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This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Merel H. Harmel on April 24, 1995 by Dr. James Gifford. It is included in the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project.

Duration: 00:59:00

During the interview, Harmel discusses his personal background and how he chose a career in anesthesiology; the development of anesthesiology departments, Harmel's involvement in the creation of numerous anesthesiology departments, and his involvement in the Department of Anesthesiology at Duke; his relationship with Sabiston, Sabiston's reputation, how Sabiston came to Duke, Harmel's perspective on how Sabiston developed and influenced the Department of Surgery, and his successes at securing NIH funding; Harmel's goals for the Department of Anesthesiology when first came to Duke and built a residency program; and how closely surgeons and anesthesiologists work together. Includes 1 master audiocassette tape and 1 transcript.

Donna Allen Harris speaks about her background, primarily in Elizabeth City, North Carolina; the impetus for integrating the local high school being unknown to her; her being a part of the group that was going to integrate the local schools at various levels; the group dwindling to a small number, many of whom were in her family; her family's emphasis on education; her parents' insistence that she be part of the group to integrate the local high school as a sophomore; her desire to be with her friends instead; the difficulty of her three years at the high school; her memory of the first day walking into the school; the difficulty of the first few months and the first year; some of the actions of fellow students; the expectation from her community that she would do well academically; her loss of connection with her group of childhood friends because of the lack of contact; her sister integrating the junior high school; her being the only African-American student in her class; her desire to be alone sometimes as an adult as a result of that isolating experience; her being steered into nursing as one of the few options available to her; her satisfaction with nursing as a career; her feeling that the Duke University School of Nursing was training its graduates to go into nursing administration; her desire to be a hands-on nurse rather than to go into nursing administration; the ability of the Watts School of Nursing graduates to outfunction Duke University School of Nursing graduates in patient care; graduating in the same class as the Duke University School of Nursing dean, Dr. Catherine Gillis; sometimes feeling guilty about not going into nursing administration; her application to Fisk University and to the Duke University School of Nursing; her desire to go to Fisk to be with people more like her; her receiving a full scholarship to go to Duke; her choosing Duke for financial reasons, even though she knew she would once again be the first African-American; her sense of isolation at Duke; the other African-American students (university undergraduates) living on the other side of campus; her friendship with fellow nursing students in her class; those friendships being her solace; an incident in which she felt disappointed in a faculty member, after which she decided not to look to faculty members for support; receiving a wedding present from a faculty member; dating her future husband while being a nursing student; letting the friendship ties fall after graduation; going back to work at Duke; her previous declaration that she would not go back to Duke; her connection with friends but distrust of Duke as an institution; her nonparticipation in the 1969 student takeover of the Allen Building; her being a "middle-of-the-roader" as far as activism; her lack of memory about her sorority; not necessarily feeling community support at the time, but now not discounting that there might have been those who supported her; her first job after graduation from Duke and also being the only African-American RN there; how prepared she felt after her education at Duke; other jobs after graduation; her ultimate choice to go into public health nursing and it being a good fit for her; there not being much recognition of her being the first African-American nursing student to graduate from Duke; her blocking a lot of memories from nursing school; the 2007 Tea with Trailblazers being the first time she was really recognized for being the first African-American nursing student to graduate from Duke; now feeling a sense of accomplishment playing that role; and remembering those who have gone before her.

Education and career of the first African-American physician assistant.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Albert Heyman on December 18, 1985 by Dr. James Gifford.
Duration: 00:20:00
Albert Heyman discusses his research of Alzheimer's disease, beginning in the late-1970s, and the subsequent development of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Duke University Medical Center. He also discusses his collaboration with Lisa Gwyther and Allen Roses. Other people mentioned in the interview include Eugene Stead, Larry Thompson, Carl Eisdorfer, Seymour Crofferman, Charles Nemeroff, Harvey Cohen, and Donald Schmechel. Includes a master and use audio cassette tapes.

This oral history was conducted with Dr. Jack Hughes on October 3 and 4, 2019 by Joseph O'Connell. Transcript is available.

Duration: Hughes_AudioStory.wav: 00:12:14; Hughes_Interviews.wav: 03:05:42

The October 3 and 4, 2019 interview with Hughes moves more or less chronologically through Hughes' upbringing and education, his military service during World War II, his residency and training in Minnesota, and his experiences at the intersection of academic and private practice medical communities in Durham, North Carolina. Digital files include transcript (.PDF), interviews (.WAV), consent form (.PDF), Hughes portrait).JPG), and Bagger files (.TXT).

