First national exhibition on Canadian nursing to open at the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Gatineau, Quebec, April 25, 2005 — For many, nursing is more than a profession; it’s a devotion to care and humanity. Throughout Canadian history, nurses have always been there to offer their care and compassion. Now, the most extensive exhibition ever on the impact of nursing on the lives of Canadians will soon open in the National Capital Region. A Caring Profession: Centuries of Nursing in Canada will be presented at the Canadian Museum of Civilization from June 17, 2005 to July 30, 2006 (new closing date).
A Caring Profession explores the history of vocational and professional nursing in Canada, from New France to the present. It brings together Canada’s two parallel nursing traditions — the religious Catholic model and the secular British-inspired model — and it examines the development of nursing across the country, in every province and territory.
“From life’s start to life’s end, there is always a nurse,” says Dr. Victor Rabinovitch, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. “Nurses are everywhere — on hospital wards, on board air ambulances, within our schools, in war zones and in our homes.”
Hundreds of artifacts (from stethoscopes to nursing uniforms), vintage films and historic photos tell the story of nursing in Canada: its beginnings in 17th-century New France, the hardships and isolation that nurses experienced, the increasing modernization and professionalization of health care, contemporary issues and concerns about the future.
The exhibition showcases the Canadian Nursing History Collection, which includes a large number of historic artifacts and documents that were donated by the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) to the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum, and Library and Archives Canada.
A Caring Profession is made up of nine sections that explore all aspects of nursing history and practice: Nursing in Canada, In the Hospital, At the Bedside, In the Home, In the Community, On the Frontier, On Campus and On the Picket Line, and On the Battlefield (by Canadian War Museum guest curator, Cynthia Toman). A ninth section, The Nurses’ Station, will be reserved for interactive presentations with volunteer nurses and perusal of hard copy and electronic reference materials.
“Over the centuries, Canadians — predominantly women — contributed their skills and compassion in nursing the sick and in promoting healthy communities and it’s about time their rich history was recognized,” says Christina Bates, the exhibition’s curator and the co-editor with Dianne Dodd and Nicole Rousseau of On all Frontiers: Four Centuries of Canadian Nursing. The book published in English and French will be launched at the exhibition opening. It is a co-publication of the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the University of Ottawa Press. (The French version is called Sans frontières : quatre siècles de soins infirmiers canadiens.)
Note to editors: CNA archival material was transferred to Library and Archives Canada. In June 2003, these cultural institutions partnered, with the financial support of the Canadian Nurses Foundation and launched the Canadian Nursing History Collection Online, a database of over 2000 artifacts related to civilian and military nursing. The database can be accessed at http://www.civilization.ca/tresors/nursing/ncint01e.html
Media Information:
Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7167
Media Relations Officer
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7169
Fax: (819) 776-7187
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