Rosaline grew up in the Ipele Township of Western Nigeria in an era in which women ‘belonged in the kitchen.’ Her mother’s generation were not allowed to go to school, and instead were groomed toward the role of wives. Consequently, although all of her mother’s brothers had been educated, she herself could not read or write. She was a highly intelligent woman who was determined that would not happen to any of her daughters. As a result, after Rosaline completed elementary school, which was free, her mother worked very hard to financially support her daughter to attend high school. One of young Rosaline’s abiding aspirations through life, was to pursue her education in a manner that would make her mother proud. And her story confirms that she certainly did, becoming a source of pride for her entire village and community.
Valedictorian of her high school class, Rosaline was selected to receive a scholarship during graduation to study mathematics or science, at the university level, so she could return as a high school teacher. At the time, secretaries, teachers and nurses werethe main professional jobs open to women in Nigeria. But her dream was to become a nurse. She attended the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria from 1967-1970 to obtain her Diploma as a Registered Nurse. Following graduation, for a time she worked as a staff nurse at that hospital in the pediatric emergency unit.
In 1971, Rosaline and her young family managed to relocate to Vancouver, where her husband was enrolled in a PhD program. She took this opportunity to attend the UBC School of Nursing, from which she graduated with a BSN in 1974. Among the classmates she remembers from her time at UBC was Carol Acton, to whom she was closer in age than most of the other students. She recalls Carol’s empathy, noticing how hard she was trying to juggle motherhood and student life, rushing late to class and hastily parking her bicycle – book basket in front and a toddler seat in the back – in front of the classroom. She remembers Carol jokingly inscribing under her name in the class graduating yearbook “Rosaline, who will you WILL your bicycle to?”
Rosaline’s years at UBC were memorable in many ways. She lived with her husband in graduate student housing and her young child was in UBC daycare. She worked in Main Library during her free time between classes to make ends meet financially. Although her life was incredibly busy, in that few nursing students had family responsibilities during their program at that time, she really enjoyed being a UBC nursing student. She recalls that, although there were very few Black students on campus at that time, she felt that she belonged and never encountered any racism. “The faculty members were very supportive.”
Upon graduation from UBC Nursing, Rosaline worked as a staff nurse at Vancouver General Hospital, spanning various areas of clinical practice such as obstetrics, pediatrics, neonatal ICU, med/surg and geriatrics. She later worked for a few months at the UBC Psychiatric Hospital as well.
In 1975, she returned to the University of Ibadan as an Assistant Lecturer, an appointment she held concurrently with her ongoing education in North America. She attended the University of Toronto from 1978-1980, obtaining a MScN degree specializing in community health. Her master’s thesis was on the topic of “Attitudes to pregnancy and the psychosocial needs of pregnant single and married adolescents.” Again returning to the University of Ibadan, she taught nursing while also completing her PhD in Educational Evaluation in 1986. Her dissertation topic was “Correlates of Role Perception and Job Performance of Community Health Practitioners in selected states of Nigeria.” On PhD completion, she was promoted to Assistant Professor, teaching courses such as Community Health Nursing, Maternal Child health, Psychiatric nursing, Primary Health Care, Trends in Nursing, as well as supervising student research projects.
From 1988 to 1989, Dr. Olade was awarded a National Institute of Health Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship funded by a Fogarty International Research Fellowship. This prestigious Fellowship was previously given to basic scientists in the medical profession, and this was the first time it had been awarded to a nurse to study with another nurse. Her mentor was Dr. Florence Downs, who was at the time Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious journal Nursing Research, and has been remembered as a ‘guardian of the discipline.” During her time as a Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Olade worked on developing a modified version of the well-known Denver Developmental Screening Tool to make it more culturally sensitive, especially in relation to screening of urban and rural African American children, for use by Pediatricians and Community Health Practitioners. This work was subsequently cited in many pediatric nursing textbooks and journal publications.
Although she was invited to take up a faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania on completion of her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Olade decided instead to return to Nigeria to the University of Ibadan so that she could share her hard-earned knowledge with her fellow citizens. As an Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing at the University of Ibadan, she taught and coordinated many undergraduate courses, organized state, national and international conferences and provided in-service education for Nurse Administrators and other nurse-leaders. From 1990 to 1992, she served as Director of Nursing, holding responsibility for the total academic and administrative operation of the School of Nursing, a 3-year post-basic RN-BSN degree program, with about 250 students. Founded by the World Health Organization to provide university education for registered nurses in Africa, south of the Sahara, the University of Ibadan was a leading national and regional institution. In her capacity as its Director, Dr. Olade started an MSN program with tracks for Educators, Administrators and Community Health Nurse Practitioners. She also started a Nursing Primary Care Center for health care delivery to indigent persons within the surrounding rural areas. This center later came to involve a multi-disciplinary health team and provide a practice site for most students in the College of Medicine as well as free health care to the most poor and vulnerable in the population. Dr. Olade also organized the first Pan-African International Research Conference in Nursing. While in the nursing leadership position at the University of Ibadan, she was invited by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in Geneva to be a member of the ICN Task Force on International Nursing Research.
The task force developed the first set of international policies, with the focus of encouraging the integration of nursing research into nursing education and practice globally. Also, she was nominated at the same time by the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria as the Country’s Nursing representative to the World Health Organization (WHO) global assembly meeting in Geneva in 1990.
