In 1944, the Government of Saskatchewan created the Northern Administrative District (NAD), which established Northern Saskatchewan as a spatial entity within the provincial milieu. Attention was focused on modernizing the region, and public health nursing became one of the first state-sponsored institutions to be introduced by the provincial government. By examining the day-to-day activities of nurses who worked at remote nursing outposts in Northern Saskatchewan between 1944 and 1957 and beyond, this research examines the complex internal factors involved in region-making.
Nurses lived and worked amongst their patients in small remote communities, thus making them effective vehicles for promoting modernization principles through preventative and educations programs. Despite the governments intention to modernize Northern Saskatchewan, a colonial relationship emerged between the region and the rest of the province. This situation left nurses in a confusing and often difficult position, because the institution behind initiatives to modernize the region was also their employer to whom they had certain obligations. Furthermore, the colonial attitude towards the region also extended to the nursing stations and the nurses, which often frustrated their attempts to provide medical care. As such, the small cadre of nurses played an ambiguous role, both as agents of modernization, but also opponents of its egregious effects.<p> The research examines the role of nursing in region-making through two types of geography: A geography of region-making where the literature focuses on the formal process of institutionalization, and a geography of social life, where the emerging literature on the geography of nursing provides an entry point. This two-part approach provides an opportunity to use different lenses to view the processes involved in shaping Northern Saskatchewan as it emerged as a distinct northern place within Canada.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USASK/oai:usask.ca:etd-03232006-104434 |
| Date | 23 March 2006 |
| Creators | McBain, Lesley Ann |
| Contributors | Peters, Evelyn, Naqvi, Kim, Coates, Ken, Biggs, C. Lesley, Bell, Scott M., Reed, Maureen |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | University of Saskatchewan Library |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-03232006-104434/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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