Number 20

NEWSletter

Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine

Spring, 1994

Medical museum makesplansforfuture

BEING CHARGED wrra SETTING UP A HIGH-CALIBRE NATIONAL MEDICALMUSEUM ISN'T EASY IN THE BEST OF TIMES. THE NEW CANADIAN MUSEUMOF HEALTH AND MEDICINE'S CURATOR FELICITY POPE WANTS THINGSDONE RIGHT IN THESE RECESSIONARY TIMES.

Now housed at The TorontoHospital (TTH), the museum'scollection was relocated in1992 after severe water dam-age, and the unsure future ofthe Academy of Medicine, To-ronto jeopardized the artifactsin their previous location.

Rather than having the valu-able collection collect dust, amajor project began to createCanada's first national medicalmuseum. With AMS/HannahInstitute, Academy of Medi-cine, Toronto and TTH support,Pope is making detailed plansto ensure the Museum is aneducational success.

"The project is to create amajor medical museum inCanada," says Pope, who isworking out of the public rela-tions office at TTH. "I'm in themidst of a planning study andhaven't unpacked the collectionyet because the storage roomsaren't ready. I'm doing a mar-ket and visitor analysis to

project how many visitors willcome to see the collection."

"We have guiding principlesfor the museum. We will have acompletely new vision and

mandate from before, with anew research and expositionpolicy. With the museum'sname there come many expec-tations."

Pope says the museum willneed to fundraise from corpora-tions to be viable. And theelaborate plans will help con-vince potential donors of themuseum s wortniness.

For further information, call(416)369-5444.

Artifacts also abound at theUniversity of Western Ontario

Medical history studentsshould consider a trip to theDepartment of History of Medi-cine at the University of West-em Ontario to see anotherunique collection of artifactsand documents from Canada'smedical past.

Once located in London'sUniversity Hospital, the arti-facts are now technically onloan to the university. HannahProfessor Paul Potter recentlyassumed responsibility for thecollection when University Hos-pital closed the museum.

"The collection has been cre-ated over the ages." says Pro-fessor Potter. "The museum

started at University Hospitalwhen it was built in the early1970s. Two rooms were setaside at the hospital for a medi-cal museum—one room was are-creation of a nineteenth-cen-tury doctor's office with nu-merous instruments."

The actual doctor's officewas packed off to the local pio-neer village.

"We took the medical instru-

What's Inside

Program Prof lies 1-3Gazette 3Scholarship news 4

H A N N A H I N S T I T U T E T O R Y M E D I C I N E

PROGRAM PROFILES

ments and doctors' ledgers. I took the things thatwere more interesting from a medical history per-spective."

And what's there to see? For shock value thereare the gruesome instruments of Victorianmedicine—bloodletting knives and cups and sur-

gical saws. Also on display is London's firstelectro-cardiogram machine and microscopes dat-ing back to the mid-1800s.

For Professor Potter, the collection livens upmedical school lectures and provides a valuableresearch resource at the university.

Nursing history fights for its placeKeep your eyes peeled for the upcoming spe-

cial issue on nursing history in the Canadian Bul-letin of Medical History (whichhas recently had its AMS/HI •••••••grant renewed). It promises tobe an excellent introduction tothe field and a quality resourcefor lectures, say guest co-editorsKathryn McPherson, YorkUniversity and University ofOttawa's Hannah Adjunct Pro-fessor Meryn Stuart.

They have plans to give thefield an invigorating jolt.

A couple of articles to lookforward to cover London, Eng-land's night nurses and the rela- •̂••••Btionship between the CanadianNurses' Association and the Canadian MedicalAssociation.

Professor McPherson says it has been an uphill

"It has been astruggle to find

a legitimateplace for the

history ofnursingin

universities."

battle to gain respect for the field. While hospitalsand 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

a legitimate place for the historyof nursing in universities," saysProfessor McPherson. "Nursinghistory as a humanity hasn'tfound a comfortable place inuniversities because of science-based curriculums."

But despite the obstacles,graduate students at universitiesacross Canada are engaged in

^^^^^•i innovative research. One thesisinvolves video taping interviews

with nursing leaders, while another is looking intothe fight by Newfoundland nurses to gain respectearlier in this century.

Obstetrical oracle enlivens Hannah HappeningIn its sixth year, the Queen's Hannah Happen-

ing proves that history doesn't have to be aboutlong-dead characters. Started byQueen's Hannah Professor for the "^^^^History of Medicine, Jackie Duffin,the Happenings have always been ahit with students and the generalpublic.

Chasing away the winter blahs onJanuary 18, obstetrical pioneer andadvocate of family-centered medi-cine, Dr. Murray Enkin, charmedthis year's Happening.

