Nursing Week
#WeAnswerTheCall – a history of caring for Canadians
With a general public more appreciative of the efforts health-care workers make on a daily basis, the Canadian Nurses Association decided to launch a new mantra to coincide with National Nursing Week — #WeAnswerTheCall — to help show how integral nurses are — and always have been — to the Canadian fabric.
“The theme this year is #WeAnswerTheCall and was developed by CNA to reflect nurses’ commitment to respond to the needs of the Canadian health system, despite the personal risk involved,” explains Dr. Sylvain Brousseau, president of the Canadian Nurses Association. “It is not about being ‘called’ to nursing, but rather reflects the many roles nurses play in a patient’s health-care journey and the value they bring to health care.
“The objective of the week is to draw attention to nurses, increasing the awareness of the public, policymakers and governments of the many contributions of nursing to the well-being of Canadians. That is why it is important to celebrate National Nursing Week and create more awareness around the importance of Canadian nursing and its history.”
Dr. Brousseau pointed to some key nurses of note, of which the general public should be more aware:
• Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture: Born in 1890 in Six Nations of the Grand River, Ont., Monture was a Mohawk World War One veteran. She was the first Indigenous woman to become a registered nurse in Canada, as well as the first to gain the right to vote in a Canadian federal election. She was also the first Indigenous woman from Canada to serve in the United States military.
• Bernice Isobel Carnegie Redmon: Redmon attended nursing school in the United States because Canadian schools would not admit Black students. On her return to Canada in 1945, she became the first Black registered nurse to practise in public health, taking a job at the Nova Scotia Health Department in Sydney. She was also the first Black registered nurse to be hired by the Victorian Order of Nurses.
• Marisse Scott: After graduating high school in Owen Sound, Scott was then rejected when applying to Owen Sound General Hospital for nursing school in 1946, being told that “coloured girls” weren’t accepted. Following a public campaign led by Scott and her parents, she was eventually accepted into nursing school in Guelph. She graduated with an honours distinction.
• Gwennyth Barton and Ruth Bailey: In 1948, Gwennyth Barton, from Halifax, and Ruth Bailey, from Toronto, became the first two Black women to graduate from a Canadian nursing school. Both attended Grace Maternity School of Nursing in Halifax.
• Rose Casper: In 1955, Rose Casper of the St’át’imc Nation, B.C., became the first Indigenous nurse in Western Canada. Casper worked in her home community of Shalalth as a nurse for over 50 years. To honour her legacy and service to her community, the Rose Casper Healing Centre was opened in Shalalth in 2003. The centre remains a fixture in the community, offering wellness services that are both traditional and contemporary.
Dr. Brousseau admits that looking back at history isn’t cut and dried. When looking at the history of nursing in Canada, it’s important to view that through a socio-cultural lens and reflect upon some of the negative impact nurses may have helped perpetuate.
“In our work on tackling systemic racism within nursing and the health-care system, we continue to learn that some historical figures participated in activities that have had lasting and negative repercussions on Indigenous (people) and people of colour,” Dr. Brousseau explains. “It is important to balance the valuable contribution individuals have made to nursing with the need for awareness, reconciliation and healing.
“Historically, Canadian nursing schools, administrators, associations and regulatory bodies have all contributed to establishing white, Europeancentric models of nursing and health, thus contributing to racism. For example, in academia, prospective Black students were refused admission into nursing schools until the 1940s. Individual and systemic action is needed to decolonize the nursing profession and ensure the profession can continue to provide safe, compassionate and ethical care to all clients and communities. This includes acknowledging our history and working with partners to build an equitable safe health system moving forward.”
But as Canadians reconcile with their past, adds Dr. Brousseau, it is important to celebrate the here and now, and look towards the future.
“Nurses deserve to be celebrated and supported because of their work and personal sacrifices to care for their patients and all Canadians,” Dr. Brousseau says. “During National Nursing Week, it is important for everyone in Canada to take a moment to recognize the incredible stamina, dedication and commitment displayed by nurses in Canada and across the globe. Nurses in all practice settings, many in crisis, have played a critical role in responding to COVID-19.”
It is important to balance the valuable contribution individuals have made to nursing with the need for awareness, reconciliation and healing. – Dr. Sylvain Brousseau, president of the Canadian Nurses Association