Activities & Programs

Visit the Museum

Pre-Confederation to pre-WWI: Huge Changes in Health Care

Program Goals & Learning Objectives

Students will learn about important developments in medical science that brought about fundamental changes in our understanding and treatment of infectious disease and much needed improvements in public health. By the end of this program, students should

• be able to compare and contrast medical practice before and after the discovery of the germ theory of disease (1860s)
• be able to compare the impact of public-health measures on mortality from infectious diseases with advances in understanding about their causes
• be able to describe the contribution of at least one Canadian to the history of medicine and health care in Canada during the period from Confederation to the First World War

PROGRAM PLAN

Visit:

The Museum teacher's visit to your classroom will require approximately 90 minutes of class time. It will involve a brief introduction and demonstration, then group work, and finally a wrap-up activity with student input. Working in groups, students will complete activities at the following five stations:

• Station 1: Becoming Professional (change in education)
  Training for doctors increased, and came to Canada. Nursing became a profession, respected and desirable.
• Station 2: Medical Tools (change in tools)
  Doctors and scientists were experimenting, creating, and improving a vast array of medical tools, especially diagnostic ones.
• Station 3: Germ Theory and Antisepsis (change in way of thinking)
  The concept that disease is caused by something specific and concrete was an immense development in our understanding of illness, replacing an understanding that had existed for more than 2000 years.
• Station 4: Developments in Public Health (change in response)
  Through a graphing exercise, students learn the significance of improvements in nutrition, living conditions, and understanding of the disease for reducing mortality from a specific infectious disease.
• Station 5: Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (who made the changes)
  Students learn about some Canadian health-care providers who made significant contributions to their profession during the period between Confederation and the First World War.