Reflecting on the History of Nursing at St. Mary's
Modern nursing as a profession is owed to Florence Nightingale who challenged societal beliefs in the mid-19th century that it was improper for a well-educated woman to care for strangers. It was through Nightingale’s radical idea that nursing as a career took shape paving the way for generation after generation to answer the call.
In 1924, the Sisters of St. Joseph’s of Hamilton too answered the call to care for the sick, injured and dying establishing community-based hospitals including St. Mary’s General Hospital. That first year, 12 volunteer Sisters, 14 student nurses and about 12 local physicians cared for 380 patients, delivered 69 babies, performed 429 operations and treated 64 emergency cases.
The nursing sisters were responsible for the many moments of care that went into a patient’s journey from doing the laundry, ensuring a sanitary environment and instruments, preparing nourishing food, dressing wounds, administering medications, paperwork, administration, emotional and spiritual care and whatever was required to ensure that every patient had what they needed. Nursing patients today, although still rooted in the foundational mission of compassionate care, relies on teams who each bring specialized knowledge, expertise and of course, a commitment to patient-centred care at St. Mary’s.
“You can't be a nurse without everybody else,” says Jill, VP of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Executive and nurse.
Across the hospital you will see nurses in many different roles and departments—many of whom serve in a leadership capacity whose careers began at the bedside and on the frontline of care.
“Nursing Week is a nice way for staff to reflect and think back to the history of nursing, where we started to where we are today,” says Stephanie, Program Manager - Perioperative Services and Registered Nurse. “It's an opportunity to reflect on that journey but also, I think it's an opportunity for the entire organization to reflect on the interconnectedness of all the roles.”
The field of nursing has changed greatly over the years and St. Mary’s employs a wide diversity of nurses with distinct specialties. Diversity of nursing roles is only one of the many changes over the years. What has also changed are the number of men now entering a field once restricted to women only. Although approximately 9 in 10 nurses are female in Canada, more men are choosing to answer the call entering the profession of nursing.
When asked what their “why” was that began their own journey into nursing, both Jill and Stephanie—like the vast majority of nurses when asked—say: “I wanted to help others.”
“In so many different ways, even in leadership, I'm a part of every single patient journey that touches the perioperative program and to me, helping others is an amazing reward,” says Stephanie.
Through the Grateful Patient Program, patients and families often share their gratitude for the care that they receive—each story as heartfelt and touching as the next—remembering the names of everyone who made their experience memorable, forever shaping their journey.
“It’s a life event to that patient and they're going to remember that, even though you might not remember them. You're in the patient’s story forever,” says Jill.
When the pandemic hit, nurses were there on the frontlines—as they have been throughout history. Many were redeployed to other units providing care to patients at St. Mary’s, and in the community at vaccine and testing clinics, and long-term care homes, working shoulder to shoulder with healthcare colleagues and volunteers—many even coming out of retirement to be there when they were needed most.
It’s a calling for so many and a call that we thank every nurse across our organization and our community for answering. For our patients, not only do they know they will receive the best care possible, but that it will be provided by nurses and staff who are compassionate, caring and committed to the patient’s experience—forever becoming a part of a patient’s healing journey.
This week, during Nursing Week, we celebrate the contributions of the generations of nurses whose commitment, dedication and bravery challenged the norms, laid the groundwork and forever shaped patient care around the world and right here at St. Mary’s.
We reflect on the history of nursing and the visionary women such as Florence Nightingale and the Sisters of St. Joseph’s of Hamilton who dedicated their lives to caring for patients’ physical, emotional and spiritual needs to support the entire person and their healing journey. We honour their legacy caring for each patient who comes through our doors providing high-quality, compassionate and patient-centred care, together, as a team.
Thank you and Happy National Nursing Week.