Research Presentation
Above, here is my research presentation that highlights the topics I will be discussing throughout my research paper.
Below, here is the outline/notes of my research presentation that corresponds to my research presentation.
My topic is “Female Canadian Nurses in World War One”.
Slide 1: (Title Page)
This wasn’t my original topic I wanted to do my paper on… I first wanted to do my paper on the drug Thalidomide, but I had troubles finding sources that dealt with Canada. Then after I was going to do the Polio virus, but I once again had troubles finding sources about Canada. Then I tried looking at some broader topics of vaccinations and then the history of medicine in Canada, but once I found some sources I concluded that I wasn’t interested in these topics. Finally, back to square one, I went to the library and stood in front of books relating to health and medicine and I grabbed the first book on the shelf, which was a nursing book, and then after that I developed my topic further.
Slide 2: (Research Paper Statement)
Throughout my research paper I will examine the role of female Canadian nurses in World War One. I will focus on their contributions to Canada in terms of health, what their health was like, as well as how being a female in the medical field in the war impacted them.
In my paper I will look at the “Military Nurses” in a broad term as well as looking at the more specific classifications of military nurses being the…
– “Nursing Sisters” who were also nicknamed the “bluebirds” because of their blue and white nurse uniform. And these nursing sisters were licensed nurses who were employed by the military. The nursing sisters were members of the “Canadian Army Medical Corps”.
– Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurses were citizens that had no or very little background education in nursing or medicine. However, they had university degrees but in other professions such as teacher, or clerical work. A large majority of women would quit their jobs, for example being a teacher and became an unpaid VADs.
Slide 3: (Nursing Sister)
Because I will be discussing the “Nursing Sisters”, I want to focus on three of them in particular…
– Helen Fowlds: Canadian nursing sister that worked in France and in the Mediterranean during WW1. And the information I have on her discusses her experiences in her military life in terms of sexuality and femininity.
– Laura Holland and Mildred Forbes: Who both worked along side each other in a variety of places during WW1, such as France and England. And the information I have on these two women are my primary documents, which are letters of their experiences helping in the war.
Slide 4: (Health)
I took this section out of my research statement… “their contributions to Canada in terms of health, what their health was like”.
I took some quotes out of my research material that will help me to explain the aspect of health in my paper…
- “As well as providing medical services for Canadian and Allied troops… the CAMC operated treatment facilities and hospitals” (Canadian Nurse, The First World War’s nursing sisters)
- “Families [back home] expected nurses to watch over the heath of their beloved enlisted brothers and cousins” (Meryn Stuart, Social Sisters, 27-28)
These first two quotes will be used to explain the military nurse’s contributions to Canada’s health.
- “It was also a respite posting for medical and nursing staff who might need an extended recovery period from their own illness or from the harsh conditions encountered” (Cynthia Toman, A Loyal Body of Empire Citizens, 8)
- “Lives of Canadian Nursing Sisters who served during the First World War, and whose deaths were attributed to three categories; general illness, Spanish Influenza, and killed in action” (Dianna Dodd, Canadian Military Nurse Deaths, 327)
And these last two quotes will help me to explain what the nurse’s health was like.
Slide 5: (Gender)
I took this section out of my research statement… “how being a female in the medical field in the war impacted them”.
I took some quotes out of my research material that will help me to explain the aspect of gender in my paper…
- “The Great War was Canada’s first military engagement… [which] strove to provide a ‘proper’ space for women within a male-dominated sphere” (Meryn Stuart, “Social Sisters”, 25)
- “Women’s wartime history was, and often is overlaid with myth… [and] they have their own stereotypical roles to fill” (Cynthia Toman, “A Loyal Body of Empire Citizens”, 9)
- “As thousands of Canadian men rushed to enlist… and be part of war… Canadian women found their options for patriotic service more constrained” (Linda J. Quiney, Gender Patriotism, 103)
- “Canada’s first female war casualties, suggests a gendered construction of illness at work in the CAMC… While nurses tried to prove themselves good soldiers, their illnesses and deaths to horrific war conditions deemed unsuitable for women” (Dianne Dodd, Canadian Military Nurse Deaths, 327)
Slide 6: (Past, Present, and Future of this Paper)
- Past:
Struggles finding a topic
- Present and Future:
Writing the essay
Making the essay overall clear, concise, and coherent- I have a tendency to sometime be a little vague in some areas of my essay, not give enough information or explanation to my points I want to make in my essay.
– Good argument- Sometimes my argument can be too broad, and I try to discus too many things within my paper. I’m might try to focus my argument a little more.
– Using only important information from my sources; no filler information to try and add to the word/page count
Slide 7: (Recommended Readings in this Topic)
- McKenzie, Andrea (Ed.). War-Torn Exchanges: The Lives and Letters of Nursing Sisters Laura Holland and Mildred Forbes. UBC Press, 2016.
This book had all my primary documents I’m using in my essay. I recommend this reading because it explains how life was in the war and its very eye opening.
- Quiney J, Linda. “Gendering Patriotism: Canadian Volunteer Nurses as the Female ‘Soldiers’ of the Great War.” In Sarah Glassford and Amy Shaw (Ed.), A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service: Women and Girls of Canada and Newfoundland During the First World War. UBC Press, 2012: 103-125.
This article looks at the female gender perspective of the war and trying to be patriotic in their own way.
- Toman, Cynthia. “‘A Loyal Body of Empire Citizens’: Military Nurses and Identity at Lemnos and Salonika, 1915-1917.” In Jayne Elliott et al. (Ed.), Place & Practice in Canadian Nursing History. UBC Press, 2008: 8-24.
This article focuses on the identity of nurses in the war, who they were, how they contributed to the war.
Slide 8: (Conclusion)
Overall, I want my paper to explain the roles of female Canadian nurses in World War One, and be able to show how gender and health connect with these military nurses, and are a critical section of my paper.
Reflection:
I decided to add my research presentation into my ePortfolio because it gives some insight in to why I chose this topic and also what evidence, examples, and other information I will be incorporating into my research paper. I feel like adding my research presentation into my ePortfolio gives the viewer of my ePortfolio a better understanding of the reasons as to why I chose this topic and how it relates to the course. Furthermore, it will also helps the viewer to understand how my whole research project relates to my main argument of the ePortfolio I am trying to explain.