Category: Ex crypta: The Curator’s Blog

Vaccines and Immunization: Epidemics, Prevention, and Canadian Innovation

November 25, 2013

There is significant public debate over the merits and risk of vaccinations, much of which is fueled by inflammatory rhetoric rather than facts and science.  This debate has raged ever since the first vaccine for smallpox was proposed by Dr. Edward Jenner in the 1790s and, doubtless, it will continue as new vaccines are developed.  … More Vaccines and Immunization: Epidemics, Prevention, and Canadian Innovation

The APPle of our Eye: 80 Years of Hospital History in the Palm of your Hand!

September 16, 2013

In 2011, the Museum received the fantastic news that it had been awarded a grant for $52,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.  This funding enabled the Museum to leap with both feet into an exciting two-year project to develop not one, but two new apps that will allow users to explore local medical and nursing history on their phones and mobile devices. … More The APPle of our Eye: 80 Years of Hospital History in the Palm of your Hand!

Medicine in the Mushkegowuk: A Connection Between North and South

August 21, 2013

Residents of Kingston will be aware of the positive impact that the local hospitals have on our city’s overall health, but what many of us might not know is that they have a much wider reach than just Kingston and its neighbouring communities; in fact, Kingston General Hospital, Hotel Dieu and Providence Care have been intimately linked with a hospital in a remote area of northern Ontario for the past fifty years. … More Medicine in the Mushkegowuk: A Connection Between North and South

A Tribute to Canada’s Nurses: Celebrating Nursing Week 2013

May 10, 2013

In Canada, the hard work and dedication of nurses is formally recognized during National Nursing Week, the second week of May.  International Nurses Day, designated by the International Council of Nurses in 1974, is celebrated on May 12th.  This day was chosen as significant because it is Florence Nightingale’s birthday. … More A Tribute to Canada’s Nurses: Celebrating Nursing Week 2013

National Stress Awareness Day, 16 April: Managing Stress Then and Now

April 16, 2013

April 16th marks National Stress Awareness Day. Stress often accompanies difficult situations or circumstances that a person undergoes. Psychological, emotional and mental stress can lead to negative consequences on one’s physiological stability.  As a student at Queen’s University, stress is not a foreign concept to me. … More National Stress Awareness Day, 16 April: Managing Stress Then and Now

World Health Day 2013 – A Short History of Sphygmomanometers and Blood Pressure Measurement

April 7, 2013

April 7th marks World Health Day, a day that celebrates the birthday of the World Health Organization (WHO) by drawing attention to a significant health problem affecting the world today.  The focus in 2013 is high blood pressure. … More World Health Day 2013 – A Short History of Sphygmomanometers and Blood Pressure Measurement

World TB Day 2013: A Fearsome Disease, Hope for New Vaccines

March 25, 2013

The image of bacterial time-bombs in the lungs is frightening.  Even more so, perhaps, when you consider that for most of history there was no effective treatment for TB.  Or, that increasingly tuberculosis bacteria are becoming resistant to the treatments that are currently available. … More World TB Day 2013: A Fearsome Disease, Hope for New Vaccines