had struggled for ten years to raise funds against such overwhelming difficulties, a welcome respite was afforded. Conditions at the School were affected with startling rapidity. For the first time since the crisis of 1932, a programme of expansion could be considered. Two four-month courses were undertaken in 1942, one in administration and supervision in public health nursing, the other in clinical supervision, in an effort to meet war-time demands for trained personnel. These courses, which were offered annually until the autumn of 1945, could be used as credits towards the one-year certificate course. New members of staff were employed to assist with the expanding curriculum. In 1942, Eleanor Palliser (Nursing Ed. 1928, Admin. 1942) was asked to help with the course in teaching and supervision. The following year Kathleen M. Stanton (T. & S. 1939) became full-time instructor in this field. In public health nursing, two part-time instructors were employed. Marion Nash, B.sc. (P.H.N. 1922) of the Victorian Order of Nurses, and Ethel B. Cooke (P.H.N. 1932) of the Child Welfare Association gave valuable assistance for several years. 73

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Enrollment expanded from thirty-four students in the 1941-42 session to forty-seven students the following year. This was a direct result of the availability of bursaries and loans, both through the federal grant, the C.N.A., and the Revolving Loan Fund of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, whose grant to the School for Graduate Nurses for this purpose was $4,000. These years were not without strain on the two members of staff who had borne the brunt of the work of the School since 1934. Miss Mathewson, who had acted as assistant director during this time, was not officially recognized as such until September 1941, and then only after Miss Lindeburgh had requested the intervention of the Dean of Medicine. In fact, through an oversight on the part of university authorities, Miss Mathewson had never been officially appointed to the staff! Following Principal F. Cyril James' appointment in 1940, this matter was rectified, and he expressed in writing to Miss Mathewson his appreciation of the work of considerable national importance which she and Miss Lindeburgh were performing at McGill. Miss Mathewson, in these years, was closely identified with the development of the first degree course in nursing at McGill. Dr. H. R. Y. Reid, whose dream it had been from the time of the foundation of the School in 1920, to create such a course, died in 1941 without seeing its fulfillment. Miss Harmer's efforts to establish a five-year degree programme between 1928 and 1932 were thwarted by the financial crisis at the School. In 1941-42 the Dean of Medicine, Dr. J. C. Meakins, recommended that serious study be given once more to the question. Miss Lindeburgh was asked to prepare a tentative outline, and a memo concerning a combined five-year undergraduate degree course was presented to Dr. J. R. Fraser, Acting-Dean, in February 1943 Nineteen hundred and forty-three marked the fifth year following the report of the Joint Committee of Senate and Board of Governors, at which time the university had promised to review the position of the School. Dr. Fraser, replacing Dr. Meakins, who was on leave of absence, reminded the Principal of this promise and in March 1943, a Special Committee on Nursing Training', under the chairmanship of 6. Members of this committee were: Dr. H. E. Hoff; Chairman, Dr. J. R. Fraser, Dr. C. Macmillan, Dr. D. L. Thomson, Dr. M. V. Roscoe, Professor J. Hughes, Miss M. K. Holt, Miss F. Munroe, Miss M. Lindeburgh. 74

Ø PEACE, THE FIRST DEGREES

Dr. Hebbel E. Hoff, Head of the Department of Physiology, was appointed by the Senate. Miss Mathewson, although not officially a member of the committee, compiled much of the material offered for its study. Meetings were held in the summer and autumn of that year and by December 1943, the report was ready for presentation to Senate. The proposed undergraduate degree course was rejected by the committee as being restrictive of enrollment at a time when demand for post-basic preparation was high. It was also considered uneconomical and difficult to implement within the existing facilities of the university and local hospitals. The committee was anxious to recommend a course which would not only meet the existing demands, but would also offer opportunities to McGill to provide leadership in nursing education. The School for Graduate Nurses was still the only university school in Canada offering post-basic courses for graduate nurses exclusively. With this fact in mind, Dr. Hoffs committee recommended the establishment of a two-year post-basic course of study leading to a Bachelor of Nursing degree.? Other recommendations of the Senate Committee on Nursing Education were: i. that McGill assume full administrative and financial responsibility for the School for Graduate Nurses; 2. that the School for Graduate Nurses retain its affiliation with the Faculty of Medicine; 3. that present one-year certificate courses be continued while the need exists; 4. that the Director of the School be invited to become a member of the Faculty of Medicine.'

The report was approved in principle at the December, 1943, meeting of the Senate and forwarded to the Faculty of Medicine for consideration. Following approval by this faculty, the report was unanimously adopted at a meeting of Senate on January 19, 1944. Ratification by the Board of Governors was granted three months later with the understanding that the whole situation be reviewed at the end of a five-year period. Statutes of the University were subsequently amended to allow the granting of degrees in nursing at McGill. 7. See Appendix B. 8. Report of the Senate Committee on Nursing Education, p. 6. 75

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The calendar for the new course was prepared by Miss Mathewson and submitted to the registrar for distribution that summer; the degree programme commenced in the autumn of 1944. Principal James personally gave recognition to Miss Mathewson for the heavy burden she had carried in helping Miss Lindeburgh prepare for the course. Miss Lindeburgh extended thanks to Dr. Fraser and Dr. Hoff for their untiring work on behalf of the School. She also gave indirect credit for the approval of the report to the Alumnae whose loyalty had once more affected the decision concerning the future of nursing at McGill. With what pride the first class of nine graduates marched forward to receive degrees in May 1946, the dark blue silk of their hoods in bright contrast to the white ermine trim. A new era of growth and increased prestige was ushered in that day at the School for Graduate Nurses. During the years of World War II the Alumnae Association of the School for Graduate Nurses contributed in various ways to the war effort. Graduates of the School enrolled for national emergency, married nurses returned to work, and others attended refresher courses held at the School. Because of the involvement of most of its members in hospital associations or other groups concerned with war service, the Alumnae Association in the early months of the war decided against acting as a group in this respect. However, through its representation on the Local Council of Women, many important war projects were supported. These included: a proposed Mental Hygiene Survey (1940), the "Food for Health Campaign" (1941), finding of homes for evacuated children (1942), provision of a hostel for women of the armed services (1942), volunteers for civilian recruiting centre (1943), wartime housing and town planning (1943). The fall of France in June 1940, and the Battle of Britain brought home to Canadian nurses the plight of their sister nurses overseas. In March 1941, the British Overseas Relief Fund for Nurses was opened, and within fifteen months, $30,000 was subscribed. During this period, Quebec nurses, including graduates of the McGill School, contributed $5,000 to this fund. In March 1943, the appeal was temporarily suspended, although assistance was again given British nurses from this fund during the V2 bombings of 1944. Annual dinners given by the Alumnae Association for the graduating 76

WITH PEACE, THE FIRST DEGREES class of the School were held as usual during the war except for two occasions (1942 and 1943) when a reception was substituted. Dr. Maude Abbott, one of the original honorary members, addressed the dinner meeting in May 1940, a few weeks before her death. In 1941, Dr. Roscoe, Warden of Royal Victoria College, was guest speaker. Mrs. Robert Reford, still demonstrating her affection for the School which she had followed with interest from its inception, gave generously towards the cost of these dinners. Two new honorary members of the association were elected during these years: Fanny Munroe, Director of Nursing at the Royal Victoria Hospital (1940) and Vera Graham, Director of Nursing at the Homeopathic Hospital (1944). Many former students of the School served in the armed forces during World War 11.9 In 1941 the rate of enlistment affected not only local hospitals and organizations, but also the executive of the Alumnae Association which lost both its newly-elected president (Agnes Tennant, R.R.C., T. & s. 1938) and its secretary (Katherine Gibson, T. & s. 1940) in June of that year. Miss Tennant proceeded overseas where she later became Matron of No. 20 Canadian General Hospital. Blanche G. Herman, R.R.C., Superintendent of Nurses at the Western Division of the Montreal General Hospital, past president of the Alumnae Association, and tireless secretary of Miss Upton's Special Finance Committee, also sailed that summer as Matron of No. 14 Canadian General Hospital. Two years later, en route to Italy where she became Principal Matron, R.C.A.M.C., her ship was torpedoed in the Mediterranean. Other McGill nurses on board were Helen Hewton (P.H.N. 1926) and Madeline Taylor (P.H.N. 1929). Graduates of the School served with distinction in the armed forces as matrons or nursing sisters, at home or abroad. Mrs. Jessie Porteous, A.R.R.C. (Admin. 1940, B.N. 1946) was Principal Matron of the R.C.A.F. nursing service. When the South African Government requested Canadian nurses for its nursing services in 1941, Gladys Sharpe, R.R.C. (Teaching 1928) was appointed liaison officer. One graduate of the School, Margaret Briggs, (P.H.N. 1938) died while serving with the R.C.A.M.C. 9. No data is available on the exact number of graduates of the School for Graduate Nurses serving in the armed forces during World War II. "Over 70" is the number quoted in the Alumnae Association Newsletter, 1945. 77

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The Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund, despite obvious difficulties occasioned by the War, was moving slowly towards its objective. The decision taken in January 1938, to head the endowment fund with $1o,000 had been followed in June 1939 with a transfer of $3,500 from the Special Finance Committee account, to bring the total of the fund to $10,012.50. This marked the first time since its inception that the Special Finance Committee had been able to make any contribution towards the School other than for its essential upkeep. This action had been greatly facilitated by the contribution of the Ottawa branch of the Committee which had kept in reserve $2,208.29 for the purpose of augmenting the endowment. Miss Upton, Chairman of the Fund since 1929, was forced in 1940 by pressure of her duties with the A.R.N.P.Q. to relinquish her position to Mrs. L. H. Fisher. Under the latter's direction, $600 were added to the Fund the following year and $300 in 1942. An attempt to raise $2,000 by means of dime cards was undertaken. Unfortunately, this scheme did not succeed; by December 1943, only $too had been raised by this means. An increase in the annual fees of the Alumnae Association was made in 1938 in order to allow $1.00 per member to be credited to the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund. This means, too, was not entirely successful as many graduates of the School did not join the Alumnae. In 1943, of a total of 531 graduates, only a small percentage were active members of the association. However, other means of advancing the fund were at hand. In 1941, on the death of Dr. H. R. Y. Reid, a legacy of almost $4,000 was bequeathed to the School. This amount, together with the unexpended balance of the subscription fund of 1938-42, brought the total of the fund to over $20,000. The success of the subscription campaign, which closed in May, 1942, allowed for support of the School for at least two more years, as well as a substantial balance of approximately $5,000. The Federal Government grant further relieved the Alumnae of financial obligation. When the Special Committee on Nursing Education brought in its report in December 1943, the hopes of the Alumnae ran high that at last the University would accept full financial responsibility for the School for Graduate Nurses. However, in October 1944, the Bursar of McGill notified Miss Lindeburgh that, because of the continuing deficit of the School, the balance of the subscription fund was to be applied to current operating ex78

WITH PEACE, THE FIRST DEGREES

penses. Furthermore, "any future subscriptions [were to] be used for the purpose of income for the School, as long as a deficit in operating occurs."10 A precipitating factor in this decision was the small enrollment in the degree course — three students in place of the expected 20. Winnifred McCunn (Supervision, 1934) President of the Alumnae Association, Miss Upton, Chairman of the Special Finance Committee, and the members of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee viewed this despatch with alarm. After eleven years of bitter struggle to secure funds for the continuance of the School and a stubborn refusal to take advantage of the $3,000 per year offered in 1937 by the university "if necessary" for the support of the School," they could scarcely believe that their hopes could be shattered in this way. Miss McCunn wrote to the Bursar outlining the history of the fund and the desire of the Alumnae to build a permanent endowment. Meanwhile, the Alumnae Association, at a general meeting in April 1945, drafted a resolution whereby all the monies under discussion would be combined in the building of a permanent endowment of $50,000, with a view of increasing this ultimately to Sroo,000. By this means, a Chair of Nursing at McGill University would be assured. A copy of the resolution was sent to Principal James who, acknowledging the resolution in a letter to Miss McCunn, May 1, 1945, indicated that $125,000 would be required to endow a Chair of Nuring at McGill. The Board of Governors, presented with the resolution at their meeting on May 9, 1945, felt bound to abide by their original decision to use income from the Fund for current expenses. Principal James, perhaps hoping to lessen the blow, undoubtedly touched by the spirit of the resolution, wrote to Miss McCunn in friendly and sympathetic tone, the following day: Since I know that you and your colleagues have given this matter a good deal of thought, I feel that it would be [better] if we sat down together around a table and discussed it since conversation is a much happier method of exploring problems of this kind than the exchange of letters.12

During the subsequent meeting with representatives of the Alumnae Association, he pointed out that the conditions under which the Fund io. Letter to M. Lindeburgh from W. Bentley, October 23, 1944. II. See p. 64. 12. Letter to W. McCunn from F. C. James, May 1o, 1945.

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IN CAPS AND GOWNS

was to be administered had never been legally defined. Were this clarified, the monies under discussion would be safeguarded against use other than as an endowment. Under his direction and in co-operation with the university authorities, a Deed of Donation was drawn up allowing for the unimpeded development of the Endowment Fund. The university would find other means of meeting the deficit on the School. Another crisis was past. The combined total of the Fund now stood at $23,311.20.13 By enlarging the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee, it was hoped to obtain the necessary endowment in the shortest possible time. On December 4, 1945, the Special Finance Committee, which had played such an intrinsic part in the life of the School for fifteen years, was formally disbanded. The occasion was marked by a dinner for all surviving members of the committee. The years had taken their toll and among those whose memories were honoured that night for their faithful service were Helen R. Y. Reid, Maude Abbott, Mary Samuel, Bertha Harmer, and Mabel Hersey. The War was now over; the deficit of the School for Graduate Nurses was at last to be relieved in the unprecedented expansion of the postwar years. 13. See Appendix C.

8o

Chapter VIII

A Remarkable Piece of Work

T53

D y the fourth year of World War II, nurses in Canada, through

their national association, began to make plans for the postwar years. Nurses were enjoying full employment, and it was hoped that this state would continue, allowing for new avenues of nursing to be explored in the ensuing years. In November 1943, a Committee on Reconstruction was appointed by the C.N.A. under the chairmanship of its president, Miss Lindeburgh.' Rehabilitation of nurses who had interrupted studies and careers to go overseas was given first priority. Wartime measures taken to meet the shortage of nurses were then re-examined and placed on a more stable foundation. Another area considered was the supply of nurses for service abroad. Two senior representatives of the United Nations Relief i. Members of this committee were: M. Lindeburgh, Chairman, F. Munroe, E. Flanagan, M. S. Mathewson, E. Beith, E. Johns, E. MacLennan, and K. Ellis. 8i

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

and Rehabilitation Administration (u.N.R.R.A.) visited the School for Graduate Nurses and other centres in Canada early in i944; Canadian nurses were among the first recruits of this organization. Three graduates of the McGill School accepted for service with U.N.R.R.A. at this time were: Norma MacKenzie (Teaching, 1928), Louise Bartsch (Admin. 1943, B.N. 1947), and Helena Reimer (Admin. 1943, B.N. 19S1), followed in 1947 by Madeline Taylor (P.H.N. 19291. High qualifications were demanded and the reputation of the McGill School was carried by these persons into such countries as Italy, Egypt, China, Formosa, Bavaria, and Germany. Despite nearly two years of preparation by the nursing profession in Canada, the return of armed forces personnel created an explosion in all areas of health services. The shortage of nurses, which had been acute during the war, showed no signs of abating. New hospitals sprang up everywhere, increasing the demand for nursing services. Public health programmes expanded, often at the request of an awakened public, but there were not enough nurses to staff them. A postwar spate of marriages depleted existing staffs, and many married nurses who had worked in the wartime emergency now gave up their jobs. Returning nursing sisters, taking advantage of grants for education given by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, were overflowing university campuses from coast to coast. Wartime federal grants for nursing education had terminated with the end of the war; the nursing profession was faced once more with a crisis. Facilities and educational opportunities would have to expand immediately to cope with this situation. As the shortage continued, an excessive pressure was brought to bear once more on student nurses, and ways were sought to relieve this. Such schemes as a two-year basic programme for nurses which was introduced at the Metropolitan School of Nursing', Windsor, Ontario, in 1948, although not directly alleviating the situation, served to arouse public interest, leading to a greater sense of responsibility for nursing 2. This was an experimental programme sponsored jointly by the C.N.A. and the Canadian Red Cross Society over a four-year period in order to demonstrate a twoyear course in a nursing school financially independent of the hospital. The director of this programme was Nettie Fidler (Teaching 1928). In 195o another type of course, combined with a third year's internship was inaugurated at the Atkinson School of Nursing, Toronto Western Hospital. The first director of this course was Gladys Sharpe (Teaching 1928). 82

A REMARKABLE PIECE OP WORK

education on the part of government, public, and the nursing profession itself At university schools of nursing enrollment doubled overnight, taxing existing facilities, placing unprecedented demands on staff, and necessitating adjustments in curricula to meet postwar needs. At McGill, the enrollment at the School for Graduate Nurses, which had increased from 62 students in the autumn of 1945, jumped the following year to a total of 127 students, of whom almost three-quarters were returning nursing sisters.3 Although the Department of Veterans' Affairs grants were liberal, and many scholarships and bursaries were available, yet other sources of funds were needed to carry on the postwar development of the School and to meet the needs of the increased number of students. Nursing was but one facet of education at McGill for which these extra funds were needed, and McGill but one university of many suffering the pangs of sudden growth. Fortunately for the School for Graduate Nurses, outside aid of an unexpected nature was at hand in the form of a grant for nursing education from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. As the pressure of postwar expansion made itself felt in university schools of nursing in the United States and Canada, the W.'K. Kellogg Foundation, whose interest was international in scope, prepared to come to the financial assistance of Canadian universities.' Mildred Tuttle, Nursing Director of the Foundation, visited McGill in May 1945. Obviously impressed with the work being done at the School for Graduate Nurses, she wrote to Miss Lindeburgh: "It seems to me that you and Miss Mathewson are having to be two or three persons in one ... I am full of admiration for the philosophy of education which you [both] have created [in the McGill School]. You have [done] and are doing a remarkable piece of work ... with additional faculty and with financial security McGill University could become one of the leading centres for nursing education on this con3. In 1947, a survey of enrollment at university schools of nursing in Canada conducted by the C.N.A revealed 42.69 per cent of those taking postgraduate courses were returned nursing sisters, the majority of these studying public health nursing. "University Schools of Nursing," The Canadian Nurse, Vol. 43, 3947, 283-85. 4. In 3947 the School of Nursing at the University of Western Ontario received $50,000 from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation for a three-year programme of expansion.

