Director’s Message 2019SS
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
At this halfway point in our centenary celebrations, the School of Nursing is thrilled with the support and good wishes received from colleagues, partners, politicians, and others among our nursing community. Our last issue encapsulated some of the excitement we felt as we began planning for our year-long celebration. Now, the events are unfolding, and this issue is dedicated to keeping you up-to-date and informed about our memorable events, including: the Ethel Johns Plaque, honouring a woman of national historic importance as the founder of our School; our History Symposium, which considered the past as it set current goals; our dialogue on the role of nursing in promoting Indigenous health, at the First Nations Longhouse; and our third annual Edge Festival, which showcased innovative ways of sharing nursing research.
The Gala—which you can relive in these pages—was fantastic! Weeks after the event, I continued to receive email and comments from people who attended, and even from people who heard about the celebration from others! So many mentioned they were impressed and inspired by our Centenary Medalists, whose leadership and achievements reveal the School’s influence in nursing here in BC, and throughout the world. I offer my heartfelt thanks to our faculty, students, staff, nursing partners, and community members who brought such energy and enthusiasm to the evening. You made the room hum with your excitement at sharing great memories and strong partnerships. Working together, we are a group that can achieve anything! We hope to keep this energy blazing as we look to the future of nursing in British Columbia and beyond.
While much of our centenary we are looking back in celebration, we are also looking forward, to consider how the School will remain an innovator and leader, a facilitator of “Nursing Now” and into the future. May the events shared in these pages keep you enthusiastic for the continuing celebration of UBC’s School of Nursing. We have more to come!
Elizabeth Saewyc, PhD, RN, FSAHM, FCAHS, FAAN
Director and Professor