NEWS

Number 20 letter
Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine
Spring, 1994

Medical museum makes mandate from before, with a

new research and exposition
plansforfuture policy. With the museum's
name there come many expec-
BEING CHARGED wrra SETTING UP A HIGH-CALIBRE NATIONAL MEDICAL tations."
MUSEUM ISN'T EASY IN THE BEST OF TIMES. THE NEW CANADIAN MUSEUM Pope says the museum will
OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE'S CURATOR FELICITY POPE WANTS THINGS
need to fundraise from corpora-
DONE RIGHT IN THESE RECESSIONARY TIMES. tions to be viable. And the
Now housed at The Toronto project how many visitors will elaborate plans will help con-
Hospital (TTH), the museum's come to see the collection." vince potential donors of the
collection was relocated in "We have guiding principles museum s wortniness.
1992 after severe water dam- for the museum. We will have a For further information, call
age, and the unsure future of completely new vision and (416)369-5444.
the Academy of Medicine, To-
ronto jeopardized the artifacts
in their previous location.
Artifacts also abound at the
Rather than having the valu- University of Western Ontario
able collection collect dust, a Medical history students started at University Hospital
major project began to create should consider a trip to the when it was built in the early
Canada's first national medical Department of History of Medi- 1970s. Two rooms were set
museum. With AMS/Hannah cine at the University of West- aside at the hospital for a medi-
Institute, Academy of Medi- em Ontario to see another cal museum—one room was a
cine, Toronto and TTH support, unique collection of artifacts re-creation of a nineteenth-cen-
Pope is making detailed plans and documents from Canada's tury doctor's office with nu-
to ensure the Museum is an medical past. merous instruments."
educational success. Once located in London's The actual doctor's office
"The project is to create a University Hospital, the arti- was packed off to the local pio-
major medical museum in facts are now technically on neer village.
Canada," says Pope, who is loan to the university. Hannah "We took the medical instru-
working out of the public rela- Professor Paul Potter recently
tions office at TTH. "I'm in the assumed responsibility for the
midst of a planning study and collection when University Hos- What's Inside
haven't unpacked the collection pital closed the museum. Program Prof lies 1-3
yet because the storage rooms "The collection has been cre- Gazette 3
aren't ready. I'm doing a mar- ated over the ages." says Pro-
ket and visitor analysis to Scholarship news 4
fessor Potter. "The museum
 H A N N A H I N S T
ments and doctors' ledgers. I took the things that
were more interesting from a medical history per-
spective."
And what's there to see? For shock value there
are the gruesome instruments of Victorian
medicine—bloodletting knives and cups and sur-
Nursing history fights for its place
Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming spe-
cial issue on nursing history in the Canadian Bul-
letin of Medical History (which
has recently had its AMS/HI •••••••
grant renewed). It promises to
be an excellent introduction to
the field and a quality resource
for lectures, say guest co-editors
Kathryn McPherson, York
University and University of
Ottawa's Hannah Adjunct Pro-
fessor Meryn Stuart.
They have plans to give the
field an invigorating jolt.
A couple of articles to look
forward to cover London, Eng-
land's night nurses and the rela- ^•••••B
tionship between the Canadian
Nurses' Association and the Canadian Medical
Association.
Professor McPherson says it has been an uphill
Obstetrical oracle enlivens Hannah Happening
In its sixth year, the Queen's Hannah Happen-
ing proves that history doesn't have to be about
long-dead characters. Started by
Queen's Hannah Professor for the "^^^^
History of Medicine, Jackie Duffin,
the Happenings have always been a
hit with students and the general
public.
Chasing away the winter blahs on
January 18, obstetrical pioneer and
advocate of family-centered medi-
cine, Dr. Murray Enkin, charmed
this year's Happening.
Now a professor emeritus of Obstetrics and
Gynecology at McMaster University and a
I T U T E T O R Y M E D I C I N E
PROGRAM PROFILES
gical saws. Also on display is London's first
electro-cardiogram machine and microscopes dat-
ing back to the mid-1800s.
For Professor Potter, the collection livens up
medical school lectures and provides a valuable
research resource at the university.
battle to gain respect for the field. While hospitals
and nurses' organizations maintained archives, uni-
versities have been slow to catch
•»••••• on, more interested in grappling
with the new medical sciences.
"It has been a struggle to find
"It has been a a legitimate place for the history
struggle to find of nursing in universities," says
a legitimate Professor McPherson. "Nursing
history as a humanity hasn't
place for the found a comfortable place in
history of universities because of science-
based curriculums."
nursingin But despite the obstacles,
universities." graduate students at universities
across Canada are engaged in
^^^^^•i innovative research. One thesis
involves video taping interviews
with nursing leaders, while another is looking into
the fight by Newfoundland nurses to gain respect
earlier in this century.
neonatal epidemiology consultant at Oxford Uni-
versity, Dr. Enkin spoke of the many hurdles in
his impressive career.
•^•••M While reflecting on his years in
rural medicine, Dr. Enkin admitted
"I never to missing the occasional delivery,
but in one of the many moments
missed when the pioneer's understated hu-
the mour shone through, he stated "I
never missed the placenta."
placenta. "We learned the art of medicine
from experience, we respected and
trusted authority, and we were so
often wrong." B3
 H A N N A H I N S T T U T E F O R T H E H I S T O R Y O F M E D I C I N E