83

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

tinent."5 She then proffered financial assistance from the Kellogg Foundation which would permit a possible five-year programme of expansion, subject to the willingness of the university to accept responsibility at the end of that time. Full of enthusiasm, her letter indicated several areas in which expansion could take place, such as employment of extra staff, creation of advanced clinical courses, wider use of extension and refresher courses, improved field-work facilities. Delighted with the change in fortune for the School, Miss Lindeburgh and Miss Mathewson negotiated with the Dean of Medicine, Dr. J. C. Meakins, concerning the acceptance of this offer. A report of the needs of the School, and the proposed use of such a grant were drawn up. Plans were made for Miss Mathewson to spend a month in the spring of 1946 studying the work of the Kellogg Foundation in Michigan. Some delay was occasioned by the suggestion that a Rural Public Health Teaching Centre be established jointly with the Department of Health and Social Medicine as one aspect of the grant.' This idea, warmly received by Dr. Percy Vivian, Director of the latter department, was ultimately rejected. However, by February 1946, the way was paved for the School for Graduate Nurses to accept a grant of $6o,000 over a three-year period. On May 14, McGill University deposited in a special account its first cheque from the Kellogg Foundation for $12,000. The immediate needs of the School, as outlined in Miss Lindeburgh's report to the Foundation, coincided with those suggested earlier by Miss Tuttle, and also urged courses in guidance, personnel counselling and research, as well as expansion of library facilities and increased clerical assistance. Unfortunately, in the first year of the grant, less than $3,000 of the allotted $12,000 was used.' Such was the shortage of experienced personnel immediately following the war, that it proved impossible to 5. Letter to M. Lindeburgh from M. Tuttle, May 26, 1945. 6. In 1931 an Urban Teaching Health Centre had been proposed by Miss Harmer in the Report of the Survey Committee (see p. 45). In 1952-53, Edith Green, ActingDirector was again to raise the question of English language facilities for field experience (see p. 106). To date, this need has been met largely in areas outside of Quebec. 7. Breakdown of the grant given the School for Graduate Nurses by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation: 84

A REMARKABLE PIECE OF WORK

obtain the requisite members of staff either full-or part-time. Furthermore, in March 1947, a valued member of the teaching staff of the School, Kathleen M. Stanton, died suddenly, and could not be replaced. Enrollment reached its postwar peak that same year, placing extraordinary demands, both physical and psychological on those at the School. It was ironic, after so many years of uncertain finances, that the Kellogg grant could not be fully utilized in its first year. However, the unused portion of the grant for 1946-47 was held over to be applied at the expiration of the three year period. In the autumn of 1947 expansion was facilitated by the appointment of a full-time lecturer in administration in schools of nursing (Eugenie M. Stuart) and two teaching fellows (J. Margaret Holder in public health nursing and Ruth McPherson in teaching and supervision in schools of nursing). Miss Stuart resigned after one year, but Miss Holder and Miss McPherson (later Mrs. J. D. McPherson) served two years, Miss Holder remaining subsequently on the staff of the School until 1954. The final report on the Kellogg grant, submitted the year after its conclusion, described the extent of assistance given and the areas in which expansion at the School had been made possible. Of the total amount of the grant used (approximately $45,000 out of a possible $60,000) almost half was spent on faculty salaries, full- and part-time .8 Advanced clinical nursing courses were established under the Kellogg grant in obstetrical nursing (1946) and paediatric nursing (1948), $60,000.00

1946-50 1946-47

$ 2,793.18

1947-48

12,200.00

1948-49

19,737.37 10,210.30

1949-50 This grant was spent on: Faculty salaries, full- and part-time Secretarial assistance Library and teaching materials Field programmes Institutes, consultant services Travelships, Fellowships

$44,94o.85 Unused balance 815,059.15 $20,24475 4,676.52 2,343.43 2,635.00 2,652.64 2,432.55 $44,940.85

8. Ibid.

85

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following the lead begun in psychiatric nursing (1945). Salaries of teaching personnel for these courses were paid from the grant, the Dominion Mental Health Grant later covering that of the psychiatric nursing instructor. Assistance was given in the development of a programme of staff education by means of institutes and conferences. Specialists in many aspects of nursing education, such as Lucille Petry, Chief Nursing Consultant of the United States Public Health Service, were sponsored at the School by the Kellogg Foundation.9 Field programmes were expanded and strengthened under the grant. Facilities of the Michigan County Health Units were made available for advanced field-work experience, as were facilities in other parts of Canada and the United States. Members of staff were assisted in various ways to increase their nursing knowledge. In 1947-48 Ann Peverly (P.H.N. 1935), lecturer in public health nursing, was enabled to complete her B.sc. degree at Columbia University. In 1948, Mildred Brogan (T. & S. 1944), of the Bell Telephone Company, was sponsored by the Kellogg Foundation in a six-month course in industrial nursing, following which she gave leadership in this field in the Montreal area. Madeleine Flander (Teaching 1932), lecturer in supervision in paediatric nursing, was also enabled by the Foundation to take postgraduate study. Miss Lindeburgh herself, in the first year of the grant, enjoyed a month's tour of observation of various university schools of nursing in the United States. Travel grants benefitted several members of staff in connection with their respective fields of teaching. In 1947, a full-time librarian10 was employed, thus adding directly to the quality of assistance given students in their work. Audio-visual equipment and books for the library were purchased with funds allotted 9. Other persons sponsored at the School for Graduate Nurses included: Mrs. L. McManus, Director of the Division of Nursing Education, Teachers' College, Columbia University; H. Toelle, Yale University School of Nursing; N. Fidler, Metropolitan School of Nursing, Windsor; Dr. G. Bixler, Educational Consultant to the National League of Nursing Education; M. Faddis and R. Evans, Western Reserve University, Cleveland; Ruth Gilbert, Teacher's College, Columbia University; Florence Blake, Department of Nursing, University of Chicago. Io. Marjorie Trenholme, B.A., B.L.S. served as librarian from 1947-51. She was succeeded by Telda Else Tammist, M.A. B.L.S. (1951-52), Mrs. Janet Elder (1952-53), and Mrs. Lydia Pope (5953-64). 86

A REMARKABLE PIECE OP WORK

from the grant, and increased secretarial and clerical staff were hired. In 1951, Miss Lindeburgh was able to write, in summarizing the contribution of the Kellogg grant to the growth of the School: "[It] has been instrumental in establishing new outlooks, improved standards of personnel qualifications, as well as improvements in instruction and practice, which should characterize a professional school within a university."" Two areas of development at the School for Graduate Nurses which Miss Tuttle, Nursing Director of the Kellogg Foundation, had envisioned in her initial correspondence with Miss Lindeburgh were not to be fulfilled under the Kellogg grant. These were the introduction of a basic course in nursing at McGill, and the creation of an advanced clinical course in medical and surgical nursing. At the end of the third year of the Kellogg grant (1949) a substantial unexpended balance was carried forward. Miss Tuttle and Miss Lindeburgh, conferring on its expenditure in June of that year, agreed that it might well be used to support a series of fellowships for various members of staff of schools of nursing and public health agencies associated with the field-work programme of the School. With this in mind, and a group of local nurses tentatively selected, Miss Lindeburgh proceeded on vacation. Miss Tuttle, however, had second thoughts about the use of the remainder of the grant, and the original plan was ultimately waived for consideration of a more fundamental proposal. In October 1949, she wrote to Miss Lindeburgh urging that the entire situation of nursing at McGill be studied "with a view towards a greatly strengthened programme in basic nursing and in advanced programmes for graduate nurses.... For some time," she continued, "I have felt the need for McGill University to study the programmes in effect at the School for Graduate Nurses and to define the areas of nursing education which a university the size and caliber of McGill should [sponsor].... If we are looking forward to meeting society's needs for nursing service, it would seem that now is the hour to survey and study our present resources and needs in nursing education." 12 11. Final Report to W. K. Kellogg Foundation on a "Post War Nursing Programme," School for Graduate Nurses, March, 1951. 12. Letter to M. Lindeburgh from M. Tuttle, October 5, 1949•

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Miss Lindeburgh received this suggestion with some reservation, partly because of the sudden death of the Dean of Medicine, Dr. Fred Smith, the previous month. The latter had strongly supported the creation of advanced clinical courses in nursing, and had particularly hoped to see such a course in medical and surgical nursing implemented at McGill. Miss Lindeburgh acknowledged, however, the timeliness of a nursing survey, and prepared to confer with Dr. Lyman C. Duff, the new Dean of Medicine. Following meetings of school of nursing and hospital administrators with members of the Advisory Committee of the School and the Dean of Medicine, the establishment of a basic nursing course13 was turned down, largely because of the problems of financing which the university was experiencing in the postwar years. Consideration was then given to the organization of a clinical course in medical and surgical nursing. Miss Tuttle outlined a generous offer of assistance, including the preparation of a well-recommended nurse to direct the programme. The proposal was carefully studied from all angles, particularly as regards improved entrance requirements and the possibility of expanding existing clinical courses to a degree level. It was with regret, that the offer had to be declined. Owing to the small enrollment in clinical courses and to the general financial restrictions which the university was forced to impose in all departments, the university could not commit itself to continue the course after the initial period. In the light of this decision, the Kellogg Foundation in the years 194950 gave purely monetary support to the School for Graduate Nurses, paying the salaries of staff members already committed under the grant. The possibility of initiating an advanced clinical course in medicalsurgical nursing was kept under review, to be realized some five years later." The staff of the School for Graduate Nurses increased in numbers with the expansion of the curriculum following World War II, and the impetus given by the Kellogg Foundation grant. The first change in the curriculum, the introduction of a course in supervision in psychiatric nursing, took place in 1945. 13. A basic nursing programme leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing was established at McGill in 1957 (see p. III). 14. An advanced clinical course in medical-surgical nursing was introduced at McGill in 1954 (see p. to8). 88

A REMARKABLE PIECE OF WORK

Interest in mental hygiene had been growing steadily since the early '30's when Dr. Reid, then chairman of the Advisory Committee of the School, had hoped that McGill would take the lead in providing special training for nurses in this field. The war provided the catalyst. Following consultation with Dr. Ewen Cameron, M.B., C.B., M.D., head of the two-year old Department of Psychiatry at McGill, and Director of the newly-opened Allan Memorial Institute, a one-year certificate programme in psychiatric nursing was drawn up, and the first three nurses enrolled. As in subsequent advanced clinical courses, the university provided the academic programme, the School the professional courses, and the hospital the necessary clinical experience. Kathleen Marshall, assistant supervisor at the Allan Memorial Institute, assisted with the programme from 1945-53. The first full-time lecturer in psychiatric nursing, Elsie Ogilvie (Admin. 1928), was appointed in 1949 but remained only two years, when Miss Marshall once more took over the teaching programme. Subsequent assistance was given by Mrs. Ruth (Hood) Horlick (April 953-March 1954), and Mrs. Suzanne Gardon (April-October 1954.) 1 In 1954, Mrs. Helen (McCauley) Gemeroy (Admin. 1944) who had been Director of Nursing at the Allan Memorial Institute when the McGill course was first considered, was appointed lecturer in psychiatric nursing. The advanced clinical course in supervision in obstetrical nursing, established by the Kellogg Foundation grant in 1946, was drawn up in consultation with Dr. N. W. Philpott, M.D., C.N., M.c.o.G., Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at McGill. The first lecturer for this course was Gertrude Yeats (T. & s. 1937), while Caroline V. Barrett, Nursing Supervisor of the Royal Victoria Montreal Maternity Hospital, assisted in the co-ordination of the clinical programme. On Miss Yeats' illness and resignation in December 1954, Elizabeth Logan, assisted by Mrs. Irene (O'Brien) Jackson (Obs. Nsg. 1953) took over the programme for the remainder of the session. The following year the course was combined with that in paediatric nursing to provide a new specialty, maternal and child health nursing. The one-year programme in supervision in paediatric nursing, commenced in 1948 under the guidance of Elizabeth Logan, B.s., M.N. (Yale) R.N. A native of Nova Scotia, Miss Logan obtained her B.sc. degree at Acadia University, pursuing study in nursing at the Yale University School of Nursing where she received her Master's degree. Paediatric 89

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

nursing was her choice, and experience and postgraduate study in several American and Canadian hospitals and universities ensued. Prior to her appointment at McGill, she was on the staff of the Children's Memorial Hospital, Montreal. A gifted teacher, she set the McGill course in paediatric nursing on a firm foundation, later co-ordinating the maternal and child health nursing programme. Miss Logan's association with the School was to be long-standing, culminating in her appointment as acting-director in 1963 and director the following year. Clinical experience in paediatric nursing has been provided. since 1948 by Madeleine Flander (Mrs. Charles Wilson, Teaching 1932), Director of Nursing Education at the Children's Memorial Hospital (now the Montreal Children's Hospital). Originally under the chiefs of staff of the various hospitals, the advanced clinical programmes over the years have placed increasing emphasis on nursing. In 1954, these courses were integrated into the twoyear degree programme for graduate nurses, allowing the student to obtain a certificate after one year, or if desired, to proceed to the second year of the degree course.15 In the field of public health nursing at McGill, postwar expansion commenced with the appointment of Ann Peverly (P.H.N. 1935) in 1945. Capable, of a warm and friendly nature, she was associated with the School over the next twelve years as lecturer in public health nursing, assistant professor (1949), and acting director following Miss Lindeburgh's illness in 195o. In 1954, she obtained her Master of Public Health degree from Yale University while on leave of absence from McGill. Her resignation in 1957 to enter the service field was received with much regret by both staff and students of the School. In 1946, one whose name had become inseparably linked with that of the School for Graduate Nurses over the previous thirteen years tendered her resignation. Mary S. Mathewson, a graduate of the Montreal General Hospital, had studied public health nursing at McGill in Miss Harmer's time. She was assistant director of the Child Welfare Association prior to joining the staff of the McGill School. She received her B.SC. degree from Teacher's College, Columbia in 1938 and until 15. For programme of study at the School for Graduate Nurses 1954, see Appendix I3. 90

