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Nursing Schools in Nova Scotia Dalhousie University Mount Saint Vincent University Sydney Community Health Center
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Dalhousie University School
of Nursing
Dalhousie’s Early Start Dalhousie University was among the first universities in Canada to establish a nursing program, and was the first in Nova Scotia. The nursing program, established in 1920 at Dalhousie University, was a six month post graduate course in public health nursing put in place to ensure that there would be enough trained public health nurses to man the numerous health centers being established in Halifax and Dartmouth as part of the city’s post Halifax Explosion public health program. The nursing program was funded by the provincial branch of the Canadian Red Cross Society and was put together by Dalhousie’s Medical faculty, nursing professionals, and public health officials. The public health nursing course consisted of 18 weeks of lectures, covering topics such as, hygiene and preventative medicine, prenatal maternity and post natal nursing, pathology and bacteriology, physiology and housing in relation to health, as well as vital statistics and the history of public health nursing. Throughout the 18 weeks, the students also went on a number of excursions to public and private social service institutions and to health centers in Halifax. Once the lectures were completed, students then spent the remaining six weeks doing field work and sanatorium work. At first the program attracted a good number of nurses with fifteen nurses entering the program in March 1920. Over the years the number of nurses entering the program declined, and by the fall of 1923 only 6 applicants expressed an interest in the program. As a result, Dalhousie University decided to terminate the program. The Establishment of the School of Nursing
When the school first opened it offered a five year basic program in nursing leading to a degree of Bachelor of Nursing Science, a one year diploma program for graduate nurses in Public Health Nursing and, a one year diploma program for graduate nurses in Teaching in Schools of Nursing. Dalhousie University School of Nursing Announcement, 1949-1950 The diploma programs combined both course work and observation. Students attended classes in biostatistics and epidemiology, child psychology, current trends in nursing, social aspects in nursing as well as some specialty courses. In addition, the public health diploma students visited hospitals, out-patient departments, clinics and homes to gain experience while the teaching diploma students participated in classroom and ward activities. The baccalaureate program was a combination of academic and practical training, which took place at Dalhousie University and the Victoria General Hospital. Students took university courses during their first, second, and third years, receiving three months of practical experience in the hospital during the summer months in between each school year. After the first three years the students would enter the hospital and complete a further twenty four months of training. At the end of the five years, successful candidates would then receive a Bachelor of Nursing Science degree. In the first year of the school's operation, fifteen students registered for the Public Health Nursing diploma program, and four students enrolled, taking only one course each. The other two nursing programs did not attract any students. By the third year the Teaching and Supervision diploma program began to attract students and had a steady enrolment from then on. The basic degree program did not have the same luck. The baccalaureate program attracted several registrants in the early 1950s but none of them completed the program. It was the diploma programs that distinguished Dalhousie’s School of Nursing from the other three university programs in the Atlantic Provinces and without them the school might not have survived its first few years. Annual Report of the School of Nursing Session 1949-1950
There were a number of reasons why the baccalaureate program was not
attracting students. For one, the program was five years, which was a
long time to commit to a program. In Outline of the Thirty Month Clinical Program In 1958, Dalhousie reorganized and extended the basic nursing program to six years and renamed the degree to 'Bachelor of Nursing'. The new program required a period of general education at the university, which was followed by 30 consecutive months of clinical training in a hospital. When the student had completed their clinical training they would then return to the university where they would have a period of professional education which comprised of five courses, curriculum development or public health nursing, current trends in nursing, epidemiology and biostatistics, mental health, public health and preventive medicine. In
1959 a post registered nurses degree program was introduced where
registered nurses would complete three years of university course work.
The degree program for registered Throughout the 1960s registration numbers for the degree programs began to increase and further revisions were made in 1966. This revision brought in a four year integrated nursing program where the academic content as well as the nursing content was taught concurrently with the objective of preparing a nurse who would be skilled in nursing techniques as well as competent in assuming a position in leadership in the profession. Brochure for the New Basic Program Leading to the Degree Bachelor of Nursing, 1966-1967 Between 1966 and 1970, the integrated degree program consisted of courses in microbiology, pharmacology, mental health and psychiatric nursing, normal growth and development, obstetrical nursing, clinical nursing, pediatric nursing, management and teaching, a senior seminar in general nursing and a nursing elective. Further curriculum revision took place in 1970, when students started taking two nursing classes, one classroom and one clinical, each year for the first three years, and five nursing classes in their final year. Throughout the 1950s, the Public Health Nursing and the Teaching in Schools of Nursing diploma programs were maintained. In 1960 a new one year Nursing Service Administration diploma program was introduced. The program was designed to prepare graduate nurses for administrative and supervisory positions in hospitals and public health agencies as the average registered nurse did not feel qualified for the supervisory function and felt the need for specialized training. Students in this program had to complete five core diploma courses, obtain practical experience, as well as, complete courses in an area of specialization, such as, the principles of administration, ward administration and supervision, and personnel administration. Announcement for the Diploma Course in Nursing Service Administration, 1960 In
1967 the nursing school decided to establish another new diploma program,
this time one in Outpost Nursing. The new program was quite unique
and attracted students from all over Canada, unlike the diploma programs
which only attracted students from Atlantic Canada. The school was
concerned about the lack of training available in Canada for this kind of
nursing and
Throughout the 1970s many of the diploma programs that had been a major draw to the school in the past were slowly phased out. In 1969 the decision was made to discontinue the one year diploma program in Teaching in Schools of Nursing after the 1970-71 academic year. This was followed by the decision to terminate the Nursing Service Administration diploma in 1974, and the decision to phase out the Public Health Nursing diploma program at the end of the 1977-78 academic year. By the middle of the 1970s educating the degree nurse was the primary focus of the Dalhousie University School of Nursing.
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s the school continued to offer two
bachelor programs, one for basic students and one for registered nurses
and even ended up Master of Nursing Program Outline During the 1990s Dalhousie University, the Victoria General Hospital, and the Camp Hill Medical Centre joined together to form the Metro Collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing Project in response to the decision by the Canadian Nurses Association and its provincial affiliates to make the baccalaureate degree program the minimum requirement for a professional nurse by the year 2000. This collaborative program which was initiated in September 1995 was the first in Eastern Canada and was essentially an expansion of the Dalhousie University School of Nursing program. The curriculum remained unchanged but the enrolment more than doubled, going from 70 to 150 a year. The three partners involved each provided faculty, clinical teaching facilities, offices, teaching and support space as well as library support, but all faculty were responsible to the Director of the Dalhousie University School of Nursing in all academic matters and all students graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Today the Dalhousie University School of Nursing is still going strong, offering both graduate and undergraduate programs in Nursing. |
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