Education

Margaret Mary Bellis’s love of children is rumoured to have begun as the second child of six. Mary’s genuineness, curiosity, friendliness, compassion and loyalty to her family, friends and colleagues are legendary and reminiscent of the attributes of one who was raised in a large family. Her curiosity, sense of adventure, outgoingness and adaptability are likely linked to having a father who was a Wing Commander with the RCAF, as this meant she and her family experienced life in multiple cities across Canada.

Upon her father’s retirement in 1962, the Bellis family relocated to the Vancouver area from Ottawa, finally settling in Burnaby in 1964.  Mary’s passion as a caregiver was a large part of what drove her to choose nursing as her profession. Mary went to nursing school at St. Michael’s in Lethbridge, Alberta in 1970.  Her first nursing job was as a pediatric nurse at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops in 1973, finally moving back to Burnaby to work at the VGH’s Health Centre for Children in the mid-1970s.

Mary’s dedication to lifelong learning was evident early in her career when she pursued a specialty certification in neurological nursing from Foothill’s Hospital in Calgary, AB.  Mary returned to BC and moved from VGH to BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) when it opened in 1982, where she worked until her retirement. She was a pioneer in family-centered care before it was labelled as such. Mary recognized the impact an intensive care unit had on children and their families, and she made it her mission to create a warm, child-friendly environment for the children and their families.

Mary role-modelled excellence in her clinical skills, decision making and communication while caring for her patients and their families.  Mary demonstrated professionalism each and everyday. Her vast clinical knowledge was revered by the entire PICU team. Mary was not only a legend amongst the nurses but the whole team; every resident, respiratory therapist, physiotherapist, physician, etc., knew they had “made it” when Mary approved of them. Many staff remember the day Mary stepped back and said to them “You got this.” It was that moment when you knew you had moved to the next level when Mary, the consummate clinician and teacher, deemed you safe to practice.

Mary was known as a care provider in and out of the unit. She cared fiercely for her colleagues and friends. She had a core group of lifelong friends that she made when she first started in the PICU. Their adventures are legendary.  Mary was an inspirational nurse who encouraged and motivated her colleagues daily to reach their potential. She wanted every child to receive the best, and if that was challenging, Mary pushed us to figure out why. Mary made a difference.

Mary passed away unexpectedly on January 30, 2021.  Consistently, words such as ‘icon’, ‘mentor’, ‘leader’, ‘teacher’, and ‘role model’ are used to describe her. Mary was a humble, strong, wise, and dedicated professional. She was fierce in her advocacy for her patients and their families.  It is this dedication to excellent care that has prompted Mary’s friends and colleagues to partner with the Registered Nurses Foundation of BC (RNFBC) honour Mary and support nursing students and nurses who have an expressed interest in pediatric, pediatric intensive care or neurological nursing by making contributions that will enable the Children’s and Women’s Hospital Bursary to be sustainable.

Believing that Mary would be honoured to have her name attached to an award supporting nursing education, the RNFBC Board approved renaming the bursary that will now be known as the Bellis Children’s and Women’s Health Centre Bursary.

This fund was established by Mary’s dear friend and fellow nurse, Helen Robertson. They met in nursing school at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, both immigrated to Canada and graduated from McGill. Mary is recognized for her role as a respected nursing educator at BCIT in the RN program and psychiatric nursing program.

We are thankful for the donation that created the Sutherland Foundation Bursary funds studies in mental health and psychiatric nursing.

Established in memory of Carol Winter, Director of Nursing at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC. Carol was a selfless and dedicated member of RNABC and was committed to further education for nurses.

The funds generously donated in memory of Ms. Winter support the RNFBC Undergraduate Bursary

Established in September 1964 in memory of Helen King who was a Director of Nursing from 1952 to 1964 at VGH.

The funds generously donated in memory of Ms. King support both the RNFBC Undergraduate Bursary and the RNFBC Diploma Bursary.

Established by the late Kenneth Clark and his wife, Ellen Woolfitt and continues to be supported by their families.

The funds generously donated support the RNFBC Undergraduate Bursary

Established in 1999 through the estate of Yvonne Andrews. Yvonne Andrews trained in England as a midwife and worked as a midwife in Ladysmith and Nanaimo, BC. For more than twenty years she practiced nursing in the field of mental health, with a focus on seniors and First Nations health care. Ms. Andrews was an active supporter of education for nurses and participated professionally at the provincial, national and international levels.

