Mussallem, Helen Kathleen, 1915-2012 : Helen Kathleen Mussallem was born in Prince Rupert BC and studied at the School of Nursing, Vancouver General Hospital, 1934-1937. When she graduated, she was awarded a scholarship to further her studies in operating room techniques. After working at the Vancouver General Hospital as an operating room nurse, she attended the University of Washington in Seattle where she received a diploma in Teaching, Supervision and Administration. From 1943 to 1946 Mussallem served overseas and in Canada as a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. As a Nursing Sister, she was in charge of her unit's operating rooms. Following her return to Canada, she attended McGill University in Montreal where she received her baccalaureate in nursing in 1947. Following her graduation, she began her career as a nurse educator. She worked as a senior instructor at the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing for two years before going to Columbia University Teachers College in New York where she received her Masters of Arts in Education in 1950. She returned to the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing where she eventually became its Director of Nursing Education.
By 1957 Mussallem had created a name for herself in nursing education and for her desire to raise its level of education in both Canada and worldwide. As a result, she was selected by the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) to become the Director of the Pilot Project for Evaluation of Schools of Nursing in Canada. Her report, `Spotlight on Nursing Education', became a landmark in Canadian nursing and health services and spearheaded the drive to have nursing education removed from an the hospital environment and placed within the general educational system. Subsequently, Mussallem became the CNA's Director of Special Studies during which time she was seconded to the Royal Commission on Health Services to conduct its Study of Nursing Education in Canada. This study received accolades in Canada and abroad as the one definitive study of the whole realm of nursing education. Prior to the Royal Commission report, Mussallem returned to Columbia University to complete her doctoral degree. Her scholarly doctoral dissertation, `Path to Quality: A Plan for the Development of Nursing Education with the General Education System of Canada' (1962) was a vision of a new pattern of nursing education in Canada and which became a reality over the following few decades. She was the first Canadian ever to obtain a doctorate in nursing. Dr. Helen K. Mussallem served as Executive Director of the Canadian Nurses Association from 1963 to 1981.
In addition to her work in Canada, Dr. Mussallem has carried out over thirty international assignments and missions. She was an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization and the International Council of Nurses, 1963-1987. In addition to being consultant to the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in Geneva, Mussallem led delegations of Canadian nurses to ICN Council meetings and was a speaker or chair of numerous special sessions, 1963-1985.
During the period when Dr. Mussallem was Executive Director of the CNA, she had over forty publications to her credit and was considered one of the most prolific and scholarly writers in the health field. Following her tenure as Executive Director of the CNA, she worked as special advisor to national and international health-related organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Canadian International Development Agency, the Commonwealth Foundation, London, England, the Canadian Public Health Association, the St. John Ambulance, the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Institute of Canada and many others. Mussallem was President and Chair of Board of Directors of the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada, 1989-1991.
Many honours have been conferred on Dr. Mussallem for her distinguished service to nursing and health abroad. In addition to five honorary doctorates, she has been honored by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the Royal College of Nursing of United Kingdom, and eight provincial/territorial nurses associations. She has been awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal by the International Red Cross, the Award for Distinguished Achievement in Nursing Research and Scholarship by Columbia University and the Jeanne Mance Award. In 1969, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada and has been elevated twice within its ranks.
Helen Mussallem died in Ottawa in 2012.