A REMARKABLE PIECE OF WORK

then was employed part-time by both the School and the Child Welfare Association. She was the calm, competent, and unruffled strength behind Miss Lindeburgh, particularly during the war years when excessive professional demands began to take toll on Miss Lindeburgh's health. Miss Mathewson's role in the establishment of the degree course and in the procurement of the Kellogg grant was vital; in the administration of the School, her assistance was inestimable. Her own resources were not spared, as in addition to her other duties, she gathered for publication over a period of years, material for a history of nursing in Canada. Three Centuries of Canadian Nursing, in collaboration with John Murray Gibbon, was published in i947, one year after her appointment as Director of Nursing at the Montreal General Hospital. Miss Peverly recalls this gentle, intelligent, compassionate woman, whose death occurred so prematurely in 1953 Mary S. Mathewson was a self-disciplined person of natural dignity. Generous by nature, she gave unstintingly of her talents and sympathy.... In her quiet, firm way she helped students to know themselves better and to develop confidence in their search for fuller professional life.... She was genuinely happy in her profession and brought zest and enthusiasm as she participated actively in the various problems and professional development of her time. Fluent in French and with the confidence and warm esteem of both English and French speaking nurses, Mary Mathewson's influence in provincial nursing organization was great.... The School [for Graduate Nurses] at McGill University flourishes today partly because of the vision, hard work and faith of Mary Mathewson." E. A. Electa MacLennan, M.A., R.N., was appointed Assistant Professor and Lecturer in Public Health Nursing in 1946. "I succeeded the almost 'unsucceedable' Mary S. Mathewson,"17 recalls Miss MacLennan, now Director of the School of Nursing of Dalhousie University. While still a student nurse, she had been influenced by Miss Lindeburgh to take postgraduate work, and in 1932 had enrolled in the teaching and supervision course at McGill. Five years later she returned to study public health nursing under Miss Mathewson. Prior to her appointment at the School, she was assistant secretary in the National Office of the C.N.A. Miss MacLennan maintained contact with the School through the Alumnae Association, of which she was president from 1945-47, and through her work with the national association. 16. Recollections submitted to the author by Ann Peverly, June, 1964. 17. Memorandum to the author from E. MacLennan, April, 1964. 91

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

Miss MacLennan's appointment in 1946 coincided with the postwar increase in enrollment at the School and the initial problems attendant on the Kellogg grant. The School also moved to a new location in the autumn of that year, compounding the confusion and problems of staff and students alike. However, Miss MacLennan ably took over her duties, assisting with the administration of the Kellogg grant, and contributing significantly to the public health programme. She also carried much of the responsibility for the administration of the School during her three years on the staff as Miss Lindeburgh's health progressively deteriorated. Despite recurring illness or infirmity, Miss Lindeburgh maintained a pace that would have taxed a person in the peak of health. In the courses in teaching and supervision, both certificate and degree, and in the administration courses, she continued to do the greater part of the teaching. Miss Stanton's untimely death in 1947 and the resignation of Miss Stuart in 1948 left vacancies in staff which were not filled until after Miss Lindeburgh's official retirement in 1951. Assistance, given by Ruth (Mrs. J. D.) MacPherson, ceased when her teaching fellowship expired in 1949. Miss Logan and Miss Ogilvie took over teaching duties in the supervision and administration courses, but Miss Lindeburgh carried on as long as she was physically able. She was always available for counselling of students, a task relatively easy when the School was small, but increasingly difficult as the postwar enrollment swelled. It was not until 195o that she was finally forced by illness to relinquish the reins of the School. Her devotion to the School and her ability to inspire its graduates were paramount in her last official task as director. In the summer of 195o, she undertook a project she had nurtured for some years, a Canada-wide trip to visit branches of the Alumnae Association of the School. Her spirit and determination were strong, but her physical stamina was ebbing. Her cherished trip was unfortunately to end too soon.

92

Chapter IX

One Gives What One Can

n 1932, Miss Lindeburgh, then assistant-director of the School for Graduate Nurses, had suggested to the Alumnae Association that provincial branches be formed in order to facilitate the raising of funds for the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund. This idea was not acted upon until eleven years later, when it became apparent that the Montreal branch was losing contact with members of the Alumnae Association residing outside Quebec. A contributing factor was the discontinuance of the mailing of the Annual Report of the Association to its membership, decided as a wartime economy measure. At the March 1943 meeting of the Association in Montreal, only twenty members were present. The need for new members and the general re-activating of the Association was obvious. In the autumn, Miss Lindeburgh and Miss Mathewson took the lead in urging the strengthening of the organization. 93

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At a meeting of the group in Montreal in December 1943, several important decisions were made, amongst them being the formation of provincial branches. It was decided also to publish an annual newsletter, and to make a more concerted effort to interest students in joining the Alumnae. Plans for celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the School were discussed, and a reunion of graduates during the forthcoming C.N.A. convention in Winnipeg was planned. It was hoped to double the membership of the Association within one year. In March 1944, a letter was sent to key members of the Alumnae throughout the country who would undertake the formation of local groups. From Halifax to Victoria, graduates of the School were drawn together, fired by the enthusiasm which Miss Lindeburgh generated. "There seemed to be an unseen guest at these [branch] meetings which was readily identifiable as Miss Lindeburgh's spirit," recalls Electa MacLennan. "She had the gift of inspiring even those alumnae members who had graduated before she became identified with the School."' Their loyalty to the School stirred, the Alumnae determined, through branch organizations, to contribute significantly to the raising of an endowment. Winnipeg nurses led the way, forming a district group in 1945; Toronto and Halifax followed. Local officers were elected, establishing contact with the Montreal branch to which local activities were reported. Montreal Alumnae proceeded with plans for a newsletter. Under the direction of Miss MacLennan, the first newsletter was published in May 1945.2 Others appeared annually until 1962 when the rapidly escalating number of graduates proved too numerous for this means of personal contact. The Alumnae had hoped at one time to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the School with the completion of the endowment fund. This hope was far from realized; but those who gathered in Montreal on July 8, 1946, to share in the celebration, reaffirmed their faith in the future of the School. 1. Memorandum to the author from E. MacLennan, April, 1964. 2. Subsequent editors of the newsletter included: Barbara (Logan) Tunis (1947, 1948); Mary Harling and Elva Honey (1949); Mary Harling (195o); Dorothy Mapes (1951); Margaret Holder (1952); M. Yearsley (1953); Merle E. Smith (1954); Rita Doyon (1955); Edith Gillis (1956, 1957); Maeve (MacGrotty) Holland (1958); Doris McBeath (1959. 1960); Mary Cutler (1961, 1962). 94

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Miss Mathewson was chairman of this event which took place following the Toronto meeting of the C.N.A. Almost every class was represented at one or other of three reunions held: luncheon at the RitzCarlton Hotel, tea and reception at the School, dinner at the Ritz. Speakers at the dinner included Maud Grant, former chairman of the Standing Committee (1938-40); Elizabeth Smellie, Honorary VicePresident of the Alumnae Association; and Marion Lindeburgh. Convenor of arrangements was Catherine (Anderson) Townsend (Teaching 1934), and her committee included: Clara Aitkenhead (T. & S. 1939), Rose Mary Tansey (P.H.N. 1928), Helen Perry (P.H.N. 1943), Constance (Lamontagne) Taylor (P.H.N. 1933) and Evelyn Pibus (P.H.N. 1934). Shortly after the 25th Anniversary, the School for Graduate Nurses once more changed location as the existing building was scheduled for demolition, making way for expansion on the main campus. A large grey stone house on Pine Avenue, formerly the home of Sir Edward Beatty, was provided for the School, to be shared in part with the School of Physiotherapy. Handsome panelling, lofty ceilings and tasteful decor lent a relaxed air of comfort to Beatty Memorial Hall. Two large classrooms on the top floor, one affording a magnificent view of the city, seated more than one hundred students. The library, bathed in morning sun, radiated a quiet and scholarly dignity; the majestic staircase reflected the grandeur of an earlier decade. However, these facilities were far from adequate in the light of the expanding postwar enrollment; yet for the next sixteen years, Beatty Memorial Hall was to serve the needs of nursing at McGill. Another disadvantage of Beatty Memorial Hall was its distance from the university, a good ten minutes uphill climb from the campus .3 For Miss Lindeburgh this was one more challenge to be met, well or ill, summer or winter, snow, sleet, or rain. But for staff and students alike, this was a distinct disadvantage, both physical and psychological, to integration with the academic life of the university. As curriculum was expanded under the Kellogg grant, and as the endowment fund was moved slowly forward, Miss Lindeburgh dared 3• In 1948, the Alumnae Association undertook a survey of the Pine Avenue area in order to present a petition for bus service to the Montreal Transportation Commission. This request was refused (August 195o) and bus service on Pine Avenue was not initiated until after the opening of the new Montreal General Hospital in 1955. 95

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to anticipate the future. " We hope that we can ultimately be an independent school utilizing the resources of the university," she wrote in 1948. " ... The School would [have] the rank of faculty ... and a Chair of Nursing [would be] established within the university. This hope will not be realized in my time, but I am sure that with the continued support and enthusiasm of our Alumnae ... we will finally reach this ideal status."4 It was to the Alumnae that Miss Lindeburgh addressed herself during her last years at the School. In 1949, she offered to combine her trip to the C.N.A. Convention in Vancouver the following summer with a tour of branch associations across Canada. Her main object was to stimulate interest in the successful conclusion of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund. As Branch Associations of the Alumnae of the School sprang up across Canada in 1945-46, plans were prepared to renew the campaign to endow the School. Mrs. L. H. Fisher, Chairman of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee and Miss MacLennan, President of the Alumnae Association, met with Principal James in January 1946, to discuss raising of further funds. A separate campaign at the present time was discouraged by the Principal because of the current drive for the University War Memorial' and the expansion of local teaching hospitals. Patiently the Alumnae waited. In 1948, following a general campaign for funds on the part of McGill, they were once more disappointed: the School for Graduate Nurses was not included. By 1949 it became obvious that graduates of the School would have to take the initiative in the ultimate securing of an endowment. Miss Lindeburgh's suggested tour met with the wholehearted support of the Alumnae. The Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund had been increasing slowly since the formality of the Deed of Donation in 1945.6 Small amounts had come in from district groups; $5oo was bequeathed by Miss Samuel, whose death occurred in 1945; efforts of the Montreal branch had also augmented the Fund. The annual newsletter and formation of provincial groups had stimulated membership, although there were still only 4. Letter to E. Mallory from M. Lindeburgh, October a6, 1948. 5. In June 1945, the Alumnae Association donated S5o to the University War Memorial. 6. See p 80.

96

ONE GIVES WHAT ONE CAN

paid-up members in 1949, out of a total membership of some goo graduates. In 1948 a secondary source of revenue for the Fund was created by the donation to the School by Lady Meredith of a carriage house which contained a small apartment and was located to the rear of her Pine Avenue property. Rental of this cottage to students attending the School increased the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund appreciably during the years 1948-54. Following Miss Chittick's appointment as Director of the School in 1953, the apartment was redecorated and rent subsequently applied to a Miscellaneous Fund to be used at the discretion of the Director. For her benefaction to the School, Lady Meredith received honorary membership in the Alumnae Association in 1950.7 A motivating factor in the decision of the Alumnae to drive for the completion of the Endowment Fund was the death of one of its most consistent supporters, E. Frances Upton, in June 1949. Retiring as Secretary of the A.N.P.Q., Miss Upton was in the midst of plans to assist nurses in Prince Edward Island to set up a provincial office, when she met her death. She had been guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Alumnae Association a month earlier, where she was presented with a set of luggage in appreciation of her untiring efforts on behalf of nursing at McGill. Her own belief in the inevitability of a Chair of Nursing was sustained by a bequest to the Fund of $1,000 from her estate. Eileen Flanagan, appointed chairman of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund in January 1949, pledged full co-operation of her committee in the plans to augment the fund which, by May 195o, totalled $32,486.87.8 Nineteen hundred and fifty marked the 3oth anniversary of the School for Graduate Nurses, as well as the 21st anniversary of Miss Lindeburgh's appointment to McGill. In May of that year Miss Lindeburgh received the degree of Doctor of Science (honoris causa) from the University of British Columbia, one of few nurses so honoured. It seemed an opportune moment to accelerate the campaign. Plans for Miss Lindeburgh's tour of branch associations had been drawn up in the autumn of 1949. The trip was to be divided into two

200

7. On Lady Meredith's death the carriage house was willed to the Royal Victoria Hospital. 8. See Appendix C. 97

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sections, the first half west, to terminate at the meeting of the C.N.A. in Vancouver, the second half, to Ottawa and the Maritimes, to be completed in the autumn. Miss Lindeburgh envisaged a wide purpose for district groups, some of which had not gone beyond a loose preliminary organization. As well as increasing active membership in the Alumnae, and augmenting the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund, she conceived district groups as a means of publicizing the work being done in nursing at McGill. Miss Lindeburgh and Kathleen Dickson, (Teaching, 1932; P.H.N. 1935) President of the Alumnae Association, consulted local groups concerning the itinerary. Various branches subscribed towards the cost of the projected tour. On June 11, 195o, Miss Lindeburgh left Montreal to fulfill an exhausting schedule. In the next two weeks, she visited seven major centres across Canada, speaking to groups of graduates, giving leadership in branch organization, and generally imbuing those she met with her unbounded enthusiasm, and unquenchable spirit of optimism. Her "graduates" were scattered from coast to coast, many in leading positions in nursing. In Toronto, where an active branch association had flourished for nearly five years, forty McGill nurses gathered to honour Miss Lindeburgh. Other cities visited were: Hamilton (June 13), Winnipeg (June 16), Regina (June 19), Saskatoon (June 20), Edmonton (June 22) and Calgary (June 23). In Edmonton, as well as meeting with Alumnae of the School, Miss Lindeburgh attended capping ceremonies and addressed nursing students at the University of Alberta. There was no rest on reaching her destination, as the C.N.A., meeting in Vancouver, June 26-3o, demanded complete mental and physical participation. Here at an organizational meeting of the Vancouver branch, Miss Fairley, who was responsible together with Miss Hersey, for the founding of the School, spoke feelingly of the early days at McGill. A luncheon reunion, the dining-room filled to overflowing, paid tribute to Miss Lindeburgh, her personal devotion to the School and her determination to secure the financial status of nursing at McGill. Miss Lindeburgh's spirit was infectious. Across Canada, groups of graduates rallied on behalf of the School. Branches which were not officially organized prior to the tour quickly formed in the ensuing months. By 1951 active district groups had been formed in every province of Canada except New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince 98

ONE GIVES WHAT ONE CAN

Edward Island. The latter, too small to form a branch, prided itself on ioo per cent paid up membership in the Alumnae Association. In 1952, eleven active branches were found across the country. Between 1951-53, local groups contributed $2,500 to the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund. An equal amount was raised by the Montreal branch, whose Ways and Means Committee, formed in 195o, sponsored such undertakings as bridge parties, raffles, and fashion shows. By 1955, the Montreal branch felt that money could be spared from the endowment fund for financial assistance to students at the School. That year and again in 1956, a $5oo bursary was awarded to a first year student who would otherwise be unable to continue to her second year. An annual Book Prize of $25 was also established to be given to the outstanding graduate in the degree course .9 Gradually the goal of $5o,000 came within reach. As the fund swelled, the need for branch organizations subsided. Other professional associations demanded time and effort on the part of members. One by one, local groups disbanded. Some had held few meetings other than the organizational one. Others, such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria remained active until after the ultimate achievement of an endowment in 1957.

Miss Lindeburgh, whose last years had been devoted to this end, did not live to see its fulfilment. Her tour was cut short by illness and, following her retirement in 1951 and her departure from Montreal the following year, she lived quietly in Victoria until her death in 1955. Marion Lindeburgh, O.B.E., D.SC. (honoris causa), M.A., B.SC., R.N., had fought the good fight. Hard work had been hers all her life. Her pioneer spirit thrived on adversity, her determination but increased the more difficult the task. This was perhaps understandable when one considers the childhood and early years of this unique woman. Marion Lindeburgh was born in 1887 in Kutawa, Saskatchewan, an isolated spot on the C.P.R. in the south of the province then part of the Northwest Territories. Her father, Alfred von Lindeburgh, Americanborn of Swedish parents, was a wireless operator for the Dominion Government, and had opened the telegraph office in Kutawa five years earlier. He and his Irish bride, Margaret Liggett, raised five children in 9. This prize was discontinued in 1962.