The funds generously donated by Ms. Andrews support the RNFBC Undergraduate Bursary

As a graduate of VGH in 1961, Nancy began a diverse career which spanned 5 decades. She was a nurse by profession but also by essence of personality – a care giver, organizer, and networker.

She took extensive nursing courses, working in Critical Care, Hospital Administration and Extended Care as well as operating her own home care business. In retirement she was active with the CRNBC registration committee. Nancy’s life-long commitment to the nursing profession was exemplified through the generous bequest to RNFBC included in her will.

Nancy led a full life, travelling extensively and pursuing her hobbies of reading, crafts, art, photography and gardening.

Special thanks and appreciation are offered to her dear friends and nursing colleagues through the years.

Funds from this estate support the RNFBC Undergraduate Bursary

The club was established in 1914 and following their disbandment in 1989, their endowment has been managed by Vancouver Foundation for distribution for educational (scholarships) for the good of the community. This is a directed funds bursary administered by the Vancouver Foundation.

The BC Health Education Foundation completed its mandate and selected RNFBC to establish a bursary to promote the knowledge and skills of nurses advancing their clinical education.

Established by the BCOHNPPG to support Registered Nurses pursuing an Occupational Health specialty.

Established with money donated by RNABC members in a bursary funding ‘challenge’.

Established through a donation from Children’s & Women’s Health Centre of BC to further nursing education in the fields of pediatrics, women’s health, obstetrics & gynecology, and pediatric rehabilitation.

Established by Joan Doree in honour of her parents who she credited for enabling her to become a nurse by giving her the financial support to enter St. Paul’s School of Nursing in Saskatoon in 1937. Joan was a founding member of the Registered Nurses Foundation of British Columbia and served two terms as Director on the RNABC board. Joan has passed away but her family and friends continue to honour her by the support of this bursary.

Established in honour of Beverly Douglas, a well-respected Public Health and Occupational Health Nurse.

This bursary was established in 1995 by the donations from the North Cariboo Chapter, RNABC. Valerie Dyck (nee Morgan), a long time resident of Quesnel and a well known nurse at G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital, died December 20th 1984. The Val Dyck Memorial Bursary was originally established in 1985 by the Quesnel Ladies Curling Club. In 1986 the funds were transferred to the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia – North Cariboo Chapter – in Quesnel. It was established to provide financial support for Quesnel residents/students pursuing nursing education.

This bursary was established in 2009, with an allocation of matching funds from the RNFBC operating surplus for the first $30,000 donated, to commemorate 30 years of RNFBC history and honour the many volunteers who have worked for the RNFBC to enable financial support for nursing students.

Established by Dr. Peter Grantham in memory of his wife, Vivian Grantham who was Head Nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital.

This bursary was established in 2005 in memorium for Monica Frith Green (1917 – 2004) who devoted her career to advancement of public health nursing in British Columbia. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, in 1917, she moved to B.C. as a child. She graduated from the six-year, double-degree nursing program at the University of British Columbia, with her RN from Vancouver General Hospital, and her Bachelor of Arts (1939) and Bachelor of Applied Science in Nursing (1940). Soon after graduation, she joined the Provincial Public Health Nursing Service, working in the Okanagan and in Creston. After a leave to obtain a Master’s degree in Public Health Nursing from the University of Michigan, she returned to the B.C. PHN Service as a Consultant.

In 1948, she was promoted to Director. Under her gifted administrative skills, the nursing service expanded and she introduced, among other advances, a post-hospitalization home-care program, one of the first in Canada. Throughout her career, Mrs. Green was active in professional associations and was, among other positions, president of the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA). In 1967, she was honoured by her U.S. colleagues and became Honourary President of the American Public Health Association and in 1968 was made an APHA Fellow. I n 1975, she received the Award of Merit from the B.C. Branch of the CPHA for outstanding contributions to public health services and public health nursing. Following retirement, she wrote the thoroughly-researched and well-illustrated ‘Through the Years with Public Health Nursing: A History of Public Health Nursing in the Provincial Government Jurisdiction British Columbia’ (Ottawa: CPHA, 1984), now a classic reference book. In recognition of her writings, she was named an Honourary Life Member of the History of Nursing Professional Practice Group of the College of Registered Nurses of B.C. She died December 28, 2004.

