May 12, 1999
(Health and Community Services)

The following statement was issued today by Joan Marie Aylward, Minister of Health and Community Services. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

I stand today to honour a nursing pioneer who made a very positive mark in the nursing profession in Newfoundland and Labrador. Joyce Nevitt was born in England and moved to St. John's in 1965. She was the founder and first faculty member of the Memorial University School of Nursing. When she started, she was the only faculty member and had a class of 28 students. In 1973 she wrote White Caps and Black Bands, a history of nursing in Newfoundland. She continued teaching at MUN and the Grace General Hospital School of Nursing after her retirement in 1982 and was involved in a number of volunteer activities. Sadly Ms. Nevitt died in November of last year.

The diversity within the nursing profession spans caring for all age groups in all settings at every point along the continuum of care. One such age group is the senior population. The specialty of gerontological nursing has experienced profound growth over the last decade revealed in research on elderly persons, the increase in published journal articles on geriatric issues, inclusion of gerontological nursing courses in undergraduate nursing programs, certification in areas of gerontological nursing.

As you know, this year marks the International Year of the Older Person and in honour of this year and this nursing pioneer, the Department of Health and Community Services is announcing today the establishment of a nursing scholarship in the amount of $2,500 to be given to a nurse who is pursuing post graduate studies in the area of gerontological nursing. This is the first time such funds have been made available for study around geriatric and gerontological issues.

This scholarship is to be named the Joyce M. Nevitt Memorial Scholarship and will be administered through the ARNN Education and Research Trust. Many nurses throughout Newfoundland and Labrador will recognize this woman for her work at Memorial University's School of Nursing. However, Ms. Nevitt also worked as a clinical nurse, besides being a nursing educator, nursing administrator, nursing researcher, and a published author. She worked in all manner of practice settings. She typified the diversity that is nursing and I think it fitting that she will be remembered by nurses through this initiative.

1999 05 12 2:20 p.m.