Lyle Creelman

"Susan Armstrong-Reid has written a fascinating biography of an exceptional Canadian. Lyle Creelman was an international leader in the transformation of public health in the twentieth century who deserves to be much better known. Thanks to this well-researched and clearly written biography, her contributions to the history of nursing are now understood." -- John English, Director, Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, University of Toronto "Lyle Creelman: The Frontiers of Global Nursing is not only a biography of an important and interesting woman, but also a source of extensive and insightful analytic comment on transcultural nursing, gender politics, and development of health care globally." -- Glennis Zilm, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia "As Susan Armstrong-Reid rightfully argues, a biography of Lyle Creelman and her central role in the development of international nursing is long overdue. Lyle Creelman: The Frontiers of Global Nursing deepens our understanding of the nature of global health policy and the complexity of a global health care system and will appeal to historians of health history, women's history, nursing history, and medical history, as well as scholars analysing international relations and global health." -- Geertje Boschma, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia

In telling Creelman’s fascinating story, Susan Armstrong-Reid helps readers learn about the transformation of the nursing profession and global health governance in the twentieth century.

This intriguing scholarly biography examines the important contributions of Canada’s foremost international nurse, Lyle Creelman. Creelman parlayed her experience as a community health nurse in British Columbia into significant international appointments with two organizations undertaking massive responsibility for health tasks in the post-war period – first, as chief nurse of the British Zone of Occupied Germany with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), and, from 1954 to 1968, the Chief Nursing Officer of the World Health Organization (WHO).

In telling Creelman’s fascinating story, Susan Armstrong-Reid helps readers learn about the transformation of the nursing profession and global health governance in the twentieth century. This story challenges the prevailing portrait of expatriate nurses during this period as agents of Western cultural imperialism. Lyle Creelman: The Frontiers of Global Nursing not only recasts the broader historical narrative of nursing’s legacy to global health, but contextualizes its continuing importance for approaching health care in the twenty-first-century.