Established through the Sylvia J. Holmes Estate. Ms. Holmes’ nursing career included positions with the Victoria Order of Nurses in Edmonton and the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. She was also a faculty member in the UBC School of Nursing from 1966 to 1994.

Initially established by Dr. Kergin, a nationally distinguished nurse, researcher and educator to make baccalaureate nursing degree education available to registered nurses. That now includes non-registered nurses.

Clarice Lee Memorial Bursary: Established in 1990 by her husband in recognition of her long & distinguished career as a Public Health nurse in New Westminster.

Katherine Ure Memorial Bursary: Established in 1983 in honour of Kathleen Ure, an RN.

Wesley Bell Memorial Bursary: Established in 1980 by Wesley Bell’s parents to perpetuate the memory of their son, Wesley who died at the age of 24, to honour the loving care given by his nurses during his illness.

Established in 2005 through a bequest from the estate of Elgin Lockridge in memory of his wife, Vivian, who was a registered nurse. They married in 1957 in Vancouver and both worked in the Vancouver area until they retired to the South Cariboo area. Vivian died of Alzheimer’s complications and Mr. Lockridge had many interactions with the health community and nurses in particular, being a dialysis patient. His generous donation has provided a long and lasting legacy in honour of his wife and himself.

Born on June 2, 1913 in Arcola, Saskatchewan, Ruth came to Vancouver and worked at Vancouver General Hospital until 1942. She then joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps to serve overseas in World War II and was recruited to the hospital ship, Lady Nelson, Canada’s first hospital ship, where she – along with 14 nursing sisters cared for up to 500 sick and wounded patients on trips from battle zones back to England or Canada. The Lady Nelson was torpedoed by a U- Boat while in dock in Italy and she climbed back on board their devastated ship to care for casualties, mostly with extreme burns. She then spent the rest of her life caring for and working on behalf of Canada’s veterans.

Working at Shaughnessy Military Hospital, she became the Director of Nursing. Because of field experience in the military treating kidney failure, she was involved in the first renal dialysis treatments in Vancouver and trained two teams of nurses. She was also an early investigator of home care for veterans, and her findings were adapted to veterans throughout Canada and indirectly influenced the development for home care for all Canadians.

Established in 2019 by Beverly McLaughlin, a Nurse who dedicated years of service in emergency care. Beverly has generously provided for this bursary to allow recipients to be eligible to apply for renewal for up to 4 years in their basic nursing studies.

Established by Kathy Murphy, herself a nurse, in memory of her husband who greatly valued the role nurses played in his struggle with leukemia.

Esther Paulson Bursary: Established in 2005 as a legacy by Miss Esther Paulson as her legacy. She was a retired BC nurse and former president of RNABC.

Sylvia Code Memorial Bursary: Established in 1999 by family, friends and colleagues in memory of Sylvia Code, Assistant Executive Director of Nursing, Vernon Jubilee Hospital.

Founded in memory of Bernadet Ratsoy by her husband along with contributions from her many colleagues and friends. A well respected Nurse and Educator with a 28 year career at St. Paul’s Hospital culminating in the role of Vice President of Nursing, as Executive Director of the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses and finishing her career in 2002 as Associate Dean of the School of Health Sciences at BCIT.

Established with a motion from RNFBC member Pat Cutshall, to use $10,000 in surplus for a separate trust fund to support nursing research. It was further supported by donations from the former Nursing Research Interest Group of RNABC.

Established when Registered Nurses Association of BC bursary and loans committee was disbanded and seed money was granted for post-Non-Specific clinical education programs for both registered and student nurses.

Established by the Alumnae of the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Bursary through the estate of Noreen Robins, a 1937 graduate in her memory.

Established in the name of Margaret Sinn whose estate balance was assigned to RNABC in accordance with the terms of her will to provide bursaries and/or loans for student non registered nurses.

The gratefully received funds are provided under the Sinn-Archibald Memorial Bursary.

We are thankful for the funds for educational purposes that were raised and disbursed for many years by RNs of the South Fraser Chapter of the RNABC. In 2003, the Chapter delegated the administration of this bursary to RNFBC and donated the requisite funds to establish an ongoing South Fraser Chapter 2004 Bursary.

Established through a generous donation to honor and give thanks to the Sisters of St. Ann for their long history of providing for the sick and to encourage education of nurses. This bursary continues to be supported by the alumnae.

