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Can Bull Med Hist. 2002 Fall;19(2):351-373. doi: 10.3138/cbmh.19.2.351.
"Filling the Gaps": Canadian Voluntary Nurses, the 1917 Halifax Explosion, and the Influenza Epidemic of 1918.
Quiney LJ1.
Author information
Abstract
During the Great War, St. John Ambulance established a reserve of approximately 2,000 casually trained nursing volunteers as Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses, or VADs, who assisted in military hospitals at home and overseas. During the 1917 Halifax explosion, and the 1918 influenza epidemic, VADs also provided substantial assistance to qualified medical and nursing personnel. This paper considers their record during these specific events, arguing that despite the potential for VADs to undermine the status and job security of qualified graduate nurses, they proved instead both a valuable asset and a positive influence for the future development of Canadian nursing.
KEYWORDS:
Croix rouge; D?tachement d'aide volontaire; Premi?re Guerre mondiale; Red Cross; Voluntary Aid Detachment; World War I; gender; genre; grippe; histoire des soins infirmiers; influenza; military medicine; m?decine militaire; nursing history; public health; sant? publique
PMID: 28762795 DOI: 10.3138/cbmh.19.2.351
"Filling the Gaps": Canadian Voluntary Nurses, the 1917 Halifax Explosion, and the Influenza Epidemic of 1918.
Quiney LJ1.
Author information
Abstract
During the Great War, St. John Ambulance established a reserve of approximately 2,000 casually trained nursing volunteers as Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses, or VADs, who assisted in military hospitals at home and overseas. During the 1917 Halifax explosion, and the 1918 influenza epidemic, VADs also provided substantial assistance to qualified medical and nursing personnel. This paper considers their record during these specific events, arguing that despite the potential for VADs to undermine the status and job security of qualified graduate nurses, they proved instead both a valuable asset and a positive influence for the future development of Canadian nursing.
KEYWORDS:
Croix rouge; D?tachement d'aide volontaire; Premi?re Guerre mondiale; Red Cross; Voluntary Aid Detachment; World War I; gender; genre; grippe; histoire des soins infirmiers; influenza; military medicine; m?decine militaire; nursing history; public health; sant? publique
PMID: 28762795 DOI: 10.3138/cbmh.19.2.351