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Wolfgang Joklik on May 16, 2007 by Jessica Roseberry.
Duration: 01:16:22
Joklik discusses his education in Australia and England, his career at Duke in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology as well as efforts to increase the employment of women in the department, his research in molecular virology, and the creation of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Duke. He also discusses the lives and careers of several of his colleagues at Duke, including pediatrics and microbiology specialist Catherine Wilfert and virology researchers Joe and Dorothy Beard.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Robert H. Jones on July 14, 1994 by Dr. James Gifford. It is included in the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project.

Duration: 00:45:00

Dr. Robert H. Jones discusses his career, his research interests, working with Sabiston in the lab at Johns Hopkins and how he was the motivation for Jones to come to Duke for his surgical residency, working for and with Sabiston at Duke, how Sabiston influenced the Department of Surgery, Sabiston's personal leadership style and work with residents, other memories of Sabiston, the origins and development of the Surgical Radioisotope Laboratory, the current cutting edge in the field, and where he sees the field going. Includes a master and use audio cassette tape.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Samuel Katz on May 10, 2007 by Jessica Roseberry. The transcription of this interview was funded by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation.
Duration: 01:09:44
Katz discusses his preference of the term chair versus chairman of the Department of Pediatrics in order to be inclusive of female department chairs; the nature of the Department of Pediatrics when he first arrived as chair in 1968; former Department of Pediatrics chairs Dr. Jerome Harris and Dr. Wilburt Davison; Dean Wilburt Davison's view of the department; research in the department upon Katz's arrival; the department's relationship to other departments in the medical school; comparisons to Harvard's campus; Dr. Harris's relationship with the Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine; pediatric cardiologist Dr. Madison Spach; the less prominent position of the Department of Pediatrics upon his arrival; Department of Immunology chair, Dr. William Joklik; his own efforts to bring the Department of Pediatrics into a place of more prominence; women [one full time and one half time] in the department upon his arrival; Dr. Susan Dees; Dr. Davison's nonpayment of Susan Dees because her husband, Dr. John Dees, received a salary from the medical center; Dr. Shirley Osterhout as being a half-time employee in the Department of Pediatrics and a half-time employee as director of the Poison Control Center; the reputation of Dr. Rebecca Buckley before he arrived; Dr. Rebecca Buckley in the Department of Immunology; the recruitment of Dr. Buckley to the Department of Pediatrics; Dr. Dees's reputation and intellectual prowess; Dr. Susan Dees as a smoker; Dr. Shirley Osterhout as the leader of the Poison Control Center; Dr. Buckley's research on babies with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency; Dr. Buckley's international reputation; the small number of women in departments during the time of his arrival; women in other medical schools; the arrival of Dr. Catherine Wilfert; the four women in the Department of Pediatrics having husbands and children; Dr. Catherine Wilfert's national distinction; his marriage to Dr. Wilfert and their keeping separate names; Dr. Lois Pounds; Dr. Tim Oliver; the marriage of Dr. Pounds and Dr. Oliver; Dr. Pounds in the admissions department; women in the admissions department; pediatricians in the admissions department; Dr. Deborah Kredich in the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Pediatrics; Dr. Wilfert's interaction with his alma mater, Harvard, about the admission of women to Harvard Medical School; the group of medical students in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology working militantly to equalize the gender gap in the department and in medicine in general; his suggestions of names of female department chairs upon his retirement; women in the Department of Pediatrics who actively promoted women's issues; his own advocacy for women's issues; difficulties for women; Dr. Phyllis Lephert; appointment and tenure decisions; the current Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure committee; pediatrics as seen as more of a women's specialty; Dr. Doris Howell; women and research; women clinicians in the Department of Pediatrics; female doctors married to male doctors in the Medical Center; other considerations pertaining to his and Dr. Wilfert's marriage; Dr. Brenda Armstrong; maternity leave; actively trying to give women a place in the Department of Pediatrics; aspects of a good pediatrician; and his own work, especially vaccines internationally. Includes a master and use CD and a transcript..

