A social construction of the development of ICU nursing in Canada, 1960 to 2002

The early 1960s marked the opening of intensive care units (ICUs) in several hospitals across Canada. From the beginning, registered nurses constituted the largest body of health care providers in the ICU environment and they were the central provider of hands-on care to patients and families. From a historical perspective, however, a limited body of knowledge exists specific to the development of ICU nursing in Canada.

In this study we explored the development of ICU nursing in Canada from 1960 to 2002 using a social history approach that emphasized the creation of an historical account from the perspective of the everyday experiences of ICU nurses.

A social history approach was used. Primary sources included oral history interviews, documents and records, published professional literature between 1960 and 2002, as well as photographs. The study received ethics approval from the research ethics boards at the University of Ottawa (for conducting oral history interviews), as well as Queen's University (for access to archives at the Kingston General Hospital).

The findings of this study provide a perspective on how ICU nurses learned and created new knowledge, as well as the establishment of an ICU nursing identity at both the individual and national levels.