GAZE

AAHM
Always an interesting event, the American As-
sociation for the History of Medicine's next an-
nual meeting will take place from April 28 to
May 1 at the Park Central Hotel in New York
City.
CSHM
Make plans now to attend the Canadian Soci-
ety for the History of Medicine's annual meeting.
This year's meeting, held as usual in conjunction
with the Learned Societies, will take place at the
University of Calgary June 10 to 12.
CAHN
The Seventh Annual Meeting of the Canadian
Association for the History of Nursing in Winni-
peg, Manitoba will take place from June 17 to 19
This year's meeting will offer a pot-pourri of lec-
tures on nursing history with a special focus on
the actual teaching of nursing history.
Further details are available from: Dean Ina
Bramadat, Faculty of Nursing, University of
Manitoba, Manitoba, R3T 2N2.B3

SCHOLARSH P NEWS

Successful Studentship candidates

The following undergraduate students have been awarded a Hannah Institute Studentship. These stu-
dents will study their chosen topics over the summer, under the supervision of their designated professoi
(supervisors denoted by brackets).
Alexa Bagnell, Dalhousie Jos£ Francois, Universitaire Marcin Sienicki, Dalhousie
University, Halifax, NS de Saint-Boniface, Saint University, Halifax, NS
[Dr. TJ. Murray] Boniface, MB [Prof. L. Cormier]
"Social Influences on the [Dr. Michel Verrette] "The Black Death: A Study of
Formation of Asylums and the "Medecine dans la colonie de the Role Organic Illness Plays
Treatment of the Insane in la Riviere Rouge" in Shaping Human Creativity
Nova Scotia " Eric Labrie, Universite Laval, and Culture"
Andrea Chapman, University Quebec, PQ Suneel Upadhye, Queen's
of British Columbia, [Dr. Alain Rousseau] University, Kingston, ON
Vancouver, BC "Le doyen Arthur Rousseau [Dr. C.G. Roland]
[Dr. Bruce Miller] (1921-1934) et la reforme des "Disease Control in Canadian
"History of Western Medical etudes medicates dl'universite Penal Institutions"
Influence on Coast Salish Laval" Omar Zayid, Dalhousie
Reservations " David Martell, University of University, Halifax, NS
Alexandra Chouinard, Western Ontario, London, ON [Dr. Cecilia Danysk]
University de Montreal, [Dr. P. Neary] "Public Attitudes Towards
Montreal, PQ "London's Cobalt Bomb: Alcohol: The Role of Medicine
[Dr. Georges Desrosiers] Canada's First Atomic- and the Medical Community"
"L'intervention du Federal Powered Anti-Cancer
dans la same des Inuit: le cas Weapon"
de la Eastern Arctic Patrol Judith Rygiel, University of
(1922-1967)" Ottawa, Ottawa, ON
[Dr. Toby Gelfand]
"Role of Textiles in 19th
Century Surgery -1850-1880"
 H A N N A H I N S T I T U T E H I S T O R Y M E D I C I N E

SCHOLARSHIP NEWS

Competition heats up in hard times

This year, grant applications in-
creased in both quality and quantity,
making selection even more difficult.
The Hannah Institute received 15 MA
and PhD scholarship applications for
four awards. For the First Year MA
Scholarship, six applicants competed
for just two awards. Seven applica-
tions for Post Doctoral Fellowships
were received for two awards. The Newsletter is produced
hi total, 78 applicants pursued three times a year by:
$398,000 in available funds.
Hannah Institute for the

Special Grants History of Medicine

14 Prince Arthur Avenue
Letters of application for Special Grants, including the new Archives/Museum Suite #101
Studies Medical History Internship Program, are welcome. Toronto, OH M5R1A9
deadline: October I and April 1.03
Telephone 416-924-3368
Correction Fax 416-323-3338
Editor-in-Chief
We erroneously stated in the Fall, 1993 Newsletter that there was no for- J.T.H. Connor
mal graduate medical history program for doctors in Canada prior to the Uni-
versity of Toronto's program. McGill University's medical history program Editor and Writer
has offered doctors the opportunity to study for advanced degrees for some David South
time. We apologize for any misunderstanding. For further details of this pro- Layout
gram, contact: David South
The History of Medicine Programme The Newsletter welcomes
Department of Social Studies of Medicine
information from readers
McGill University
about Hannah-supported
Mclntyre Medical Sciences Building
3655 Drummond Street activities, publications, or
Montreal, PQH3G1Y6 other related medical
history events,
• MO VUG?
* WANT TO Name:
IKCCETVETHE =-•--•
|»CWSU:ii«.' Note: For full details of AMS /
;-, Hannah Institute programs just fax,
| =* ; : * : > - :
~ •- . - -- telephone or write the office.
1 :: - ' • -=
!-=••=.• -= 0) 416-924-3368
1 416-323-3338