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Priya Kishnani on December 29, 2010 by Jessica Roseberry as part of the Women in Duke Medicine Oral History Exhibit.
Duration: 00:44:42
Kishnani discusses her family's background, particularly her mother's background as a physician in India; coming to the United States; medical genetics; Duke's strength in medical genetics; comparisons between medicine in the US and in India; Glycogen Storage Disease Type II, or Pompe disease; how she became involved with children with Pompe disease; Dr. Y. T. Chen; educating the medical establishment that children with Pompe disease could be treated; successes of the treatment; details of the treatment; setting up the clinical trials for Pompe disease; intensive nature of setting up the clinical trials for Pompe disease; commitment level of coordinating these trials; physicians in other countries giving treatment for Pompe disease locally; working with Genzyme Corporation to develop the drug used in treatment of Pompe disease; developing an appropriate relationship with industry when working in academic medicine; translational medicine; her work in trials with children with Down syndrome; treatment versus cure for Pompe disease and Down syndrome; center for treatment of rare diseases at Duke; special considerations for clinical trials for treatment of rare diseases; her continuing commitment to work with Pompe disease; and being a woman in medicine. Includes a master and a use CD.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Mary E. Klotman on October 21, 2010 by Jessica Roseberry as part of the Women in Duke Medicine Oral History Exhibit.
Duration: 00:59:09
Klotman discusses coming to Duke as an undergraduate in the 1970s; the Duke Department of Medicine from her perspective as a student; the chair of the department when she was a resident; Dr. Joseph Greenfield as subsequent chair of the department; conversation with Dr. Greenfield about her future career path; desire to become a physician-scientist; developing skills to achieve that goal; going to work at the National Institutes of Health; working at Mount Sinai Medical Center; with her husband, putting together the kind of program at Mount Sinai that existed at Duke; becoming an administrator in order to make an impact; her view of the chairmanship since beginning the job of chair of the Department of Medicine seven months prior; communications within such a large department; partnerships that the Department of Medicine has developed; directions the health system is moving in; funding for the department; funding for the partners of the Department of Medicine; being a female department chair; family support; and Dean Nancy Andrews. Includes a master and use CD.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. L. Scott Levin on December 14, 1995 by Dr. James Gifford. It is included in the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project.

Duration: 00:30:00

Dr. L. Scott Levin reflects on his education; career; mentors; the history of the Department of Surgery and Division of Plastic Surgery at Duke; his interest in microsurgery, hand surgery, and othoplastic extremity reconstruction (limb salvage); how the residency program has changed over time; his experiences in the Division of Plastic Surgery; and his memories of Sabiston including his leadership style, legacy to Duke and the profession of surgery, and his work ethic.

This oral history interview was conducted with Amy MacDonald on September 27, 2022 by Josephine McRobbie as part of the Duke Midwifery Service and Durham Maternal Health Oral History Project, which was funded by The Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund.

Duration: 01:44:57

During the interview, MacDonald discusses the Duke Midwifery Service, hospital-based midwifery practices and nurse-led education, and then Centering Pregnancy program facilitated by Duke midwives. The themes of this interview include midwifery, pregnancy, childbirth, postnatal education, and medical training. Digital files include interview metadata and transcript (PDF), interview with stereo (WAV), interview with mono (MP3), consent form (PDF), an image (JPG), and TXT files.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Richard L. McCann conducted on April 29, 2020 by Taylor Patterson as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project.

Duration: 00:55:15

During the interview, McCann discusses his early life; education; decision to enter the medical profession; how he came to Duke from Cornell; meeting Sabiston for the first at his interview to be a Resident; Sabiston's Monday Conferences and his teaching method, which was based on the Socratic method, as well as his inclusion of classical surgery into his Residents' learning; how Sabiston prioritized the Residents and the Department of Surgery above all else; Sabiston's traditions such as the Christmas Party, Lasagna Party, and Mint Julep Party; how Sabiston kept track of all his Residents and expected grant writing, conference presentations, and published articles; the dichotomy between Sabiston's southern upbringing and his progressive ideas on race and gender in surgery; and other memories of Sabiston and his wife, Aggie. Digital files include transcript (DOCX), Duke's death notice for McCann (DOCX), interview (MP3), consent form (JPG), and TXT files.

This oral history interview was conducted with Stacey R. McCorison on October 12, 2021 by Josephine McRobbie.

Duration: 01:47:48

During the interview, McCorison discusses her early life in the Northeast, experiences with higher education, positions held within Duke University and the Duke University School of Medicine, contributions to the planning for the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center for Health Education, as well as the her reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on medical education. The themes of this interview include educational access and choice, medical education, financial aid, and student support services. Digital files include interview metadata and transcript (PDF), interview with stereo (WAV), interview with mono (MP3), consent form (PDF), and TXT files.