This was followed in 1991 by an invitation by the organization, to be a member of the Primary Health Care Research Task Force for WHO. During the work on the ICN Task force, Dr Olade developed a cordial relationship with Dr Lesley Degner, who was a member of the Taskforce, representing Canada from University of Manitoba. This relationship led to Summer sessional teaching at the University of Manitoba in 1991 and 1992, teaching nursing research in the post-basic BSN program at The Pas in Northern Manitoba and at the Winnipeg campus.
Over time, political disruptions in Nigeria, student protests against the government and frequent closing of the university system, made it increasingly difficult to continue her work at the University of Ibadan. In 1993, she emigrated with her family to United States of America, and worked for a year at the Arizona State Health Department in Phoenix. In this role, she coordinated multidisciplinary Long Term Care services, focusing on health care cost containment for Medicaid services in nursing facilities and community settings serving the elderly, both in Phoenix, and in surrounding counties. She also represented the State in courts as a professional expert to explain Long Term Care health policies in cases of disputes filed by consumers.
Relocating to Texas in 1994, Dr. Olade took up a position as tenured Associate Professor at the College of Nursing, University of Texas at Tyler, a position she held until 2001. In this role, she taught graduate courses both online and face to face. She coordinated three core courses in Nursing Leadership & Management and supervised master’s theses, as well as teaching courses in Nursing Issues and Trends, and Research Methodology at the undergraduate level.
Again relocating in 2001, Dr. Olade assumed an Associate Professor position at the College of Nursing at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Among her faculty activities in that role were the development of international programs for nurses in Afghanistan and India. She was a member of the university’s medical team sent to Afghanistan for assessment of the health care education needs of the country in February 2004. She also initiated a cultural diversity network within the College, serving as Chair for its Diversity Taskforce. This project included monthly cultural events and the development of a forum within the College website devoted to advancing cultural diversity projects. The College of Nursing won the “UNMC Chancellor’s Diversity Award” based on this initiative. Clearly recognizing her demonstrable leadership, Dr. Olade was ultimately appointed Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, as well as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Dr. Olade’s years at the University of Nebraska Medical Center were incredibly productive. She did research on topics such as a Strategic Research Utilization Model for Evidence-Based Health care. In a 2002 UNMC news article, she was described as passionately interested in care for the elderly and for high quality nursing education. https://www.unmc.edu/newsroom/2002/08/13/dr-olade-focuses-on-elderly-nursing-education/ ““The patient is the most important person in the hospital,” Dr. Olade said. “The physical care of the patient is important, as is the emotional care. We teach students to really look at the total patient.” In a second news article, published in 2005, UNMC recognized her invitation to provide the keynote address for the West African College of Nursing, which is a regional part of the Commonwealth Federation of Nurses and a forum for nursing leaders in West African countries. Dr. Olade’s presentation, entitled “Reforms in Nursing Education and Practice: Which Way Forward?” discussed various aspects of nursing, including a model she developed that translates nursing research into practice. https://www.unmc.edu/newsroom/2005/04/13/nursing-professor-presents-at-west-african-conference/ Dr. Olade’s body of published work and conference presentations over this period featured a strong emphasis on evidence-based practice and educational reform, as well as her commitment to cultural diversity. She also made herself available to the wider community for topics related to expanding cultural understanding, including recognition of the impact of the adversity and politics in Africa at the time.
In September of 2005, Dr. Olade decided to take early retirement to return to her native country, to care for her aging mother. While there she started planning on creating a charitable organization as a way of giving back to the poor communities in the country. That organization, the African Good Samaritan Mission (www.Agsmission.org ) sponsored poor fatherless children through high school and university, renovated old school buildings, and provided care for widows. That organization now has a branch in UK to help new African immigrants.
After her mother died peacefully, she returned to the US to be closer to her five children. Her eldest, who was the toddler in the bicycle seat during Dr. Olade’s time at the UBC School of Nursing, is now a middle-aged Medical Doctor in USA with a fulfilling medical career. Her other three boys are Computer Engineers, one of whom is now an Assistant Professor at Queens University in Ireland. Her lastborn is a daughter, who also became a Medical Doctor. Clearly a family inspired by both education and service.
In retirement, Dr. Olade has taught online nursing courses for Walden University and been involved in numerous voluntary activities in support of her community. From 2008 to 2010 she served as State Ombudsman for the Department of Elder Affairs for the State of Florida. And she continues to serve as President of the African Good Samaritan Mission. She has also been highly involved in her faith community. A highlight in retirement was a spiritual trip to the Holy Land in 2017 with a group of other Christians. On the occasion of her 70th birthday in 2018, she was described by the people of her village in Africa as their “community pride”– a “trailblazer and an icon in the global academic arena.”
Nowadays she enjoys her retirement by taking Cruises to interesting places around the world, as well as spending time with her grandchildren and impacting them with the important aspects of the African culture. During her 75th birthday, she went on a Caribbean cruise with all the grandchildren, to give them the experience of having a memory of their first cruise ever, with Grandma.
Also, she just returned from a cruise to Australia and New Zealand.
In 2023, Dr. Olade’s travels allowed for an opportunity to revisit the UBC School of Nursing, on her way from an Alaska cruise. She met with current School Director, Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, and other faculty members. In describing that visit, she writes, “I am so grateful to God that I had a happy memory of my life at UBC, that it was a joy going through memory lanes during my visit to the campus at the end of August 2023.”
UBC School of Nursing is incredibly proud of this Amazing Alumnus, and the international nursing leadership career she built on the basis of her time with us. She has indeed been a trailblazer, and her story will undoubtedly continue to inspire others.