Hours: By appointment only
Location: UBC School of Nursing, T201-2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2B5
Contact: HoNS.Archives@nursing.ubc.ca 1-604-822-1714
Access: Open by appointment only. Please email or call the archives to make an appointment. Individuals who intend to access and use the archives’ collections must complete a Research Application form and may be required to complete Copyright and Photocopy forms. Click here to download the forms.
Website Address: http://www.bcnursinghistory.ca/archives/
The BC History of Nursing Society Archives collections consist of the records of British Columbia nursing organizations and the personal papers, photographs, biographical files, and oral history interviews of nurses who worked in British Columbia or were educated in British Columbia. The Archives also contains a collection of artifacts including uniforms, pins, and equipment used in patient care.
Nursing organizations whose records are held at the Archives include the BC History of Nursing Group (1990-2009) which consists of 1.3 linear metres of textual records along with 460 photographs and other materials, the British Columbia Operating Room Nursing Group (1965-2008) which consists of 9 boxes of records generated by the operation of the executive and the group’s biennial meetings, the Community Health Nurses’ Group of the RNABC (1978-2003) which consists of 7 boxes of records documenting the activities of the executive, education, membership, newsletter, planning, and public relations committees, the Global Health Interest Group (1990-2009) which consists of 10 centimetres of textual records, the Holistic Health Professional Practice Group (1985-2004) which consist of the group’s newsletters, the Nursing Education Council (1978-2005) which consists of 2 boxes of records, the Occupational Health Nurses Group (1961-2004) which consists of 1 centimetre of meeting minutes, and the Pediatric Nurses’ Group (1982-2004) which consists of two boxes of records.
The records of individual nurses range in size from a few centimetres of textual records to several boxes of material documenting the nurse’s education, career, and personal life. Many nurses’ careers involved work overseas either through the military, or other institutions such as churches or the World Health Organization.
The oral history collection consists of more than 190 interviews with nurses conducted since 1987. Three of these interviews are available to be listened to online.
The BC History of Nursing Society website also has a series of online exhibits documenting the history of nursing in British Columbia and around the world from ancient times to the present day.