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Revision as of 01:44, 21 August 2011 by Chzz (talk | contribs) (move external links per MOS:SECTIONS)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Bertha Harmer (born 2 March 1885, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada – died 14 December 1934) was a Canadian nurse, writer and educator. Harmer graduated from the Toronto General Hospital (TGH) in 1913.
United States
She garnered attention for her Text-Book of the Principles and Practice of Nursing (published by Macmillan Publishers), which she wrote. The book first appeared in April 1922 while Harmer was teaching at St. Luke's Hospital Training School for Nurses in New York City. The 2nd edition appeared six years later.
Harmer was named Assistant Professor at Yale University's School of Nursing and as First Assistant Superintendent of Nurses at the New Haven Hospital in Connecticut.
Return to Canada
She left these positions and moved to Montreal, where she was named Director of the School for Graduate Nurses at McGill University. She remained until she was forced to retire due to poor health in 1934, the same year she died.
The third edition of her book was the last to appear under her name alone. It was published in July 1934, five months before Harmer's death. Christena Wallace (TGH/1922) who was Harmer's nurse around that time recalled Harmer editing the book and conferring with the publisher despite her the dire state of her health. Wallace claimed, as well, that Harmer's book was so popular that Macmillan, the publishing company, did not want to remove her name fearing a decrease in sales. Therefore the 4th and 5th editions, which were printed in 1939 and 1955, respectively, kept Harmer's name and added Virginia Henderson as a co-author/co-editor.
Death
Bertha Harmer died on 14 December 1934, aged only 49. She was interred in her family's plot in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.
Sources
- "Remembering Bertha Harmer", History of Nursing News, volume 8, page 8 (March 1998)
References
External links
- The Principles and Practice of Nursing journal website
- Margaret M. Allemang Centre for the History of Nursing Bulletin
- Bertha Harmer biodata