Mary Agnes Snively (1847-1933)

Inspiration for Activism!

Canadian nursing/nursing education pioneer, credited with beginning professional nursing in Canada.
“Trained” at Bellevue Training Hospital in NYC, 1882-84, after spending almost 20 years as a public school teacher.
Upon graduation from Bellevue, hired in 1884 as lady superintendent by Toronto General Hospital, where a “Training School for Nurses” had been established 3 years earlier.
Immediately instituted reforms both in the unacceptable living conditions of nurses and in their curriculum:
- Focused on knowledge required to care for patients while removing “housekeeping” kinds of tasks from their workloads;
- Implemented an examination at the end of the initial 2-year program, which she extended to a 3-year program by 1897;
- Convinced hospital officials to build a proper nursing residence with libraries.
In 1897, named president of the Society of Superintendents of Training Schools in Canada and the U.S.
Believed nurses needed to be organized and consolidated, advocating for fixed curriculum, uniform examinations, and a registration process.
In 1899, became founding member of the International Council of Nurses ICN) and served as its first treasurer.
In 1908, brought together nurses and nursing alumnae to form Canadian National Association of Trained Nurses (CNATN – to become Canadian Nurses Association in 1924) and became its first president.
Immediately forged ties with ICN so that CNATN officially became part of ICN in 1909.