Nursing's past inspires the present

Nursing's past inspires the present

February 11, 2015

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[Nursing convocation]
Nursing students and their family celebrate their convocation during the pinning ceremony at Sydenham Street United Church last June. To celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2016, the School of Nursing is profiling graduates of the program. (University Communications)

With its 75th anniversary less than a year away, Queen’s School of Nursing has developed an online project to connect the past with the present.

The school will profile a different Queen’s nursing graduate every Wednesday throughout 2015. In the blog posts, the alumni will share their memories of studying nursing at Queen’s and detail some of their experiences and lessons they have learned during their professional careers. Furthermore, they will offer advice to current Queen’s nursing students.

Nursing Project Snapshot
[Julie Langlois]Julie Langlois, Nsc'03, MSc'05, PhD'14:
"The hardest part of nursing is the ethical dilemma that nurses face. It is hard seeing patients make health-care decisions that you know they will regret later. As nurses we must support the patients and assist them in making their own decisions even though they may be risky or different than what we would choose."
Read more from Dr. Langlois and other nursing graduates at the Queen's Nursing Project.

“With the Queen’s Nursing Project, we want to celebrate our rich past while at the same time inspiring our current students,” says Jennifer Medves, Vice-Dean (Health Sciences) and Director, Queen’s School of Nursing. “The people profiled will have a whole range of experiences, which will remind current students how many doors their nursing degree can open for them in the future.”

The project will also help alumni catch up with people they knew in school but have lost touch with over the years. The posts will be tagged according to class and degree program, making it easy for readers to find people they may have known at Queen’s.

While the project will connect people associated with the school, the profiles should appeal to a broader audience.

“The project will serve to remind the general public of all the wonderful ways nurses impact our lives,” she says. “I think there is an element in every post that readers can relate to even if they are not members of the nursing profession.”

The School of Nursing will mark its 75th anniversary in 2016, the same year Queen’s University will celebrate its 175th anniversary. The Queen’s 175th executive committee has reached out to the School of Nursing to explore ways they can work together.

“We are thrilled to co-operate with the Queen’s 175th executive. Hopefully the energy of the Queen’s Nursing Project and our other celebrations will feed into the 175th anniversary,” Dr. Medves says.

If there’s a Queen’s nursing graduate you would like to see profiled, email the School of Nursing. You can also visit the Queen’s Nursing Project website to find out more information about the 75th anniversary events planned for 2016.

Health Sciences