History Of Nursing 1800-1939

1187 Words5 Pages
During in the period of 1800-1939, many historical events impacted nursing in Canada. Among these events are the increased number of immigrants from Europe, the great epidemics of the 19th century and the world wars I and II. During this period the large number of immigrants that came to Canada were poorly nourished and travelled in vessels which were overcrowded and unsanitary, disease inevitably followed (Kerr & MacPhail, 1988). “Cholera was the plague that the immigrants brought with them in 1832. In Quebec alone there were 3851 deaths and in Montreal and neighbouring villages there were 4000 roughly one seventh of the population” (Gibbon & Mathewson, 1947, p. 72). To deal with the epidemics that were brought from Europe, two statutes were passed in 1832 by the Assembly of Lower Canada. One of which was a quarantine station established at Grosse Isle, thirty miles below Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River where ships and their passengers could be examined and detained if necessary before they proceeded to Quebec (Gibbon & Mathewson, 1947). “During the years leading up to World War I, the nursing profession in Canada had begun to be organized: among other things, schools were opened and associations were created, helping to establish the professional status of the caregiver’s work in society” (Bates, Dodd, & Rousseau, 2005, p. 153). Also, to afford relief to the wounded, aid in the support of the widows and orphans of the fallen and assists the families of those called out on military duties, “The Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada” was formed after the war of 1812 (Gibbon & Mathewson, 1947). In Lower Canada, organizations founded by charitable ladies began to reach beyond assisting the resident poor and care for the immigrants and many orphans created by the epidemics (Bates, Dodd, & Rousseau, 2005). “Many of these women helped to ease suffering by using
Open Document