Stephenson, Elsie (1916–1967)

views updated

Stephenson, Elsie (1916–1967)

English nurse. Born 1916 in Co. Durham, England; died 1967 in Ireland; trained as nurse at West Suffolk General Hospital; attended Toronto University, 1946; m. William Henry Gardner, 1964.

Qualified in midwifery at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in London (1938), then trained as fever nurse and health visitor (1938–42); during WWII, served with Red Cross in Egypt, Italy, Yugoslavia and Germany (1944–46); studied advanced public health administration at Toronto University (1946); became deputy chief matron of British Red Cross Society (1947–48) and undertook missions to Germany, Singapore, North Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak; served as county nursing officer in East Suffolk (1948), then Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1950–56), creating links between hospital and community; with others, produced influential Jameson Report, An Inquiry into Health Visiting (1956); became 1st director of nursing studies unit at Edinburgh University (1956), pioneering academic nursing studies in Europe.

See also Sheila Allan, Fear Not to Sow-A Life of Elsie Stephenson (Jamieson, 1990).

More From encyclopedia.com