This oral history interview was conducted with Helen Mikul on October 17, 2022 by Josephine McRobbie as part of the Duke Midwifery Service and Durham Maternal Health Oral History Project, which was funded by The Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund.

Duration: 00:55:45

During the interview, Mikul discusses her role as a midwife with Duke Midwifery Service, her dedication to working with Spanish-speaking clients, and the uniqueness of midwifery as a healthcare profession. In this interview, Mikul speaks vividly of the skills that Duke Midwifery Service midwives provided to Duke clients, and also shared with their Duke colleagues in the teaching hospital environment. She shares how she and her Duke Midwifery Service colleagues taught students and trainees the strengths of different birthing positions, maneuvers for safe birth during shoulder dystocia, strategies for postpartum care and the delivery of the placenta, as well as approaches to caring for clients experiencing stillbirth or the the loss of a pregnancy. Mikul reflects on how receptive the students were to this information and describes how during her time at Duke, more trainees began encouraging clients to try hands and knees and side-lying positions for birth (as opposed to the medically-standard stirrups position). The themes of this interview include medical training, midwifery, and family planning. Digital files include interview metadata and transcript (PDF), interview with stereo (WAV), interview with mono (MP3), consent form (PDF), an image (JPEG), and TXT files.

This oral history interview was conducted with Ann Milligan-Barnes on October 5, 2022 by Josephine McRobbie as part of the Duke Midwifery Service and Durham Maternal Health Oral History Project, which was funded by The Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund.

Duration: 02:01:42

During the interview, Milligan-Barnes discusses her early professional years at Watts Hospital, her role as a Labor and Delivery nurse at Durham/Duke Regional Hospital, her time serving in the United States Air Force Nurse Corps, as well as her experiences in the Durham County Department of Public Health, where she worked as a Public Health Nurse and the Coordinator for the Centering Pregnancy Program associated with the Duke Midwifery Services. The themes of this interview include community healthcare, health disparities, and pregnancy and postpartum care. Digital files include interview metadata and transcript (PDF), interview with stereo (WAV), interview with mono (MP3), consent form (PDF), an image (JPG), and TXT files.

Nevidjon discusses her background; desire to become a nurse; career choices for women in the seventies; choosing to be a nurse instead of a doctor; diploma programs versus college-based programs; deciding on Duke School of Nursing; curriculum at Duke; schedule of Duke classes; curriculum changes in her second year; visionary nature of school of nursing faculty at the time; specific women in the faculty at the time; expectation of faculty that students would attain an advanced degree; male students in graduate program as opposed to undergraduate; males on the nursing service; Wilma Minniear; nursing service's view of school of nursing graduates; working as a ward clerk the summer of sophomore year and as a professional nursing assistant (PNA) the summer of junior year; advantages of getting to know the staff in these positions and then come on staff after graduation; relationship with physicians; tight-knit nature of unit; activism of her class; black studies class; master's program at University of North Carolina; psychiatric nursing; move to Switzerland; working as oncology nurse in Switzerland; advantages of oncology nursing; becoming an administrator; Morris Building; nature of nurse management role upon her return to Duke; difference in Duke and West Coast healthcare; dysfunctional nature of nursing upon her return; changes due to external regulatory environment; chief operating officer role; Mike Israel; Ralph Snyderman; Duke Medical Center becoming a health system; political flak due to acquisition of Durham Regional Hospital; difficulty of integrating two hospitals; being female in upper management at Duke Medical Center; breaking barriers as nurse in advanced leadership position; possibility of nurses unionizing; assessment of current status of nursing school; variety of opportunities within nursing; thoughts about Duke.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Theodore N. Pappas on May 20, 2021 by Dr. Konstantinos Economopoulos as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project.

Duration: 00:43:54

During the interview, Pappas discusses his surgical training; how he came to Duke and the details of being hired by Sabiston, including being only the second non-Duke trained person hired by Sabiston in 15 years; Sabiston's incredible memory and how he used it as a recruiting tool among Duke medical students; Sabiston's calculated social interactions; the annual Sabiston Christmas party; observations of how Sabiston interacted with residents and how he ran the Department of Surgery; changes in the Department of Surgery after Sabiston retired; other memories of Sabiston. Digital files include transcript (DOCX), interview (M4A), and consent form (PDF).

Pugh-Myers' recollections of her days as a member of the first class of practical nurses at Duke Hosptial, 1949; working as an African-American practical nurse at Duke and beyond.