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the homestead which he himself had built and which contained his office. There was one other white family in the vicinity, that of the Indian agent, who had been stationed there following the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. An Anglican church served the local population but there was no school. A private tutor was engaged for the children of the two families; but not until 1899, when Marion was twelve years old, was a school built, a one-room log structure erected on the von Lindeburgh property. Here the Lindeburgh children received their high school education, progressing regardless of classes, as quickly as they could absorb the work. Mrs. Elena MacKay of Victoria, sister of Miss Lindeburgh, recalls the high ideals and atmosphere of culture which permeated the home despite seemingly adverse conditions.10 Marion, of a naturally sunny disposition and boundless energy, was to retain all her life the untrammelled spirit of the pioneer, an essential freedom spawned by closeness to nature and unlimited room to grow. In 1904 at the age of sixteen, she enrolled at the Regina Normal School, obtaining her interim second-class certificate four months later. For the next twelve years she taught in rural and urban Saskatchewan, securing her permanent certificate in 1906 and doing further study at Regina Collegiate and the Normal School. Her love of adventure and ability to enjoy life to the full were stimulated by life as a rural teacher. School sports, community picnics, Christmas concerts, country dances complete with fiddler, were part of her life during these years, as was the two or three room "teacherage" and, in some cases, the dual job of teacher and janitor. Marion Lindeburgh made friends with and gained an understanding of people from all walks of life and of varying cultural backgrounds. She approached teaching with the same missionary zeal that she later applied to nursing. The decision to enter the nursing profession was taken when Miss Lindeburgh was in her late twenties. At St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, New York, where she graduated in 1919, she studied under Miss Harmer. After three years on the hospital staff as head nurse and night superintendent, she returned to her native Saskatchewan to pioneer the field of school hygiene, first in the elementary schools, then in the Regina Normal School. As instructor in health education, which io. Letter to the author from Mrs. E. MacKay, February, 1964. I00

ONE GIVES WHAT ONE CAN

she studied at Teacher's College, Columbia, she travelled into every corner of the province, by car, on foot, by canoe. Her skillful teaching and ability to make her lessons live inspired her pupils; today her name is remembered with affection in many parts of the province. Her energy and enthusiasm spilled over into other activities. She played badminton of tournament calibre, swam, cycled, and gardened. As a member of an Alpine Club, she mastered some of the stiffest climbs in the Rockies. These "excursions on the summits and in the valleys," recalls her sister11, coloured her whole approach to nursing and to life. In later years, under the title of "A Professional Challenge," she was to write a series for The Canadian Nurse, using the ascent of Mount Everest as an analogy. In 1929, Miss Lindeburgh was invited by Miss Harmer to join the staff of the McGill School for Graduate Nurses. In addition to her work as instructor in health teaching, she introduced a programme of health education for student nurses at the Royal Victoria Hospital. At the same time she obtained her certificate in Teaching and Supervision in Schools of Nursing, under Miss Harmer's direction. Thus began more than two decades of association with the School for Graduate Nurses. Miss Lindeburgh became assistant director in 1930, acting-director after Miss Harmer's death in 1934, and director in 1939. In spite of her busy schedule at the School, she spent summers studying at Teacher's College, Columbia, where she received her B.sc. in 1936 and an M.A. degree in 1940. As chairman of the Standing Committee on Curriculum of the C.N.A. appointed following the publication of the Weir Report in 1932, she was largely responsible for the Proposed Curriculum for Nursing Schools in Canada, published in 1936. Four years later, while chairman of the Committee on Nursing Education, she completed a supplement to this work, The Improvement of Nursing Education in the Clinical Field. She served on the executive of the C.N.A. as second Vice-President (1938-40), first Vice-President (1940-ii) and President (1942-44). A member of the International Committee on Nursing Education, she also represented Canadian nurses at meetings of the American Nurses Association, the National League of Nursing Education and the I.C.N. In the years 1932-44 Marion Lindeburgh was a vital force in raising standards of nursing education and service in Canada. n.

Ibid. 101

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For her contribution to nursing during the war she received the of Canada honoured her the following year when they presented her with their highest award, the Mary Agnes Snivelly Medal. In 1950 the University of British Columbia bestowed on her the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. It was the culmination of a lifetime of service; proudly she officiated at her last convocation at McGill, her scarlet robe reflecting the honour which she had brought to nursing. Miss Lindeburgh's devotion to her profession was equalled only by her devotion to her students. Her warm personality and generous nature endeared her to all who knew her. She was a beloved teacher, a staunch friend, an indefatigable colleague. In the long years of financial uncertainty at the School for Graduate Nurses, her courageous and optimistic spirit inspired those around her. E. A. Elects MacLennan, a student in 1932-33, recalls Miss Lindeburgh's dynamic personality: "We were acutely aware of the problems facing the School," writes Miss MacLennan. "During these years of great financial crisis, Miss Lindeburgh's pioneer spirit carried the day in the classroom. The Alumnae Association can take great credit for the raising of the necessary funds, but the success of the School rested at this point on the teaching staff." Miss Lindeburgh's ability to infuse her students with a high degree of dedication and loyalty to the School undoubtedly was a prime factor in the support given by the Alumnae during these years, suggests Miss MacLennan.12 Abounding vitality was needed to keep up the pace which Miss Lindeburgh set for herself, and this she had in full measure. Contemporaries remember her working until two or three a.m. preparing lectures, studying, or drafting material for committee work. Students recall her frequent hospitality and varied array of home-baked delicacies. Following 1939, physical disabilities began to take their toll. Her once robust frame became thin and angular, but her indomitable spirit prevailed. Surgery in 1940 and the discovery of a diabetic condition the same year did not affect her seemingly limitless energy. She walked everywhere, her years of mountaineering and rugged upbringing allowing her entirely to disregard infirmity. In her last four years at the School, Miss Lindeburgh was far from well. She neglected her health, carried on with her lectures despite a series of illnesses. Attempts to cono.B.B. in 1943. Nurses

Ia. Memorandum to the author from E. MacLennan, April, 1964. IO2

ONE GIVES WHAT ONE CAN

tinue her personal interest in each student were frustrated by the large postwar classes. She became increasingly forgetful as ill health had its effect on a dynamic and vital personality. But she continued to exhort and inspire the Alumnae of the School, initiating the tour of 1950 in the face of mounting ill health. At last her frail body could no longer keep up with her vigorous will; in August of that year she suffered a coronary attack. Months of hospitalization and rest followed prior to her official retirement from the School for Graduate Nurses in August, 1951. The Alumnae Association tendered a resolution of gratitude to Miss Lindeburgh following her illness. In appreciation, she replied, "When one gives what one can there are rich rewards, and these happy associations which have enriched my life will constitute a precious and cherished memory."13 Miss Lindeburgh's love for the School continued in the last years of her life. Professor Emeritus, she lived quietly in Victoria, her home a welcome haven for nurses, her happiest moments when entertaining former students. Following her death in March 1955, an annual scholarship to McGill was established by the Alumnae Association of the School for Graduate Nurses: The Dr. Marion Lindeburgh Memorial Scholarship." 13. Letter to Wilma Howes, Secretary of the Alumnae Association, from M. Lindeburgh, April 13, 1951. 14. This scholarship replaced the $Soo bursary awarded by the Alumnae Association in 1955 and 1956. At the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, B.C., an annual book prize was established in Miss Lindeburgh's name.

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Chapter X

The Chair that Graduates Built

iss Lindeburgh's illness and forced retirement from the School for Graduate Nurses in the summer of 195o was not unexpected; the marvel was that it had not occurred earlier. Despite ill health she had continued to teach. Even now, ill as she was, she hated to relinquish her work at the School. Reluctantly, she allowed Miss Peverly, assistantdirector since Miss MacLennan's resignation the year before, to become acting-director; Miss Logan and Miss Ogilvie took over her classes in teaching and administration. In January 1951, a recent graduate of the School, Elva C. Honey, A.R.R.C., was appointed acting-director, on loan from the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Five months later she was confirmed as the fourth director of the School. Miss Honey, a graduate of the Winnipeg General Hospital, had received her B.N. degree in administration in schools of nursing at 105

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McGill in 1947 where she had enrolled two years previously, after five years of service in the R.c.A.M.c. Her administrative experience and organizing ability were put to work immediately in solving the critical shortage of staff. Although registration had declined from its postwar peak, the existing staff was hard pressed to handle the varied needs of seventy-five students. In May, the Senate approved an increase in faculty, enabling Edith Green (T. & s. 1946) to join the staff for the succeeding session. The latter directed the course in teaching and supervision, while Miss Honey gave instruction in the administration course. The following year, Alice R. Major (B.N. 1947) was appointed lecturer in teaching in schools of nursing. In 1952, Miss Honey resigned as director to become Mrs. G. F. A. Brink. Elizabeth Odell (T. & s. 1924) for twenty-four years Director of Nursing at Evanston (Illinois) Hospital, served that year as Special Lecturer in Administration in schools of nursing. Miss Green, now acting-director, brought a decisive and analytical mind to bear on the problems of the School. A librarian before entering the nursing profession, and having a B.A. degree from the University of British Columbia, she had led the Province of Quebec in R.N. examinations in 1943. Three years later she graduated with great distinction in the teaching and supervision course at the School for Graduate Nurses. During her two years on the staff of the School she gave careful study, together with the other members of staff, to problems of curricula. In her report to the Principal in the spring of 1953, she emphasized the need for expansion of the clinical courses to include such areas as medical-surgical nursing, neurology, and neuro-surgery.' She pointed out the lack of opportunity at McGill for research in nursing, a fact common to other Canadian universities at that time. She drew attention to the problem of assigning students for field work in English-speaking areas. The suggestion of an English language county health unit, as considered under the Kellogg Grant of 1946 47, was again put forward.' Miss Green further suggested the provision of a "core" curriculum for all students at the School, an idea promoted by Miss Harmer twenty-four years ealier. Her report to the principal followed closely on the presentation of i. Clinical courses in neurology and neuro-surgery have not to date been included in the programme at the School for Graduate Nurses. 2. See p. 84. 1o6

THE CHAIR THAT GRADUATES BUILT

another report, that of the Special Schools Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. F. C. Maclntosh.3 This committee was appointed by the Faculty of Medicine to study academic standards in the three schools under its jurisdiction, the School of Physical Education, the School of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, and the School for Graduate Nurses. Academic standards fell short in both quantity and quality in each case, the committee decided. Too few academic courses and too many elementary courses were the most common criticisms. In the case of the School for Graduate Nurses, it was felt that the deficiencies could be easily remedied; the maturity of its students and the strict adherence to admission requirements permitted the committee to conclude: "Our justification is that the nurses' school operates on excellent material to turn out an excellent product ... "4 The Committee recommended that the degree curricula at the School be adjusted so as to free them from "all suspicion of academic inadequacy."5 Because of the number of Arts and Science courses on the curriculum it was further recommended that the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science be a permanent member of the School's Advisory Committee. Miss Green's report to the principal in 1953 included a plea for a more accessible location for the School. The distance of Beatty Memorial Hall from the campus placed undue strain on staff and students, while lack of transportation discouraged secretarial help. As well as this, space had been at a premium for more than two years as the School of Physiotherapy appropriated additional rooms. Overcrowding created a fire hazard; shortage of classrooms and office space hampered timetable arrangements. By 196o, as enrollment soared, the situation had become acute. In 1961-62 lectures could only be given by dividing groups into three sections and repeating classes. Students sat on the stair steps to study as the library overflowed. Copies of essential books were limited as there were insufficient shelves and nowhere to put new ones; periodicals were stacked in boxes in the upper hallway; faculty and clerical workers were crowded into inadequate office space. 3. Members of the Special Schools Committee were: Dr. F. C. Macintosh (Chairman), Professor W. H. Hatcher, Professor H. Tate, Professor R. P. Vivian. (Professor S. M. Pady and Professor F. M. Watkins, originally members, left the University before work of the Committee was completed.) 4. Report of the Special Schools Committee, p. to. 5. Ibid. 107

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At last new accommodation was found in Wilson Memorial Hall, 3506 University Street. In the summer of 1962, the School for Graduate Nurses once more returned to the main campus of McGill to share quarters, as it had forty years earlier, with the School of Social Work. Miss Green did not remain at the School for Graduate Nurses to see the implementation of the report of the Special Schools Committee of 1953, or the suggestion for improving curriculum which she had put forward the same year. She resigned in August of that year to take a position with the World Health Organization.6 At the same time, a permanent Director of the School was appointed. Rae Chittick, B.sc., M.A., M.P.H., R.N., a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing, was well known to Canadian nurses as past president of the c.N.A. and author of many articles on nursing. Under her direction, the curriculum at the School was revised as recommended by the Special Schools Committee. In 195o the calendar had been re-organized by Miss Logan; now Miss Logan and Miss Peverly assisted Miss Chittick in a complete revision and re-arrangement of programme. A "core" curriculum was introduced, allowing increased academic courses in all years. More comprehensive nursing courses prevented overlapping of content in such areas as nutrition, mental health, and social aspects of nursing. Medical-surgical nursing was added to the specialties offered. Under the re-organized programme, diploma students could now proceed towards a degree in the second year without loss of time.8 Miss Chittick's aim was to generalize at the Baccalaureate level. A curriculum rich in academic content which would stimulate intellectual curiosity and give an understanding of man's cultural heritage was an essential factor, she felt, in the broader development of the nurse. She arranged an annual series of lectures by leading members of the faculty of the university to the entire student body in topics of general and special interest. She worked closely with other departments of the 6. Subsequently Edith Green obtained a Master's degree in nursing from the University of Washington, and was appointed to the staff of the University of Indiana. 7. In 195o, courses were grouped as: Nursing — General (N.G.); Nursing — Education (N.E.); Nursing — Administration (N.A.); Nursing — Specialties (N.s.); Nursing — Cognate (N.c.). 8. For changes in curriculum, 1954, see Appendix B.

Io8

THE CHAIR THAT GRADUATES BUILT

university in an effort to interpret to them nursing at McGill, and to establish the School as a vital part of the university. She welcomed parttime students and, through the Extension Department of the university, built up over the ensuing years a series of evening courses. By 1957, Miss Chittick could feel, as had her predecessor, Miss Harmer, twentyfive years earlier, that the programme offered at the School for Graduate Nurses "compared favourably with any other university programme for nurses on this continent."9 Enrollment at the School at the time of Miss Chittick's appointment as director had dropped to 41 students from a postwar high of 127 in 1947. Not since the early years of the war had so few nurses applied for admission to McGill. Special efforts were made to remedy this. During the 1953-54 session, Miss Chittick addressed meetings of alumnae associations of schools of nursing, hospital staff meetings, senior students, both in Montreal and Ottawa. Posters were mailed to hospitals and official and voluntary health agencies in every province. Personal replies were written to all persons enquiring for calendars of the School; increased advertising space was taken in The Canadian Nurse. Within one year, registration had nearly doubled, to mount steadily over the next five years. By 196o, more than one hundred students were enrolled at the School. In three years this had tripled to make an all-time record of 343 students registered in 1963.1° Of these, many were attending on bursary or scholarship assistance. Since the end of World War II, government, both federal and provincial, had given increasing support to nursing education. The Dominion Provincial Professional Training Grant, allotted in 1949, provided through the Quebec government, liberal annual bursaries. Other provincial governments made regular grants. Hospitals, boards of health, and individuals continued to support students at the School. Provincial nurses' associations, alumnae associations, and organizations such as the Victorian Order of Nurses and The Canadian Red Cross Society also contributed generously in this way. A new area of assistance to students was opened by the Colombo Plan, when McGill, along with other Canadian universities, joined in a programme of aid to developing countries. Between 1952 and 1964, more than fifty nurses from various parts of the world studied at the 9. Annual report of Director of School for Graduate Nurses, May, 1958. io. Registration in October 1964, was 366 students.

