A Reactionist Professional Association: The Provisional Council of University Schools and Departments of Nursing, 1942-1948

Abstract

From its inception in 1942, the Canadian Association of University Schools of Nursing (CAUSN) has developed into the accrediting agency for university nursing programs and the national voice for its 30 member schools. The current research examines the creation in 1942 of the Provisional Council of University Schools and Departments of Nursing, the forerunner of the CAUSN. The research is historical in design. Primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed inductively. Primary data consisted of archival documents located in the Queen's University Archives, Kingston, Ontario and the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) Archives, Ottawa, Ontario. Secondary data augmented and corroborated analysis of primary data and included published histories of the CAUSN and the CNA, as well as books and articles about the development of university nursing education in Canada, The impetus for the inception in 1942 of the Provisional Council of University Schools and Departments of Nursing originated with the CNA. The Provisional Council subsequently achieved none of its stated goals. Instead, it focused on its relationship with the CNA and contested the need for its own existance. The Provisional Council was a reactionist association that reflected the uncoordinated nature of university nursing education and the inability of university nursing educators to set aside parochial differences.