Originally created in 1984, there have been additional donations from the Alumnae Association, former graduates, and from the proceeds of sale of the VGH Manor. The Alumnae Association is pleased to be able to provide funding for graduates and now their children as they continue to develop in their careers.

The Vancouver City Hospital Training School for Nurses commenced in 1899. The name was changed in 1902 to the VGH Training School. A combined UBC/VGH nursing program commenced in 1919 and existed until 1958 when UBC implemented its own undergraduate program. In 1989, a collaborative nursing program was established with the UBC School of Nursing. The last VGH class graduated in 1991. Until May, 1998, the students graduated with a BSN degree from UBC. At that time, VGH withdrew funding for the collaborative program. The school graduated 8,768 new nurses over 99 years.

The generous donation from Vancouver General SoN Alumnae Association funds undergraduate and graduate studies for alumni and direct descendants.

Established by the generosity of Mrs. Willett in the name of her late husband, Frederick and herself the Willet Estate Bursary is a directed funds bursary and is administered by Toronto Dominion. It is awarded to a number of nurses in basic and post-basic studies annually throughout B.C. Elizabeth (Irish) Willett was born in Ireland and trained as a care aid – she did not have the financial resources to become a nurse. She went to England and found work in a psychiatric hospital. She met her Canadian husband Fred during the war. After a very short courtship, they married and Fred brought “Irish” home to Vancouver as a war bride. Irish could not work as a nurse because her training was not recognized but she did work at VGH and subsequently worked for “invalids” in their homes – including the wife of one of the doctors at VGH. She eventually looked after their children who maintained their relationship with Irish until her death. Irish wanted to help others who, like her, are unable to afford the costs of education and she specifically wanted to provide monies for those who sought to become registered nurses. Elizabeth passed away Oct. 18, 2002.

Established by the Xi Eta Chapter at the University of British Columbia. This chapter began with the commitment and vision of a group of nursing leaders that eventually led to the formation of the UBC Nursing Honour Society in 1990. In 1994, the Society was chartered as a chapter of the STTI Honour Society of Nursing. Membership is by invitation to baccalaureate and graduate nursing students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, and to nurse leaders exhibiting exceptional achievements in nursing leadership.

We are thankful for the donation from the Xi Eta Chapter which established and continues to fund the Xi ETA Chapter Sigma Theta Tau Bursary for graduate studies.

This bursary was established in memory of the sisters of John McIntyre Stoddart, Frances Mary Stoddart (Davenport) and Margaret Isabel Stoddart (Lansdown) who received their training at Vancouver General Hospital in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

The are grateful for the donation which funds the Stoddart Bursary.

Pat Wadsworth passed away peacefully in Vancouver on August 16th, 2018 following a long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Pat was born and raised in Vancouver and was a descendant of founders of both our city and our province. A graduate in 1955 of the 5 year combined nursing program at UBC and the VGH School of Nursing, nursing in BC has so benefited from her passion for nursing. Registered Nurses Foundation, Nursing at VGH and BC Health are just a few organizations who were lucky enough to have her on their team! As a woman pioneer in nursing and health care administration in BC, she was the recipient of innumerable honorary distinctions in recognition of her contributions.

This generous donation established and continues to fund the Wadsworth Graduate Bursary funding graduate studies in health care management and administration.

Administered through the Vancouver Foundation, RNFBC was chosen as the beneficiary starting 2020. Born in Scotland in 1915 and passed away in 2014, Mrs. Publicover valued her extensive circle of family and friends. Although not a nurse herself, she also had an immense respect for the nursing community and the costs associated in nursing education. She was a strong supporter of many worthy organizations in her community such as St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver Opera, Vancouver Art Gallery and especially the YWCA and RNFBC is so pleased to be included in that list.

Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception: Established in 1996 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Vancouver. The bursary was originally available to Mount St. Joseph Hospital registered nurses and MSJ staff pursuing a career as a registered nurse. Additional funds came in 1997 from the Mount St. Joseph Hospital Foundation and St. Vincent’s Foundation. In 2001 these two funds, with criteria adjusted.

Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception: Established in 2000 with funds from the Souers Missionnaires de l’Immaculate Conception from Outremont, Quebec to recognize in perpetuity the contribution of their congregation to health care in BC.

In 2001, these two bursaries were combined.