I09

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

School for Graduate Nurses under the auspices of the Colombo Plan. The World Health Organization (w.H.o.), formed in 1948, has also played a role in supporting nursing education at the School, sponsoring a student for the first time in the 1952-53 session.11 w.H.o. has also supported graduates and staff of the School in various study capacities. In 1953, Miss Peverly was granted a ten-week fellowship to observe nursing services in South America; Edith Buchanan (T. & S. 1933) was assigned a fellowship to prepare "A Study Guide to Nursing Arts designed for use in India," published in 1954; in 1961 Miss Logan was loaned to the Danish government for three months to assist in the creation of a university programme in nursing; the following year, Miss Chittick spent the summer in Ghana on a similar mission. The prestige of the School was mounting steadily. After the International Congress of Nurses held in Atlantic City in 1947, distinguished visitors to the School came from Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Formosa, France, South Africa, and India. Graduates of the School serving in Asia and Africa, first with U.N.R.R.A. and then with the W.x.o.,1Y carried the reputation of the McGill School with them. Students from India, Europe, and the West Indies began to attend the School in everincreasing numbers. In 1954, south-east Asia was represented for the first time by two nurses from Indonesia. In 196o, the first African nurses enrolled, with five Nigerian students registered. That same year saw for the first time at McGill the graduation of two male students in nursing.13 Today nurses at McGill come from every corner of the world. In the five-year period following 1958, more than Iso students from more than twenty different countries14 attended the School for Graduate Nurses. Curriculum in nursing at McGill expanded following Miss Chittick's appointment as director, in an attempt to provide the type of education needed to meet rapidly changing concepts of professional nursing. Many factors contributed to the increased demand for well-prepared nurses. s

11. The first student sponsored by the w.ss.o. at the School for Graduate Nurse was Elizabeth Worthy, 1952-53 12. These include: Mary Harling (T.& s., 1943, H.N. 1948), Norena MacKenzie (Teaching 1928), Edith Green (T.& s. 1946), Helena Reimer (Admin. 1943, H.N. 1951). 13. These were Walter Rodrigo (Ceylon) and Bigi Barnas (Indonesia). 14. These included: Bermuda, Thailand, Indonesia, Portugal, England, British Honduras, Jamaica, India, United States, New Zealand, Trinidad, Ceylon, Nigeria, Iran, Singapore, West Indies, Cyprus, China, Greece, Philippines, Ghana. II0

THE CHAIR THAT GRADUATES BUILT

New developments in science and technology required new knowledge on the part of the nurse. Higher standards of living and government sponsored health insurance in all provinces by 196o-61 permitted medical care for more people than ever before. Hospitals grew rapidly to cope with the increasing population. Longer life expectancy prompted developments in geriatrics; rehabilitation needs mutiplied; public health services in maternity and child health programmes placed a growing emphasis on preventive medicine. With these factors in mind, Miss Chittick, sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, made a seven-week observation tour of various university schools of nursing in the United States, in the spring of 1954. On her return, and following the revision of the curriculum at the School, plans were made for the introduction of a basic course in nursing at McGill. Nurse educators had long been aware that many high school graduates of above-average ability by-passed nursing in favour of other fields, and of these, few later entered the nursing profession. It was hoped that a basic undergraduate course in nursing would attract such girls, and would integrate hospital experience with sciences and the humanities within the context of the university. The broadening of the base of liberal education for nurses, educators agreed, would produce a nurse better prepared to adapt to the changing needs of modern society. At the same time the desperate need for teachers and well-prepared nurses for responsible positions could be met in part by the provision of such a programme. Despite the overcrowded conditions at Beatty Memorial Hall, a basic course in nursing was introduced in the autumn of 1957, with Moyra Allen (T. & S. 1946; B.N. 1948) in charge of the programme. The first class of five girls graduated in the spring of 1962. Research in nursing at McGill had been urged in Miss Green's report's of 1953. The following year students in the second year degree programme undertook small research projects under the direction of staff members. Miss Chittick began to press for the creation of a Master's programme in nursing at the School for Graduate Nurses. To the C.N.A., the need for research in nursing in Canada had become increasingly obvious. Except for the Weir Survey in 1932, no major is. Miss Harmer, more than twenty years earlier, had also recognized the need for research in nursing. See p. Ø. III

IN CAPS AND GOWNS research in nursing had been carried out until the years following the War, when studies were made in "supply and demand." Now the focus was on research in nursing education. In 1956, a Pilot Study of Schools of Nursing in Canada was initiated with the object of ultimately obtaining national accreditation. A McGill graduate nurse, Helen Mussalem (B.N. 1947) was chosen to conduct this study. At the

c.N.A.

convention in Ottawa in 1958 a resolution was

passed expressing the great need for postgraduate study in nursing at Canadian universities.16 At McGill a two-year programme leading to a degree of M.sc. (Applied) was drawn up for approval by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. In September 1959, approval in principle was granted by the Senate; two years later, with financial backing from theKelloggFoundationof $195 ,000 overa five-yearperiod, a postgraduate course in nursing was created at McGill. Mary L. Richmond, M.A. (COL)

B.N., R.N., (T. & S. 1946, B.N. 1951), a nurse possessing broad experience in teaching and administration and combining a unique scientific and human approach to nursing, was appointed to co-ordinate this programme.17 Staff at the School for Graduate Nurses has not increased in numbers as rapidly as the expansion of programme and enrollment would suggest. The Faculty of Arts and Science is responsible for approximately half of all classes; others are given by members of the Faculty of Medicine and representatives of the local hospitals. The remainder are undertaken by nurse members of the staff, who are also responsible for individual guidance and counselling. From the time of Miss Chittick's appointment in 1954 until the introduction of the basic programme three years later, there were six fulltime members of staff. Eleanor (Jamieson) Hurd had been appointed in

1954 when Miss Peverly proceeded on leave of absence. On the latter's retirement in 1957, Kathleen (MacDonald) Maxwell was appointed. That same year two more staff members were granted leave of absence: Miss Logan for two years' study and additional experience in obstetrics and paediatrics; Mrs. Gemeroy for one year's work at Columbia University, where she received her M.A. degree. Elizabeth Worthy (B.N.

1954) and Florence Buller (Psych. Nsg. 1955) replaced them, additional 16. The first Master's programme in nursing at a Canadian university was established at the University of Western Ontario, in 1959. 17. Miss Richmond resigned in the summer of 1964 to become Director of Nursing at the Vancouver General Hospital. 112

THE CHAIR THAT GRADUATES BUILT

personnel being subsequently appointed. In 1962, for the 289 students enrolled in the School for Graduate Nurses, the staff numbered eleven's; of these, Miss Allen was on leave of absence. The commencement of the basic nursing programme at McGill in was one of two major occurrences for the School for Graduate Nurses in that year. The other, an event anticipated for thirty years, was the successful culmination of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund. In appreciation of this significant contribution by the Alumnae Association, McGill approved the establishment of the Flora Madeline Shaw Chair of Nursing and elevated the Director of the School to the rank of Professor. In the years following Miss Lindeburgh's tour of 195o, contributions from local branch associations had swelled the Fund appreciably. In 1956, under the terms of Miss Lindeburgh's will, $1,000 was added to the Fund, bringing the total to more than $5o,000. Thus in death, Miss Lindeburgh achieved what she had struggled vainly in life to attain —an endowment for the School for Graduate Nurses. In April 1957, negotiations were opened with Dr. F. C. James, Principal of McGill, concerning the future of the fund. Dr. James had earlier indicated to the Alumnae Association that $125,000 was necessary to endow a Chair of Nursing 19 Now Miss Flanagan, Chairman of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee, and Mrs. Doris Small (Admin. & Sup. in P.H.N. 1953), President of the Alumnae Association, met with Dr. James to discuss the matter. At this meeting, April 11, 1957, Dr. James asserted that a full professorship would be granted at the School within one year. In response to a formal statement on the Fund presented to him one week later, he expressed his personal opinion that although the sum in question ($5o,000) was not sufficient to endow a Chair of Nursing, the income from this amount would bridge the gap between the present salary of the director and that pertaining to a professorial appointment. In extending his personal appreciation of the loyal support to the School given by the Alumnae Association, he wrote: "I could find it in my heart to wish that the alumnae [and alumni] of all the Schools in the University took so vigorous and effective an interest in the work of 1957

18. For details of staff appointments 1920-63 see Appendix B. 19. See p. 79. 113

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

their Alma Mater."20 At the May 1 meeting of the Board of Governors, final approval was granted to the creation of the Flora Madeline Shaw Chair of Nursing. Dr. James paid official tribute to the role of the Alumnae of the School in his Annual Report of 1957-58: McGill is proudly indebted to the Alumnae of the School for Graduate Nurses who, out of their own pockets, donated Sso,000 to the University in the hope that through this contribution towards it the Board of Governors may be enabled to set up a Chair of Nursing in memory of Flora Madeline Shaw, whose pioneer work in the School is so vividly remembered by those who were her students.21

Miss Chittick, promoted to the rank of professor, was its first incumbent. The first full professor at the School for Graduate Nurses and first occupant of the Flora Madeline Shaw Chair of Nursing was a person well deserving of the honour. Rae Chittick brought to McGill not only a background of professional preparation and experience, but also an appreciation of cultural values, an awareness of their importance in the optimum development of the individual. During her years at McGill she devoted her efforts to broadening the base of liberal education in nursing. Miss Chittick was born in Burgoyne, Ontario, of Scottish and Irish descent. As a small child, she moved with her family to Calgary, Alberta, where she received public and high school education. After attending the Provincial Normal School, she taught school for two years before entering the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing shortly after the end of the First World War. Following graduation in 1922 she worked for one year with the Victorian Order of Nurses in Victoria, B.C., and then proceeded to the Department of Education in Saskatchewan where she was a colleague of Marion Lindeburgh at the Regina Normal School. This was the beginning of a friendship and feeling of mutual admiration which ripened over the years as their paths crossed in professional fields, each in her own way to make her contribution to nursing in Canada. In 1926, Miss Chittick returned to Alberta to become Instructor in 20. Letter to Carol Miller, Secretary of the Alumnae Association from F. C. James, April 24, 1957. 21. Annual Report of the Principal, 1957-5 8, p. 16.

114

THE CHAIR THAT GRADUATES BUILT

Health Education at the Provincial Normal School at Calgary. When this institution affiliated with the University of Alberta, Miss Chittick was made Assistant Professor and later Associate Professor of Education, remaining on the staff until her appointment as Director of the School for Graduate Nurses in 1953. Her professional education during these years was not neglected. In 1931 she received a Bachelor of Science degree from Teacher's College, Columbia University, in 1942 a Master of Arts degree from Stanford University; and in 1951 a Master of Public Health degree cum laude from Harvard, while on a fellowship from the Canadian Education Association. A prolific reader, and possessing a vivid and charming literary style, she became a frequent contributor to nursing journals. Her keen mind and varied intellectual and cultural interests made her equally at home in academic and professional circles. Friendly, sincere, determined, and quietly humorous, she made her mark on nursing. She served as vice-president and president of the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses, becoming honorary secretary of the C.N.A. in 1942 during Miss Lindeburgh's term as president. In succeeding years, she acted as vice-president (1944-46) and president (1946-48) of the national association. In 1954, the University of Alberta bestowed on Miss Chittick, for her contribution to nursing in Alberta, its Honorary Degree of LL.D. As Director of the School for Graduate Nurses, Miss Chittick strengthened and expanded the existing programme, always striving to attain the broadest possible academic basis. Forthright and outspoken, she guided the development of the School towards this end. Students recall her as a dynamic teacher who related problems in nursing to the wider political, social, and cultural implications of the day. Within the university, she sought academic recognition for the School in other faculties, in departments such as psychology and sociology. She maintained a happy relationship with the Faculty of Medicine and a close liaison with teaching hospitals. She sustained a rapport with French-speaking institutions in Quebec, conscious of the importance of community relationships in the growth of her profession. In professional capacity she served on the executive of various health agencies, on the board of the v.o.N., as a committee member of the A.N.P.Q. and the C.N.A., and as a consultant for the World Health Organization. Under Miss Chittick's direction, the School for. Graduate Nurses I15

IN CAPS AND GOWNS

increased in prestige throughout Canada and across the seas. The increased enrollment of students from other lands placed additional responsibilities on the director and her staff. A programme of orientation was necessary for students coming to Canada for the first time; courses in English and other pre-requisites were arranged for these students at summer schools at other universities — Queen's, New Brunswick, and Acadia. Miss Chittick's thoughtful and understanding approach to those of differing cultural backgrounds undoubtedly helped these students to adjust to life at McGill. Miss Chittick was acutely aware of the contribution Canadian nurses, particularly those at McGill, might make to the less developed countries of the world. When the World Health Organization approached her in 1962 to assist the government of Ghana to develop its nursing programme, she accepted the invitation gladly. The summer months of that year were spent in Ghana, assessing its nursing needs, working with the Ministry of Health and the University of Ghana to set up a suitable programme. On Miss Chittick's retirement from McGill the following year, she accepted a full-time position with the w.H.o. to establish a post-basic programme in nursing at the University of Ghana. Two graduates of the McGill School, Mary Heron (B.N. 1959) and Beatrice Salmon (B.N. 1962) have since joined her. Miss Chittick's earnest hope, reflecting her breadth of vision, is that McGill University might play a direct role in developing this programme. Professor Emeritus, Dr. Rae Chittick, continues to serve her profession with loyalty and dignity. The story of the McGill School for Graduate Nurses as recounted on these pages has been one of hard work, tenacity, devotion on the part of a few, both staff and graduates, in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The determination of its Alumnae was a crucial factor in keeping the School open despite severe financial difficulties; beyond this, the realization of their ambition to build a fund sufficient to endow a Chair of Nursing was a remarkable achievement. What does the future hold for the School for Graduate Nurses? More than 2,000 nurses have received degrees or diplomas at McGill since the founding of the School in 192o. Their influence is felt in national and international nursing organizations which provide leadership to nurses throughout the world. They are found as teachers and administrators in hospitals and universities in every province in Canada and in I16

THE CHAIR THAT GRADUATES BUILT

many countries abroad. Directors and supervisors of public health agencies include untold numbers of McGill nurses. Ministries of Health in several foreign countries employ graduates of the School as nursing advisors. In time of war as in peace, nurses of the McGill School have played a prominent part in the service of their country. Each graduate has in some way been the richer for her contact with an old and distinguished university. Her horizons have been widened by breaking through the confines of strictly professional training into the realm of arts and the humanities. 'Wherever she goes she carries the spirit of the McGill School — a spirit which has been fostered partly by the dedication of each of its directors, partly by the loyalty of succeeding generations of graduates. As the nursing profession in Canada prepares to meet the everincreasing demand for nurses22, the future challenge is clear for the McGill School for Graduate Nurses. As the quality of programme and staff continues to improve, as the Master's programme develops, it seems inevitable that a Faculty of Nursing might be established at McGill. The present Director of the School, Miss Elizabeth Logan, follows a tradition tested by time and adversity. Under her direction, and with the support and understanding of the university, the School for Graduate Nurses should achieve its full potential. "In caps and gowns." Miss Adelaide Nutting's prophetic vision of higher education for nurses expressed in 1918 has now been more than fulfilled. McGill University can be proud of the record of the School for Graduate Nurses over the past forty-four years, and look forward to even greater accomplishments in the future. 22. This matter is dealt with fully in the Royal Commission on Health Services. (Ottawa, 1964). As regards supply of qualified nurses, the Report states, on page 593, that "between 1961 and 1971 ... [this] must increase by over 20,000 if present standards are maintained and could increase to 42,000 if improved standards of patient care are provided .... University trained nurses must [increase] from the 1961 level of 1,114 to many times this figure by 1971 to approach ... a desirable ratio of one university trained nurse to three diploma nurses."

I17

Appendix A

DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL NURSING ASSOCIATIONS IN CANADA At the turn of the century, professional nursing organizations in North America were bi-national in character. In 1893 Canadian and American nurses formed the American Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses, (renamed the National League of Nursing Education in 1912.) By the efforts of this group, the Nurses Associated Alumnae (renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911) of the United States and Canada was formed in 1899 (first president, Isabel Hampton Robb). Because membership in the International Council of Nurses (founded 1899) entailed participation as individual countries, and as states and provinces began to pass laws governing nursing legislation, the United States and Canada formed separate nursing organizations. The Canadian Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses, founded in 1907, was instrumental one year later in forming the Canadian National Association of Trained Nurses. In 1909 the latter affiliated with the I.C.N. Membership of the C.N.A.T.N. included provincial nurses' associations which each obtained bills of registration between 1910 and 1922. The name of the Canadian Superintendents Society was changed in 1917 to the Canadian Association of Nurse Education. In 1924, the C.N.A.T.N. was renamed the Canadian Nurses' Association, and the C.A.N.E. merged into the Nursing Education Section of the C.N.A. (Today a committee on nursing education acts in consultant capacity or the C.N.A.) An Act to incorporate the C.N.A. was passed in 1947. In 1963 its membership was recorded as more than 70,00o nurses. L. L. Dock and I. M. Stewart. A Short History of Nursing, New York and London, 1920; A Brief History of the Canadian Nurses' Association, Winnipeg, 1926; The Canadian Nurse, circulation figures, 1963.

SOURCES:

"9

DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSITY SCHOOLS OF NURSING IN CANADA 1920-59 1919. University of British Columbia established the first degree course for nurses in the British Empire. (March). Dalhousie University established the first course in public health nursing. A six-month course leading to a diploma, it was discontinued in 1922.

1920

1920. McGill School for Graduate Nurses established first certificate courses in Teaching and Supervision in Schools of Nursing. 1921. McGill School for Graduate Nurses established first certificate courses in Administration in Schools of Nursing. 192o-25. Six universities established courses in public health nursing: McGill University, 1920 University of Toronto, 1920 University of Western Ontario, 1920 University of British Columbia, 1920 University of Alberta, 1921 University of Montreal, 1925 1920-26. Three universities established five-year undergraduate courses in nursing leading to a degree: University of Alberta, 1923 University of Western Ontario, 1924 St. Francis Xavier University, 1926 1933-59.