Now a professor emeritus of Obstetrics andGynecology at McMaster University and a

"I nevermissed

theplacenta.

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 admittedto missing the occasional delivery,but in one of the many momentswhen the pioneer's understated hu-mour shone through, he stated "Inever missed the placenta."

"We learned the art of medicinefrom experience, we respected andtrusted 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

AAHMAlways an interesting event, the American As-

sociation for the History of Medicine's next an-nual meeting will take place from April 28 toMay 1 at the Park Central Hotel in New YorkCity.

CSHMMake plans now to attend the Canadian Soci-

ety for the History of Medicine's annual meeting.This year's meeting, held as usual in conjunctionwith the Learned Societies, will take place at theUniversity of Calgary June 10 to 12.

CAHNThe Seventh Annual Meeting of the Canadian

Association for the History of Nursing in Winni-peg, Manitoba will take place from June 17 to 19This year's meeting will offer a pot-pourri of lec-tures on nursing history with a special focus onthe actual teaching of nursing history.

Further details are available from: Dean InaBramadat, Faculty of Nursing, University ofManitoba, Manitoba, R3T 2N2.B3

SCHOLARSH P NEWS

Successful Studentship candidatesThe 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, DalhousieUniversity, Halifax, NS[Dr. TJ. Murray]"Social Influences on theFormation of Asylums and theTreatment of the Insane inNova Scotia "

Andrea Chapman, Universityof British Columbia,Vancouver, BC[Dr. Bruce Miller]"History of Western MedicalInfluence on Coast SalishReservations "

Alexandra Chouinard,University de Montreal,Montreal, PQ[Dr. Georges Desrosiers]"L'intervention du Federaldans la same des Inuit: le casde la Eastern Arctic Patrol(1922-1967)"

Jos£ Francois, Universitairede Saint-Boniface, SaintBoniface, MB[Dr. Michel Verrette]"Medecine dans la colonie dela Riviere Rouge"

Eric Labrie, Universite Laval,Quebec, PQ[Dr. Alain Rousseau]"Le doyen Arthur Rousseau(1921-1934) et la reforme desetudes medicates dl'universiteLaval"

David Martell, University ofWestern Ontario, London, ON[Dr. P. Neary]"London's Cobalt Bomb:Canada's First Atomic-Powered Anti-CancerWeapon"

Judith Rygiel, University ofOttawa, Ottawa, ON[Dr. Toby Gelfand]"Role of Textiles in 19thCentury Surgery -1850-1880"

Marcin Sienicki, DalhousieUniversity, Halifax, NS[Prof. L. Cormier]"The Black Death: A Study ofthe Role Organic Illness Playsin Shaping Human Creativityand Culture"

Suneel Upadhye, Queen'sUniversity, Kingston, ON[Dr. C.G. Roland]"Disease Control in CanadianPenal Institutions"

Omar Zayid, DalhousieUniversity, Halifax, NS[Dr. Cecilia Danysk]"Public Attitudes TowardsAlcohol: The Role of Medicineand the Medical Community"

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 timesScholarship, six applicants competedfor just two awards. Seven applica-tions for Post Doctoral Fellowshipswere received for two awards.

hi total, 78 applicants pursued$398,000 in available funds.

This year, grant applications in-creased in both quality and quantity,making selection even more difficult.The Hannah Institute received 15 MAand PhD scholarship applications forfour awards. For the First Year MA

Special GrantsLetters of application for Special Grants, including the new Archives/MuseumStudies Medical History Internship Program, are welcome.deadline: October I and April 1.03

Correction

We erroneously stated in the Fall, 1993 Newsletter that there was no for-mal graduate medical history program for doctors in Canada prior to the Uni-versity of Toronto's program. McGill University's medical history programhas offered doctors the opportunity to study for advanced degrees for sometime. We apologize for any misunderstanding. For further details of this pro-gram, contact:

The History of Medicine ProgrammeDepartment of Social Studies of MedicineMcGill UniversityMclntyre Medical Sciences Building3655 Drummond StreetMontreal, PQH3G1Y6

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The Newsletter is producedthree times a year by:

Hannah Institute for theHistory of Medicine

14 Prince Arthur AvenueSuite #101Toronto, OH M5R1A9

Telephone 416-924-3368Fax 416-323-3338

Editor-in-ChiefJ.T.H. Connor

Editor and WriterDavid South

LayoutDavid South

The Newsletter welcomesinformation from readersabout Hannah-supportedactivities, publications, orother related medicalhistory events,

Note: For full details of AMS /Hannah Institute programs just fax,telephone or write the office.

0) 416-924-33681 416-323-3338