Nursing: giving oneself to healing

During the 1940s, the Saint-Joseph Hospital Nursing School had a prestigious reputation at the regional level, which grew over time. This is evidenced by the many awards received by graduating students for their outstanding results. At the graduation ceremony, they were given books, a crucifix and a small bust of Jeanne Mance, the pioneer of Montreal’s hospitals.

In 1941, after two years of service, a nurse was paid just $50 a month. After the school closed in 1960, a school for auxiliary nurses was established. Its motto was S’oublier pour soulager (Give oneself to healing). After graduating, the nurses wore the regulation all-white dress, topped off by a headdress and adorned with a silver badge bearing the school’s symbol of a bee.

Nurse Denise Pilon with a young patient in 1959.