Nine university programmes in nursing established: Laval University, 1933 University of Ottawa, 1933 Institut Marguerite d'Youville, 1934 University of Saskatchewan, 1938 McMaster University, 1942 Queen's University, 1942 University of Manitoba, 1943 Dalhousie University, 1949 University of New Brunswick, 1959

I20

1942. University of Toronto established the first basic degree course in nursing having integrated academic and professional studies. 1959. University of Western Ontario established the first postgraduate

course in nursing leading to a Master's degree. 1964. Total of eighteen university programmes in nursing education available in Canada, all but one offering a degree.

University Calendars; The I.C.N., Vol. II, 1927; The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. Ø, 1929; The Canadian Nurse, Vol. LI, 1955; Statistical Data on Schools of Nursing in Canada, The Canadian Nurses' Association, 1964.

SOURCES:

I2I

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GIVEN BY PROVINCIAL BRANCHES OF THE CANADIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY TO UNIVERSITY SCHOOLS OF NURSING 1920-24 Dalhousie University 1920-21. Twenty

scholarships of $200 each given to students taking the diploma course in public health nursing. 1922. This amount increased to $35o each. University of British Columbia 1920-23. $5,000 per year to establish a Chair of Public Health Nursing. $3,200 was allotted during this period to the Vancouver Branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses to be used as scholarships. $zoo prize to top student in public health nursing. University of Toronto $5,000 per year to establish a Department of Public Health Nursing. $8,400 for 25 scholarships, was allotted during this period.

1920-23.

University of Western Ontario 192o-24. Support given by London Branch of the Canadian Red Cross Society to establish a public health nursing course: 1920. $1,800 in salary 1921-24. $6,000 in annual support 1924. $350 scholarship McGill University 1920-23. $5,000 per year to establish the School for Graduate Nurses. SOURCE: Brief of Canadian Red Cross Society to Royal Commission on Health Services, 1962.

I22

Appendix B

PROGRAMME OF STUDY FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING THE SCHOOL FOR GRADUATE NURSES 192o-21 (as outlined in The Canadian Nurse October, 192o)

Required for all students Psychology Educational or Social Psychology Contemporary Nursing Problems History of Nursing Course A

(PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING)

Principles and Practices of Public Health Nursing Field Work and Public Work Nursing Physical Diagnosis Preventive Medicine Biology and Physiology Principles of Modem Social Work and Treatment of Poverty Course B

(TEACHING AND SUPERVISION IN SCHOOLS OF NURSING)

Supervision in Hospitals and Training Schools Hospital and Training School Administration Teaching in Schools of Nursing, Principles and Methods Anatomy and Physiology Principles of Teaching Preventive Medicine Bacteriology Electives Home Economics Nutrition and Dietetics Neuro-Psychiatry Chemistry The subjects of one course could also be considered as electives for students taking the other. 123

TEACHING STAFF As Outlined in McGill University Calendar, 192I-22

FLORA MADELINE SHAW, R.N., Diploma Teacher's College, Columbia University MARY SAMUEL, R.N. (former Supt. Training School, Roosevelt Hospital, N.Y., and Lakeside Hospital, Cleveland) MAUDE E. ABBOTT, B.A., M.D. (Bishop's), M.D.HON. (McGill), L.R.C.P. & s. (Edin.), Lecturer in Pathology and Curator of the Pathological Museum E. M. BEST, M.H., Ph.D., Instructor in Education, Theological College M. WINONA CRUISE, B.A. (Toronto), M.sc. (Teacher's College, Columbia) JOHN B. DAWSON, General Secretary, Charity Organization Society J. HOWARD T. FALK, Director of Department of Social Service F. W. HARVEY, B.A., M.D., University Medical Officer R. ST. J. MACDONALD, B.A., M.D., D.P.H., Lecturer in Hygiene A. R. M. MCLEAN, B.sc., Ph.D., Lecturer in Chemistry GORDON S. MUNDIE, M.D., Ass't Director National Mental Hygiene Committee J. C. SIMPSON, B.SC., Associate Professor of Histology and Embryology T. A. STARKEY, M.B., D.P.H., M.D.C.M., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. WILLIAM D. TAIT, B.A. (Dalhousie), M.A., Ph.D., Asst. Professor of Psychology

I24

MEMBERS OF FIRST GRADUATING CLASS 1920-21

Course A. PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING JANET JAMES, Clayton, Ont., Lowell Hospital, Lowell, Mass., 19o8 FLORA LIGGETT, Port Hope, Ont., Toronto General Hospital, 1909 MILDRED A. McCoMBE, Armagh, Ireland, Western Hospital, Montreal, 1915 ANNE SLATTERY, Cape Breton Island, B.A. McGill, 1909, Royal Victoria Hospital, 1920

Course B. TEACHING AND SUPERVISION CHARLOTTE BLACK, PeachØd, B.C., Vancouver General Hospital,1915 SARAH J. KINGSTON, Sterling, Ont., Lady Stanley Institute, Ottawa, 1903 MRS. ELEANOR LEMASNIE, Dublin, Ireland, Western Hospital, Montreal, 1918 MARGARET MCCAMMON, (MRS. J. T. ALLAN), Inverness, Que, Montreal General Hospital, 1918 NORA E. MACPHERSON, Smithville, Ont., Hamilton General Hospital 1913 KATHLEEN PANTON, Milton, Ont., Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, 1910 ETTEL M. SØPE, Montreal, Homeopathic Hospital, Montreal, 1908 BEATRICE WATSON, Kingston, Jamaica. Royal Victoria Hospital 1920 MRS. MARY A. YOUNG, Lloydminster, Sask., Oshawa General Hospital, 1918

I25

DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAMME OF STUDY 1920-64 1. Programme of Study at School for Graduate Nurses 1920-29, showing year in which course commenced: Public Health Nursing (1920) *Teaching in Schools of Nursing (1920) *Supervision in Schools of Nursing (1920) Administration in Schools of Nursing (1921) All courses leading to certificate after one year. In 1929 a two-year course leading to a diploma in Nursing Education was introduced. *Given as one course until 1924

2. Programme of Study offered at the School for Graduate Nurses 1929-36: a) Teaching in Schools of Nursing b) Supervision in Hospitals and Schools of Nursing c) Administration in Hospitals and Schools of Nursing d) Visiting Nursing and Health Teaching e) Supervision and Organization in Public Health Nursing All courses may lead to a Diploma after two years 3. Programme of Study effective 1936:

a) Teaching and Supervision in Schools of Nursing b) Administration in Hospitals and Schools of Nursing c) Public Health Nursing d) Administration and Supervision in Public Health Nursing. All courses of one year's duration leading to a Certificate 4. Degree programme for graduate nurses commenced 1944:

Two-year course leading to B.N. degree One-year certificate courses continue I26

5. Further one-year certificate courses offered as follows:

Supervision in Psychiatric Nursing (1945 ) Supervision in Obstetric Nursing (1946) Supervision in Paediatric Nursing (1948) Teaching in Schools of Nursing to replace course in Teaching and Supervision (1948) 6. Reorganization of curriculum 1954. (two-year programme for graduate nurses leading to B.N. degree; Diploma in Teaching and Supervision or Public Health nursing granted after one year). Programme of Study in four main areas of nursing: a) Teaching and Supervision in Schools of Nursing specializing in one of the following: Teaching of the Basic Sciences (degree only) Medical-Surgical Nursing Psychiatric Nursing Maternal and Child Health b) Public Health Nursing c) Administration in Hospitals and Schools of Nursing d) Teaching and Supervision and Administration in Public Health Agencies Either (a) or (b) represents the first year of work for the degree course. 7. Degree Programme in Basic Nursing commenced 1957: five-year course for high school graduates leading to the degree of B.sc. (N) 8. Postgraduate degree programme commenced 1961, leading to degree of M.sc. (Applied) with an opportunity to major in Nursing Education or Nursing Service Administration

I27

STAFF 1920-63 FLORA MADELINE SHAW, Director *ELIZABETH L. SMELLM (Victorian Order of Nurses) *MARY SAMUEL ANNE SLATTERY, Acting Director 1927-28 *LOUISE M. DICKSON (Shriner's Hospital for Crippled BERTHA HARMER, Director MARION LINDEBURGH, Acting

Director 1934-39 Director 1939-51

ISABEL (MANSON) PRINCE *KATHLEEN HILL (Royal Victoria Hospital) EILEEN C. FLANAGAN *BLANCHE G. HERMAN (Western Division, Montreal

1920-27 1921-23 1920-29

1924-29 Children) 1926-29 1928-34 1929-5 I 1929-33

1929-30 1929-32

General Hospital) 1931-32 Sept.-Dec. 1933 1933-46 1942-45 1942-45 1942-43 1943-47 1945-57 1945-48

ETHEL R. PARKINSON MARY S. MATHEWSON (Part-time 1933-38) *MARION NASH (Victorian Order of Nurses) *ETHEL B. Coo (Child Welfare Association) *ELEANOR PALLISER KATHLEEN M. STANTON ANN PEVERLY *CATHPØE LYNCH (Allan Memorial Institute) *KATHLEEN MARSHALL (full-time 1949-53)

(Allan Memorial Institute) 1945-53 B. A. ELECTA MACLENNAN 1946-49 *CAROLINE V. BARRETT (Royal Victoria Montreal Maternity Hospital) 1946-5S *GERTRUDE L. YEATS 1946-54 Jan.-Apr. 1947 *HILDA MACDONALD EUGENIE M. STUART 1947-48 J. MARGARET HOLDER (Teaching Fellow 1947-49) 1947-54 *RUTH MCPHERSON (MRS. J. D.) (Teaching Fellow) 1947-49 ELIZABETH LOGAN, Acting Director 1963-64 1948Director 1964*MADELEINE (FLANDER) WusON(ChildIen's Memorial Hospital 1948now Montreal Children's Hospital) I28

ELSIE C. OGILVIE ELVA C. HONEY (MRS. G. F. A. BRINK.) Acting Director EDITH J. GREEN, Acting Director 1952-53 ALICE R. MAJOR Rum (HOOD) HORLICK RAE CHITTICK, Director (MRS.) SUZANNE GARDON IRENE (O'BRIEN) JACKSON MOYRA ALLEN ELEANOR (JAMIESON) HURD HELEN (MCCAULEY) GEMEROY ELIZABETH J. WORTHY KATHLEEN (MACDONALD) MAXWELL FLORENCE BULLER (MRS. G. PAGE) DOROTHY ROWLES FLORA DEVANEY M. EILEEN CAMPBELL JOAN MACDONALD HELEN MCCALLUM MARY L. RICHMOND ETHEL C. SHAW ZELLA M. PALMER FAYE (MCDOWELL) KARAGAAC HELEN E. MOOGK MIRTH A. DOYLE IRMA K. RILEY EVELYN MATHESON JoCELYNE LEGRIs (MRS.) ANNE KISS EVELYN (RoCQUE) MALONEY JEAN R. GODARD

1949-51

and Director 1951-52 1951-53 1952-54 1953-54 1953-63 Apr.-Oct. 1954 jan.-May 1955 19541954-58 19541957-58 1957-58 1957-58 1958-60 1958-60 jan.-Aug. 1959, 1962-3 1959-6o 1959-62 1960-64 19601960-63 1960-63 1961196119611962-64 1963-64 196319631963-

*Part-time

129

CHANGES IN ADVISORY COMMITTEE 1920-64

1920-38 Advisory Committee, responsible to Principal 1938-40 Standing Committee, responsible to Senate 1941-64 Advisory Committee, responsible to Dean of Medicine The following persons served on Advisory Committees of the School for Graduate Nurses between the years 1920-64: *HELEN R. Y. REID *DR. F. G. FINLEY *DR. A. T. BAZIN *DR. A. S. LAMB *MABEL HERSEY *MARY SAMUEL *OLIVE DELANY *FLORA MADELINE SHAW *MRS. ROBERT REFORD *MRS. W. MILLER SARAH E. YOUNG LILLIAN PHILLIPS MARGARET L. MOAG DR. A. G. FLEMING DR. C. F. MARTIN DEAN IRA A. MACKAY ANNE SLAY MABEL K. HOLT BERTHA HARMER MARION LINDEBURGH ESTHER BEITH DR. W. W. CHIPMAN PROFESSOR J. HUGHES MRS. WALTER M. STEWART MRS. WALTER VAUGHAN MRS. MAUD GRANT DR. J. C. MEAKINS DR. J. R. FRASER

130

1920-38, Chairman 192o-32 192o-27 1920-27, 1928-38 1920-27 192o-38, Chairman 1932-38 1920-35 1920-22 1920-27 1920-36 1920-22 192I-27 1922-25 1923-38,1941-46 1925-43, Chairman 1940-41 1927-38 1927-35 1927-28 1928-38, 1941-46 1928-34 1934-51 1935-38, 1946-50 1935-38 1935-41 1935-38 193 5-3 8 1938-4o Chairman, 1938-4o 1938-43, 1944-47, Chairman 1941-43, 1944-47 1943-44, Chairman 1943-44

DR. R. ST. J. MACDONALD 1 944-45 DR. R. P. VIVIAN 1945-62 FANNY MUNROE 1946-50 DR. FREDERICK SMITH 1947-50 Chairman 1947-50 DR. G. LYMAN DUFF 1950-57 Chairman 1 950-57 TISOBEL BLACK (MRS. ALISTAIR MACLEOD)

DR. C. J. TIDMARSH MARY S. MATHEWSON ''HELENE LAMONT DORA PARRY ELVA C. HONEY EDITH J. GREEN PROFESSOR W. H. HATCHER DR. F. C. MACINTOSH RAE CHITTICK EILEEN C. FLANAGAN DR. LLOYD STEVENSON

tDR. C. A. ROBERTS fROSLYN SMITH tDR. E. H. BENSLEY tMR. R. EDWARDS tDR. LOUIS G. JOHNSON f GERTRUDE D'ALLAIRE tDR. E. C. WEBSTER ''ELIZABETH LOGAN

1950195o-58 195 0-53 19511951-59 1951-52 1952-53 1954-59 1 954-62 1 953-63 1 954-62 1957-62 Chairman 1957-62 195819601962- Chairman 196219621962196219621963-

*Original Members tPresent Members

131

Appendix C FLORA MADELINE SHAW MEMORIAL FUND February 9, 1928. Proposed at meeting of Alumnae Association on motion of Anne Slattery, Acting-Director of the School for Graduate Nurses. Early discussion concerning the fund took place within the executive of the association whose president was Frances Reed (Mrs. L.H. Fisher). May 28, 1928. Flora Madeline Shaw Endowment Fund Committee appointed, Anne Slattery, Chairman. November 18, 1929. Reorganized as Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee, E. Frances Upton, Chairman. May 1945. Deed of Donation drawn up in co-operation with university authorities. December 1945. Increase in size of Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee in order to press for objective of $5o,000. March 1957. Objective attained — $52,951.95. April 1957. Chair of Nursing at McGill University approved by Board of Governors — first incumbent, Dr. Rae Chittick. The following persons have served as members of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee: * ANNE SLATTERY *$MAKEL K. HOLT * DOROTHY COTTON * ETHEL M. SHARPE * FRANCES L REED (MRS. L. H. FISHER) *$JEAN S. WILSON E. FRANCES UPTON f EILEEN

132

C. FLANAGAN

May 1928-Nov. 1929, Chairman 1928-29 1928 1928-36, Secretary-Treasurer 1928-36 1928-37 1928-63, Chairman 1940-46 1928 1929-49 Chairman 1929-40 Secretary Treasurer 1949 193o- Secretary Treasurer 1936-49 Chairman 1949

MARION NASH MARY S. MATHEWSON MARION LINDEBURGH ELIZABETH L. SMELLIE ELSIE ALLDER

1930-51 1 945-53

Chairman 1946-49

1945-55 1945-

19S0-51 Secretary Treasurer 19505I NORENA MACKENZIE 195o-59 1952t BLANCHE G. HERMAN 1952t HELENE LAMONT t CAROLINE BARRETT 19531953t RAE CHITTICK (The President of the Alumnae Association is a member ex officio) *Original members tMembers 1963-64 $Out-of-town members

133

FLORA MADELINE SHAW MEMORIAL FUND STATEMENT May 1945 Showing Development of Fund since 1932 June 1932 July 1936 June 1939 May 1941

Donation from Alumnae Association Bonds $2,5oo. Cash $1,500

$ 4,000.00

Bequest of late Louise M. Dickson

1,064.87

Donation from Alumnae Association „

3,500.00

21,

,,

If

„

May 1942

600.00 300.00

Investment Revenue capitalized 1938-45 May 31, 1945 Total to date Add Dr. Helen R. Y. Reid Legacy (capitalized since 1942) Add Unexpended blance of Subscription Fund

4,353.14 $13,818.01 4,3 01.68 5,191.51

May 31, 1945 Total of combined funds

$23,311.20

AMOUNTS AWARDED IN SCHOLARSHIPS by Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee, 1930-37 1930-31 1931-32 1934-5 193 5-3 6 1936-7 Total 134

$ 500.00 1,000.00 250.00 250.00 250.00 $2,250.00

DEVELOPMENT OF FLORA MADELINE SHAW MEMORIAL FUND 1945-1957

Total to date

May 1945 1946

Mary Samuel Bequest From Alumnae Association

February 1949 April 19So

March 1951

„

,,

„

5oo.00 500.00 1,000.00

Alumnae Association

1 ,000.00

If

If

„

1,000.00 2,000.00 2,500.00

July 1953 1956

$ 5oo.00

E. Frances Upton Bequest

March 1952

May 1955

$23,311.20

21,

M. Lindeburgh Bequest

1,500.00

1,000.00 $12,800.00

March 31, 1957 Grand Total (Donations plus Investment revenue capitalized)

$52,951.95

135

SPECIAL FINANCE COMMITTEE Alumnae Association of the School for Graduate Nurses, Formed November 4, 193 2 Dissolved February II, 1946.

