Preface

Nightingale’s Vision, Nurses Voices in the 1920s and 1930s, is based upon oral histories of 40 nurses who trained, lived, and worked in the early 1920s, and 1930s, a project completed by the author some 40 years ago, the original tapes of which are housed in the Nova Scotia Archives (NSARM). A previous book, The Lamp Was Heavy, was written in 2018, about nursing in the 1950s; and followed two earlier books by the author on fibromyalgia. The latter title sold out very quickly and the money earned was donated to build the base of the nursing statue of Sara Corning in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Sara, being perhaps a most fitting representative for nurses regionally, her likeness was chosen for the cover of Barbara Keddy’s latest title. There were so many nurses in Canada who sought and appreciated this kind of history, and the general public were also keen to obtain copies for nurses they knew; it was also found to be of great interest to all readers, nurses or otherwise. During the recent pandemic the interest in nurses’ lives has accelerated even more. This new book is very timely during the Covid-19 era as it speaks to multiple epidemics and the somewhat rustic treatments employed during those earlier times. But, more importantly it is about women’s struggles for a professional career during those decades and the ways in which they were exploited as a source of free or cheap labour. This is not a medical book per se, but the lack of medical science at that time resulted in stories that are unique to that era. They are stories that are historical in nature, built upon women’s voices that need to be heard, and the exploitation of young women during the 1920s and upwards for decades. The scenes are set between two world wars, including the Spanish Influenza pandemic and the Great Depression, with the impact all had on hospitals and nurses. The stories are biographical, socio-political, and historical in nature. This is also not an academic book in the usual sense involving multiple references, but we believe the format increases its readability. Some of the nurses were born as long ago as 1898. Their careers took them to far away places, at least places that would be considered distant for the times. There is also some American content due to the close association between the two countries and the many affiliations in American hospitals. While many of the women were born in Nova Scotia, not all trained here; so other parts of Canada are reflected as well, most notably Montreal training schools (McGill and Montreal General) and post-graduate work in Toronto and the USA. This story is about listening to the voices of women no longer living at a time when the entire world is now watching nurses perform in the face of somewhat similar circumstances. It is not only of great current relevance to nurses but to the broader reading public as well, as most health-care systems face dire nursing shortages today. But most especially, it is about the exploitation of women, in a so-called ‘women’s profession’ in an early portion of the 1900s - a time when they faced extreme hardships and challenges, not unlike the many challenges nurses face today. The author taught in two schools of nursing: Yarmouth for 5 years and at Dalhousie for about 30 years. She is a very good speaker and often spoke (until Covid-19 intervened) at many regional and national conferences and workshops. As the co-founder of the Canadian Association for the History of Nursing in 1986, she has had a real impact on nursing history in Canada. Her MA and PhD are in Sociology of Medicine. Locally Barbara worked with Drs. Alan Marble and Jock Murray as nursing’s counterpart from the work she did on the History of Medicine Committee. In fact, Dr. Jock Murray wrote the forward for her first book on fibromyalgia. Barbara Keddy, RN (Ret), Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Dalhousie University, School of Nursing, Sociology and Social Anthropology and Women’s Studies (Gender Studies). The author will donate the royalties for this book to the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in Nova Scotia.