Category: Nursing

The Llandovery Castle Tragedy – and the 14 Nurses Who Shaped History

November 10, 2022

The story of the Llandovery Castle is one of reprieve turned tragedy – the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of World War I.  However, its legacy and those of the 14 nursing sisters on board have now been largely forgotten in the pages of history.  The implication of this disaster compels a resurfacing of the story and a commemoration of those whose lives were lost. … More The Llandovery Castle Tragedy – and the 14 Nurses Who Shaped History

The Story of Nancy Malloy and her noble sacrifice

November 30, 2021

It was in Chechnya in 1996 that Malloy would lose her life, along with five others, as she slept in the hospital compound at Novye Atagi. A peace treaty had recently been signed between Russia and Chechnya, but tensions were still high after two years of warfare. A group of armed men (later found out to be Russians on a mission gone wrong), entered the hospital and killed Nancy Malloy and her colleagues.  … More The Story of Nancy Malloy and her noble sacrifice

The Story of Viola Allan Abrum and her military commission

November 19, 2021

Viola Allan Abrum, born on June 9th, 1911, graduated from the Brockville General Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1933. After graduating, she worked as a private duty nurse before enlisting in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. From 1941 to 1945, Captain (Matron) Viola Allan worked as a Nursing Sister in France and Belgium, as well as in England where she took care of Canadian prisoners of war at the No. 9 Unit in Horsham. As a Lieutenant, she received the military commission in 1943. After the war, in 1946, she was decorated as an Associate of the Royal Red Cross. … More The Story of Viola Allan Abrum and her military commission

The Story of Dr. Charles Kirk Clarke and the Rockwood Asylum

November 2, 2021

the psychiatric field, Clarke worked first as a clinical assistant at the Asylum for the Insane in Toronto, and then as assistant medical superintendent of the Hamilton Asylum. In 1882, he moved to Kingston and began work as assistant medical superintendent at Rockwood Asylum. … More The Story of Dr. Charles Kirk Clarke and the Rockwood Asylum

Maternal Mental Health Care

September 8, 2020

More so than practically any other healthcare subject, mental health topics have acquired a need in recent decades for routine updating and research to compensate for centuries of misinformation. The infiltration of the Maternal Mental Hygiene movement and Attachment Theory into the minds and maternity manuals of Canada can shed light onto the progression of the treatment of maternal mental health across the decades. … More Maternal Mental Health Care

The Introduction of Psychiatric Nursing: The Rockwood Training School for Nurses

October 8, 2019

Nurses were expected to be proficient in both mental health and physical nursing, as well as to be knowledgeable of the various mental illnesses and how they may appear. For the majority of the nineteenth century, trained nurses did not work at hospitals or asylums. The members of staff who interacted frequently with the patients … More The Introduction of Psychiatric Nursing: The Rockwood Training School for Nurses

Moral Treatment and Nursing School: The Impact of Dr. Charles Kirk Clarke at Rockwood Asylum.

July 2, 2019

Clarke strongly believed in “moral treatment”, an approach to mental health based on humane treatment as well as scheduled days in a calm environment. August 13, 1885. Dr. William Metcalf, medical superintendent of Rockwood Asylum and his assistant, Dr. Charles Kirk Clarke, are making their usual morning rounds of the institution. They approach one of … More Moral Treatment and Nursing School: The Impact of Dr. Charles Kirk Clarke at Rockwood Asylum.