Original members of this Committee were: E. F. UPTON, Chairman DR. M. ABBOTT

G. M. FAIRLEY

A. S. KINDER

A. AHERN

C. M. FERGUSON M. MOAG (Secretary Treasurer. 1 941-45)

M. ORR E. ALLDER (ex officio) MRS. L. H. FISHER (Secretary Treasurer 1932-33) C. ARMOUR

F. A. GEORGE

MRS. R. REWORD

C. V. BARRETT

B. HADRILL

DR. H. R. Y. REID

E. Bum

B. HARMER

M. SAMUEL

L. CHARLAND

M. E. HERSEY

E. SMELL'S

D. COTTON

M. K. HOLT

J. WILSON

Others appointed to this Committee were: M. DESBARRES

M. S. MATHEWSON (1 93 8)

E. C. FLANAGAN (1936)

E. MCDOWELL (193 3 )

V. GRAHAM

F. MUNROE (1 939)

B. G. HERMAN (1 933 )

D. PARRY

M. LINDEBURGH (i934)

V. PEARSON

N. MACKENZIE

(The president of the Alumnae Association and the treasurer of the Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee were members, ex officio)

136

CONTRIBUTIONS BY SPECIAL FINANCE COMMITTEE TO UPKEEP OF SCHOOL FOR GRADUATE NURSES 1 933-3 8 as per Special Finance Receipt Book. September, 1933

$ 5,000.00

September, 1934

3,000.000

July, 1935 September, 1 93 5

545.25

May, 1936

3,x.00 1,288.71

September, 1936

2,000.00

June, 1 937

923.88

September, 1937

3,000.00

June, 1938

761.34 Total

$19,519.18

AMOUNTS RAISED BY SUBSCRIPTION 1938-42 as per Annual Report of Special Finance Committee, May 1943 1938

$10,310.00

1 939

5 625.00

1940

5,090.00

1941

4,190.00

1942

4,000.00 Total

$29,215.00

137

STATEMENT OF McGILL UNIVERSITY ON SUBSCRIPTION FUND, MAY 31, 1945 193 8-43 by sundry subscriptions $29,065.00 1944-45 by investment revenue capitalized

558.30 $29,623.30

Deduct deficit on operations of School for Graduate Nurses 1939

$3,036.56

1940

4,842.39

1941

4,570.15

1942

4,480.69

1943

3,881.39

1944

3,620.61

$24,431.79 Balance

138

$ 5,191.51

Appendix D ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION 1921-64

Presidents 192I-22 MARGARET MCCAMMON (MRS. J. T. ALLAN) 1922-24 ETHEL M. SHARPE 1924-25 MARION NASH 1925-26 E. FRANCES UPTON 1926-28 FRANCES L. REED (MRS. L. H. FISHER) 1928-30 LOUISE M. DICKSON 1930-32 MARTHA BATSON 1932-33 ELSIE ALLDER 1933-35 MADELINE TAYLOR 1935-37 EILEEN C. FLANAGAN 1937-39 BLANCHE G. HERMAN 1939-40 E. A. ELECTA MACLENNAN, May-December 1 939 BLANCHE G. HERMAN, January-May 1940 1940-41 INEZ WELLING 1941-42 AGNES TENNANT (MRS. B. S. JOHNSTON) May June, 1941 MARGARET BRADY, June 1941 1942-43 MARGARET BRADY 1943-45 WINIFRED MCCUNN 1945-47 E. A. ELECTA MACLENNAN 1947-49 MADELEINE FLANDER (MRS. CHARLES WILSON) 1949-51 KATHLEEN DICKSON 1951-52 M. GENEVA PURCELL 1952-54 MADGE MCKILLOP 1954-5 6 ALICE GAGE 1956-58 MRS. DORIS SMALL 1958-59 FLORANNA BRYANT 1959-60 KATHLEEN DICKSON 1960-62 KATHERINE (WEATHERHEAD) HEPPLESTON 1962-64 MARY (COLLEDGE) CHRISTIE

139

Honorary Members 1921

1924 1926 1929 1933 1935 1936

1940 1944 1950

1952 1954

FLORA MADELINE SHAW, Honorary President 1920-27 DR. HELEN R. Y. REID MABEL F. HERSEY GRACE M. FAIRLEY DR. MAUDE ABBOTT SARAH E. YOUNG MARY SAMUEL, Honorary President 1929-45 MRS. ROBERT REPORD BERTHA HARMER, Honorary Vice-President 1 929-34 MARGARET L. MOAG ELIZABETH L. SMELLIB, Honorary Vice-President 1 935CATHERINE M. FERGUSON ESTHER BEITH CAROLINE V. BARRETT FANNY MUNROE VERA GRAHAM LADY MEREDITH ELIZABETH LOGAN MARY RITCHIE MARJORIE RUSSELL ISOBEL BLACK (MRS. ALISTAIR MACLEOD) RAE CHITTICK

At the forty-first annual meeting of the Alumnae Association of the McGill School for Graduate Nurses in May 1962, a resolution was passed to curtail for the time being all meetings of the Association except the annual meeting. An executive committee of five to seven members would continue to function as such and in particular as a scholarship fund raising committee.

140

Select Bibliography I PRIMARY SOURCES Alumnae Association, School for Graduate Nurses, 1921-64 (Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee, 1928-64, and Special Finance Committee, 1932-45) Annual Reports Correspondence Financial Statements Minutes Newsletters, 1946-62 Association of Nurses of the Province of Quebec Minutes of the Graduate Nurses Association, 1917-20 Minutes of the Association of Registered Nurses of the Province of Quebec, 1920-3o McGill University Calendars, 1920-28 Corporation (and Senate) Minute Books, 1918-36 Faculty of Medicine, Minutes 1918-30 Governor's Minute Books, 1918-43 Scrapbook of Newspaper Clippings 1920-41 School for Graduate Nurses, McGilI University Annual Reports, 1920-64 Advisory Committee Minutes, 1921-28 and 1935-37 Calendars, 1928-64 Correspondence, 1918-23 and other Special Reports Harmer, Bertha, "School for Graduate Nurses, McGill University," Methods and Problems of Medical Education, The Rockefeller Foundation, 1932 141

Joint Committee of the Senate and Board of Governors, McGill University, 1937 W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Annual Reports and correspondence concerning grant to School for Graduate Nurses, 1946-50 Senate Committee on Nursing Education, McGill University, 1943 Special Schools Committee, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 1953 Survey Committee of the School for Graduate Nurses, McGill University, 1931 II NURSING HISTORY Breay, M. and Fenwick, E. G. "The History of the International Council of Nurses, 1899-1925," reprinted from the International Nursing Review, 1930. "A Brief History of the Canadian Nurses' Association, Founded 1908, the Canadian Nurses' Association, Winnipeg, 1926. Campbell, M. F. The Hamilton General Hospital School of Nursing 18901 955, Toronto, 1956. Dock, L. L. A History of Nursing, Volume III, New York and London, 1912. Dock, L. L. and Stewart, I. M. A Short History of Nursing, New York, and London, 1920. Gibbon, J. M. V.O.N. 1897-1947, Montreal, 1947. Gibbon, J. M. and Mathewson, M. S. Three Centuries of Canadian Nursing, Toronto, 1947. MacDermott, H. E. History of the School for Nurses of the Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, 1940. 142

Munroe, M. D. The Training School for Nurses — Royal Victoria Hospital, 1894-1943, Montreal, 1943 Stewart, I. M. and Austin, A. L. A History of Nursing, New York, 1962. Upton, E. F. An Experiment in Mutual Understanding, Montreal, 1945. III NURSING EDUCATION

The Canadian Nurse "The Crisis in Education," editorial, Volume XXIX, 1933 ; "Department of Nursing at McGill," Volume XVI, 1920; "Enrollment in University Schools of Nursing," Volume XLIII, 1 947. Canadian Nurses' Association. A submission from the Canadian Conference of University Schools of Nursing to the Royal Commission on Health Services, 1962. Educational Committees of the C.N.A., biennial reports, 1932-64.

Statistical Data on Schools of Nursing in Canada, 1964. Chittick, R. "Nursing at McGill," TheMcGill News, Spring, 1962. "One Nurse's Utopia," Canadian Doctor, 1962. "University Courses for Graduate Nurses," The Canadian Nurse, Volume LI, 1955. Fairley, G. "Report of Conference on University Courses in Nursing," The Canadian Nurse, Volume XXIV, 1928. Hart, M. E. "Needs and Resources for Graduate Education in Nursing in Canada," doctoral thesis, Columbia University, 1962. MacMurchy, H. "The Possibilities of using Canadian Universities for Nurse Education," The Canadian Nurse, Volume XIV, 1918. "The Future of the Nursing Profession," The Canadian Nurse, Volume XVI, 1920.

143

Mallory, E. "Whither we are Tending," The Canadian Nurse, Volume LIX, 196o. McGill Daily,

"The School for Graduate Nurses," February 28, 2949.

NursingMirror,

"The School for Graduate Nurses," January 8, 1949•

Nutting, M. A. "War Conditions in the Nursing World," The Canadian Nurse, Volume XIV, 1918. Russell, E. K. "The Canadian University and the Canadian University School of Nursing," The Canadian Nurse, Volume XXIV, 1928. Shaw, F. M.; Gray, M. and Russell, E. K., "Nursing Education in Universities in Canada," The I.c.N., Volume II, 1927. Shaw, F. M. "Nursing Progress in Canada, "The Canadian Nurse Volume XX, 1924. "School for Graduate Nurses, McGill University," The Canadian Nurse, Volume XXIII, 1927. Slattery, A. "Nursing Education in Canadian Universities," The American Journal of Nursing, Volume XXIX, 1929. Solomon, D. "The Professional School in the University," The Canadian Nurse, Volume LVIII, 1962. Stewart, I. M. The Education of Nurses, New York, 1947. "The Hospital Economics Course," The Canadian Nurse, Volume V, 1909. Watson, B. "Instructor's Course, McGill University," The Canadian Nurse, Volume XIX, 1923. Weir, G. M. A Survey of Nursing Education in Canada, Toronto, 1932. Whitehead, V. "The History of Nursing Society, McGill University," The Canadian Nurse, Volume XXV, 1929. I44

IV GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY Canadian Nurses' Association. "Joint Conference of Directors of University Schools of Nursing and C.N.A. Executive," The Canadian Nurse, Volume XXXVII, 1941. Canadian Red Cross Society. "The role of one Voluntary Organization in Canada's Health Services," A submission to the Royal Commission on Health Services, Toronto 1962. Chittick, R. "Forty Years of Growing," The Canadian Nurse, Volume Lill, 1957. Cleverdon, C. D. The Woman Suffrage Movement in Canada, Toronto, 19So. Kelly, C. W. Dimensions of Professional Nursing, New York, 1962. Macmillan, C. "McGill and its Story," London, 1921. McGill News. "McGill Women's War Work," Volume I, 1919. Roscoe, M. V. The Royal Victoria College, 1899-1962, Montreal, 1964. Royal Commission on Health Services, Ottawa, 1964. Russell, E. R. "Changes in the Pattern of Nursing," The Canadian Nurse, Volume LW, 1958. Sanders, B. H. Canadian Portraits, Toronto, 1958. Yost, E. American Women of Nursing, Philadelphia and New York, 1947.

145

Index

Abbott, Dr. Maude, I, 22, 29, 38, 77, 8o Acadia University, 89, 116 AØd, Mary, 57 Adams, Dr. F. D., I I, 15, 17-18,2o, 29 Administration in Schools of Nursing, courses in, 27-28,3o, 38, 59, 92,Io6 Advisory Committee, 14, 22, 28, 37-38, 49, 57,89; original members, 27; recommends degree course, 42, 43,49 and financial crisis, 54-56,59, 6o-6z; replaced by Standing Committee, 63, 65-67, 72; to Dean of Medicine, 67, 88, 107 Agriculture, Faculty of, 2 Aitkenhead, Clara, 95 Alberta Association of Registered Nurses, I15 Alberta, University of, 98, 115 Alexandra Hospital, 3,58 Allan, Mrs. Margaret (McCammon), z6, 29

Allan Memorial Institute, 89 Allen, Moyra, I I I, 113 Alumnae Association, 36, 103; formed, 29; awards first scholarship, 4o; establishes endowment fund, 39-41; meets financial crisis, 55-58, 61, 63; and public subscription campaign, 64-65, 78-79; loyalty of, 76-116; and war effort, 76-77; and 25th anniversary 94-95; branch associations, 78, 92, 93-94, 96, 97-99; newsletter, 94, 96; achieves endowment, 113-114; tribute t0, 113-114 American Hospital Association, 7 American Nurses' Association, 7, Ioi American [Society of] Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses, 5 Anderson, M. Blanche, 57 Angus, R. B., 7 Archibald, Dr. E. W., to Armstrong, Dr. G.E., ro 147

Arts and Science, Faculty of, 26, 43,59, 107 Arts Building, 25, 46 Association of Nurses of the Province of Quebec (formerly A.R.N.P.Q.), 2, 23, 28, 32, 35, 39, 40, 78, 97, 115

Barrett, Caroline V., 28, 58, 89 Bartsch, Louise, 82 Basic Nursing Course: recommended by Kellogg Foundation, 87-88; commences, III, 113 Bazin, Dr. A. T., to, 14, 16, 20, 27, 56, 66-67 Beatty Memorial Hall, 95,107, III Beatty, Sir Edward, 62, 95 Beith, Esther, 58, 6o Bellevue Hospital, 33 Bessborough, Lady, 57 Birkett, Dr. H. S., 6, 9-I1, 13, 14, 15 Birks, William, 19 Board of Governors, 7, 1o, 15-16, 17-19, 59, 65, 66, 75; approves course, 21; moves to close School, 47, 53-54, 56; Joint Committee of Senate and, 62-64, 65, 74; approves Chair of Nursing, 114 Briggs, Margaret, 77 British Columbia, University of, 13, 42, 7I, 97, 102, Io6 British Overseas Relief Fund for Nurses, 76 Brittain, Dr. W. H., 62 Brogan, Mildred, 86 Buchanan, Edith, Ito Buller, Florence, 112

Cameron, Dr. Ewen, 89 Canadian Association of Nurse Education, 4, 5-6, 15, 27, 35 Canadian Education Association, 115 Canadian Medical Association, 42 148

Canadian National Association of Trained Nurses, 4, 5-6,15, 23, 32, 34 Canadian Nurse, The, 5, 6, 21, 55, I01, 109 Canadian Nurses Association, 4, 32, 33 , 35,39,47,54, 62,73,$1,91,94,95,96, 98, IoI, Io8, III, us; and problems created by World War II, 69-72; and research in nursing education, 42, III-II2

Canadian Officers Training Corps, 46 Canadian Patriotic Fund, t1-12, 14, 21, 22,28,34

Canadian Public Health Association, II Canadian Red Cross Society, 14-15, 69, 109; Quebec Branch, 15-16, 18-20, 22, 23, 35, 72; endorses graduate course, zo; British Columbia Branch, 15; Nova Scotia Branch, 15; Ontario Branch, 15, 20 Carnegie Foundation, 55 Charity Organization Society, it Child Welfare Association, it, 58, 73, 91 Child Welfare, Division of, Ottawa, 6 Children's Memorial Hospital (Montreal Children's Hospital), 90 Chipman, Dr. W. W., it, 13, 60-62 Chittick, Rae, II(); appointed director, 97, io8; changes in curriculum under, I08-I09,IIO-II2; biography, 114-116 Clarke, Sir Frederick, 43 Colombo Plan, 109-Ito Columbia University, Teacher's College, 4-5,7,9,14,15,21,23,30,34,37,38, 41, 48-49, 86, go, I01, 112, 115 Commerce, School of, a, 45 Cooke, Ethel B., 73 Corporation of McGill University, to, 12, 18; Committee to consider course, 13-16; approves course, 15-16, 2I; tribute to Miss Shaw, 36 Craig, Jane, 13 Curriculum: preliminary, 21-23; under Miss Shaw, 30-31; under Miss Harmer, 43-47; and financial crisis, 59; effect of

war on, 73; degree course implemented, 7476; and Kellogg grant, 85-86, 88-9o; recommended changes, 106-107; under Miss Chittick, 108-109; basic degree course, I Io-Isa ; Master's programme, III-112 Currie, Sir Arthur, 23-24, 29, 45, 46; favours degree course, 42; efforts on behalf of School, 53-55, 56, 58, 60, 61

Dale, Prof. J. A., I I, 12, 13 Dalhousie University, School of Nursing, 95 Deed of Donation, see also Shaw, Flora Madeline, Endowment Fund, 8o, 96 Degree course, 21-22, 42-46, 67, 90, 108; forestalled by financial crisis, 47; introduced, 74-76 Delany, Olive, 13, 27 Dentistry, Faculty of, 2 Dickson, Kathleen, 98 Dickson, Louise M., 30, 38,43 Dominion Mental Health Grant, 86 Dominion Provincial Professional Training Grant, 109 Douglas, Principal Lewis, 65 Duff; Dr. Lyman C., 88

Edinburgh Ladies College, 3 Edinburgh School of Home Economics, 3 Education, Department of, II, 14, 26 Ellis, Kathleen, 71 Emergency Nursing Advisor, 71 Emory, Florence, 5,16 Endowment of School, see also Shaw, Flora Madeline, Endowment Fund, 20,41,45,55 Enrollment, 23, 54, 59; postwar, 83, 85, 92, 106; following 1953, 509, HO, 113

Evanston (Illinois) Hospital, 505 Extension Courses, 32, 59, 66, 73, 109

Fairley, Grace M., 3-4, 7, 9, 23, 27, 29, 69, 71, 98; recollections of, 7-8 Family Welfare Federation, 58 Federal Government, Grant for Nursing Education, 72, 73, 78 Fees, 26, 54 Ferguson, Catherine M., 58 Financial Support, 20; initial, threatened, 47, 53-55; 78-8o; by Special Finance Committee, 55-58; effect of inadequate, 58-60; considered by Advisory Committee, 60-61; considered by Joint Committee, 62-64; raised by public campaign, 64-65; from Federal Government, 73; from Kellogg Foundation, 83-88; assured through Chair of Nursing, 113-114 Finley, Dr. F. G., 1o, II, 14, 27 Fidler, Nettie D., 38, 71 Fisher, Frances (Reed), 40, 55, 78, 96 Flanagan, Eileen C., 44,97, 113 Flander, Madeleine (Mrs. Charles Wilson), 86, 90 Fleet, Charles, 19 Fleming, Dr. A. G., 27, 56, 61-62, 67 Fraser, Dr. J. R., 74, 76

Gardon, Mrs. Suzanne, 89 Gemeroy, Helen (McCauley), 89, I 12 Ghana, University of, 116 Gibbon, John Murray, 95 Gibson, Katherine, 77 Glassco, A. P. S., 17-19, 20, 22 Goodrich, Dr. Annie, 49 Gordon, Dr. A. H., 10 Graduate Nurses' Association of Montreal, 2-3 149

Graduates' Society of McGill University, 71 Graham, Vera, 77 Grant, Maud Parkin, 66-67, 95 Gray, Carolyn, 38 Green, Edith, contribution to School, Io6-1o8

Hamilton General Hospital, 23 Harmer, Bertha, 53, 59, 68, 8o, 90, Ioo-lor,106,1o9; appointed director 38, 49; and degree course, 42-47, 62, 67; urges endowment, 45, 55; and Rockefeller Report, 46-47; and financial crisis, 47, 55-59, 74; biography of, 47-51; contribution to School, 51 Harvard University, I 15 Henderson, Virginia, 49 Herman, Blanche G., 44, 63-64, 77 Heron, Mary, 116 Hersey, Mabel F., 3, 14, 23, 27, 29, 38, 54, 56, 62, 66, 8o, 98; role in founding School, 7-50, 13 Hewton, Helen, 77 Hill, Kathleen, 44 History of Nursing Society, 3 8-39 Hoff, Prof. Hebbel E., 75-76 Holder, J. Margaret, 85 Holt, Mabel K., 34-35, 54, 56, 64, 67 Homeopathic Hospital, 77 Honey, Elva C. (Mrs. G. F. A. Brink), 105-I06 Horlick, Ruth (Hood), 89 Hossack, J. Eric, 48 Household Science, Department of, 2, 54 26, 45 Hudson, Lilian, 21 Hughes, Prof. John, 6o, 67 Hurd, Eleanor (Jamieson), 112 Institutes, see also Extension Courses, 32 International Council of Nurses, 3 2-33, 15O

34, 35, 101, Ito; meets in Montreal, 39, 43,5o

Jackson, Irene (O'Brien), 89 James, Principal F. Cyril, 74, 76, 79-80, 96,113-114 Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing, 4, 3o, io8, I14 Joint Committee of Senate and Board of Governors, see Board of Governors Joint Conference of Directors of University Schools of Nursing and C.N.A. Executive, 70-71

Kellogg, W. K., Foundation, 72, 74; grant to School, 83-88, 91, 92, 95,106; finances Master's programme, I 12 King, Dorothy, 58

Lakeside Hospital, Cleveland, 13 Lamb, Dr. A. S., 27 Law, David, 19-2o, 23 Law, Faculty of, 2 Leacock, Dr. Stephen, 43 Library School, 45 Lieutenant-Governor's Medals, 32 Lindeburgh, Marion, 5o, 57, 95, 114, 115; appointed to staff, 44; and financial crisis, 57, 58-59, 60-64; and Standing Committee, 66-68; and wartime demands, 70-74, 8 1; and degree course, 74-76; and Kellogg Grant, 83-88; and ill health, 9o, 91-92,105 ; and Branch Associations, 92-94, 96-99; and Chair of Nursing, 95-96; biography, 99-103; Memorial Scholarship, Io3; bequest, 113 Livingstone, Norah, 34 Local Council of Women, 76 Location of School, 25, 45-46, 67, 71, 95,1o8

Logan, Elizabeth, 89Ø,92, ros, 108, I I0, 112; director of School, 90, r r6

Macintosh, Dr. F. C., Io7 MacKay, Mrs. Elena, Ioo MacKenzie, Norena, 82 MacLennan, E. A. Electa, 91-92, 94, 96, IO2,I05 Macmillan, the Hon. Cyrus, 43 MacMurchy, Dr. Helen, 6 Mailloux, Rev. Mother, 39 Major, Alice, Io6 Manitoba, Registered Nurses' Association of, 70 Manson, Isabel (Mrs. William Prince), 44 Marshall, Kathleen, 89 Martin, Dr. Charles F., 7, 42, 44, 54, 67 Master of Science (applied), course in nursing leading to, 1I2, 116 Maternal and Child Health Nursing, 89 Mathewson, Mary S., 58-59, 66, 67, 71, 84, 93, 95; appointed to staff, 44, 58; and degree course, 7476, 91; resigns from School, 90; tribute to, 91 Matthews, T. H., 62 Maxwell, Kathleen (MacDonald), 112 McCammon, Margaret, see Allan McConnell, J. W., 64 McCunn, Winifred, 79 McGill University: first women students at, 2; first considers university education for nurses, 6-7; changes in degree-granting policy, 45, 75; Senate created, 6o McPherson, Ruth (Mrs. J. D.), 85, 92 Meakins, Dr. J. C., 1o, 74, 84 Medical-Surgical Nursing, Clinical Course in, 87-88, Io6,so8 Medicine, Faculty of, 2, 3, 6-7, 23, 26, 27, 107, 112, 115; considers graduate course, 9-1o; approves graduate course, 13-14; administers School,

67-68 Meredith, Lady, 97 Metropolitan School of Nursing, 82 Miller, Mrs. William, 22 Moag, Margaret L., 27, 67 Montreal, host to I.C.N., 39 Montreal Children's Hospital, see Children's Memorial Hospital Montreal Council of Social Agencies, r r Montreal General Hospital, 13, 14, 22, 34,36,64,90 Montreal Neurological Institute, 44, 47 Morgan, Principal Eustace, 6o-62, 65 Mount Allison University, I Munroe, Fanny, 77 Mussalem, Helen, I12

Nash, Marion, 73 National League of Nursing Education, Iot New Brunswick, University of, 116 New Haven Hospital, 49 Newman, John C., 64 Nicholson, Dr. J. A., 15, 17 Notre Dame Hospital, 39 Nursing Education, Diploma in, 30 Nutting, M. Adelaide, 4-6, 7, 30, 38-39, I17

Obstetrical Nursing, Clinical Course in, 85-86,89 Odell, Elizabeth, io6 Ogilvie, Elsie, 89, 9z, 105 Ottawa Civic Hospital, 57

Paediatric Nursing, Clinical Course in, 85-86,8g Palliser, Eleanor, 73 151

Parkinson, Ethel R., 44 Perry, Helen, 95 Peterson, Sir William, 6, 9,10 Petry, Lucille, 86 Peverly, Ann, 86, 90, 91, 105, io8, I10, II2

Pharmacy, School of, 2, 47 Philpott, Dr. N. W., 89 Physical Education, School of, 2, 14, 25, 26,27,29, 107 Physiotherapy, School of, 95; and Occupational Therapy, 107 Pibus, Evelyn, 95 Porteous, Mrs. Jessie, 77 Presbyterian Hospital, New York, 34 Psychiatric Nursing, Course in, 86, 88-89 Public Health Nursing, 2, 13, zo; courses in, 21, 23,30-31, 44,73,90,92; prizes in, 32; extension courses in, 66

Quebec, Government of, 65, 109 Queen's University, 12, 116

Reed, Frances L., see Fisher Reford, Mrs. Robert, 22, 27, 34, 57-58, 77 Reid, Helen R. Y., 29, 34, 38, 74, 80, 89; biography, II-13; obtains approval of graduate course by Corporation, 13-16; urges approval of graduate course by Board of Governors, 17-19, 21; secures endorsement of graduate . course by Quebec Red Cross Society, 19-20; and opening of School, 21-24; and Advisory Committee, 22, 27, 54, 66; book prize, 32; legacy of, 78 Reimer, Helena, 82 Research in Nursing: introduced by Miss Harmer, 44; urged by Miss Green, Io6; under Miss Chittick, 11 r-112 152

Richmond, Mary L., Ila Robb, Isabel Hampton, 4, 41 Rockefeller Foundation, 4r, 46-47, 49, 55, III

Roscoe, Dr. Muriel, 73, 77 Royal Canadian Air Force Nursing Service, 70, 77 Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, 31,77, 106 Royal Canadian Navy Nursing Service, 70 Royal Infirmary, Liverpool, 35 Royal Victoria College, 2, 12, 25, 29, 65,66,73,77 Royal Victoria Hospital, 3, 7, 22, 31,44, 77, I0I Royal Victoria Montreal Maternity Hospital, 28, 58, 89 Russell, E. Kathleen, 71

Salmon, Beatrice, 116 Samuel, Mary, 13, 22, 27, 28, 30, 38, 43, 80, 96 Saskatchewan, University of, School of Nursing, 71 Scane, Dr. J. W., 13 Scholarships, 26; first secured, 22-23; awarded by Alumnae Association, 4o; awarded from Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund, 41, 61, 99; and bursaries, World War II, 72-74; Dr. Marion Lindeburgh Memorial, 103; and bursaries, postwar, 109 Senate, 60; and Board of Governors, Joint Committee of, see Board of Governors; Committee on Nursing Education (Special Committee), 74-75,78-79 Sharpe, Ethel M. 29 Sharpe, Gladys, 77 Shaw, Flora Madeline, 55, 25-26, 27, 29, 31, 37-39, 67; first director, 13, 54;

correspondence from Miss Reid to, 18-20; and curriculum, 21-23; contribution to School, 30, 32; biography of, 33-36; tribute to, 36 Shaw, Flora Madeline, Chair of Nursing, 36,79,96,97,I16; created, 113-114 Shaw, Flora Madeline, Endowment Fund (later Memorial Fund), 55, 93, 96; established, 39-41; scholarships awarded from, 41, 61, 99; growth of, S7, 61, 65, 78; threats to, 78-80; Deed of Donation, 8o, 96; and Miss Lindeburgh's tour, 96-99; results in Chair of Nursing, 113-114 Sherbrooke General Hospital, 32 Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, 30 Simmon's College, Boston, 30 Simpson, Dr. J. C., 67 Slattery, Anne, 29, 31, 43; becomes acting director, 37; contribution to School, 38-39; and Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund, 39-41 Small, Mrs. Doris, 113 Smellie, Elizabeth Laurie, 30-31, 35, 95 Smith, Dr. Frederick, 88 Social Work, School of, (formerly School of Social Study and Training), 2,12,14,22,25,26,29,46,108 Special Finance Committee: appointed, 55; find raising activities, 55-58; seeks permanent financial support, 60-62; and second five-year campaign, 64-65; aids Memorial Fund, 78-79; disbanded, 8o Special Schools Committee, 106-107, io8 Staff-Members: under Miss Shaw, 27-28, 30-31; changes 1927-28, 37-38; under Miss Harmer, 44-45; and financial crisis, 58-59; wartime, 73-74; and Kellogg Foundation, 85-86; changes 1945-50, 88-92; library, 86; changes 1951, Ios-m6;under Miss Chattick, I I2 Standing Committee, see Advisory Committee

Stanford University, 115 Stanton, Kathleen M., 73, 85, 92 Starkey, Dr. T. A., I1,13 St. John Ambulance Association, 70, 72-73 St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, 44, 48, loo Stewart Isabel Maitland, 4, 5, 7, 9, 21, 37, 39, 44, 48 Stewart, Mrs. W. W. 6o Stowe-Gullen, Dr. Augusta, 1 Stredder, Owen, 63 Stuart, Eugenie, 85, 92 Survey Committee, 45-46 Swansea General Hospital, Wales, 3

Tansey, Rose Mary, 9S Taylor, Constance (Lamontagne), 95 Taylor, Madeline, 77, 8z Teaching and Supervision: courses in, 21, 23,30,38,59,73; prizes in, 32; extension courses in, 66; scholarships, 40 Tennant, Agnes (Mrs. B. S. Johnston), 77 Toronto General Hospital, 6, 38,48 Toronto, University of: courses in nursing at, 20, 47; School of Nursing, 55,71 Townsend, Catherine (Anderson), 95 Tuttle, Mildred, 83-84, 87-88

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, 81-82, Ito United States, I, 4; loss of Canadian nurses to, 4-5, 7,5 5 United States Public Health Service, 86 Upton, E. Frances, 32, 97; chairman of Flora Madeline Shaw Memorial Fund Committee, 40-41, 78; chairman of Special Finance Committee, 55,57,58, 64, 79; seeks permanent financial support for School, 60, 61 153

Vassar Training Camp, 48, 70 Vaughan, Mrs. Walter, 6o Veterans' Affairs, Department of, 82-83, IO5 Victorian Order of Nurses, II, 13, 22-23, 31, 35,72,73, 109, 114, 115 Vivian, Dr. Percy, 84 Voluntary Aid Detachment, 70

Watson, Beatrice, 27 Weir, George M., 42; survey of nursing by, 46, tot , III Western Hospital (later amalgamated with Montreal General Hospital), 13,77 Western Reserve University School of Nursing, 38 Wilson, Mrs. Charles, see Flander, Madeleine Wilson, Jean S., 6z Wilson Memorial Hall, 108

154

Wilson, Senator Cairine, 57 Winnipeg General Hospital, 4, 31, ros Women's Volunteer Service Corps, 70 World Health Organization, io8, Ito, I15, I16 World War I, 1-2, 3-4 World War II, 59, 68, 81; problems of nursing created by, 69-72; and financial aids to nursing education, 72, 73; changes at School during, 72-76; Alumnae Association and, 76-77; graduates serving in, 77; nurses return from, 82-83 Worthy, Elizabeth, 112

Yale University School of Nursing, 38, 43, 49, 50, 89, 90 Yeats, Gertrude, 31, 89 Young, Mrs. Mary A., z6, 29 Young, Sarah E., 13, 27 Younge, Eva R., 46