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This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Catherine M. Wilfert on August 25, 2006 by Jessica Roseberry as part of the Women in Duke Medicine Oral History Exhibit.
Duration: 1:29:32
Wilfert discusses family support; her decision to become a physician; her medical degree from Harvard; the atmosphere for women at Harvard; the differences between the Harvard and Duke campuses; scientific collaborations on Duke campus; people in Department of Pediatrics; working with Dr. Rebecca Buckley on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever cases; practicalities of working in the lab; the welcoming nature of the Duke Pediatrics Department towards women; the names of important women in the medical center; her husband, Dr. Samuel Katz; the direction of Department of Pediatrics under Dr. Katz's leadership; institutional support for the Department of Pediatrics; differences between pediatric medicine and internal (adult) medicine; physicians' reactions to first hearing about AIDS in the 1980s; patients' deaths due to AIDS; Duke's involvement in clinical trials to treat AIDS; Dr. Dani Bolognesi; her own involvement in giving AZT to mothers; the dramatic reduction of newborn AIDS patients due to AZT use by infected mothers; publicity of the initial trial; controversies of the Thailand trial; her personal stand about early international trials with AZT; the entities responsible for international AZT trials; differences between treating patients in the United States and in developing countries; the dramatic decrease in newborn AIDS patients in United States; difficulties of treating AIDS patients in developing countries; the necessity of treating AIDS patients in developing countries, even by imperfect means; her personal passion for the cause of treating AIDS patients in developing countries; her work for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; her retirement from Duke; the foundational support for her work; the need for financial support in the cause of fighting AIDS; countries on which she focuses the most; her travel schedule; working with national governments of developing countries; the status of pediatric AIDS in the United States; specific cases (not identified by name) that stand out to her; others who are in the fight against AIDS; what Westerners should know about the AIDS struggle in the developing world; dissatisfaction with current system of medical care delivery in the United States; her role as chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases; and interactions with Dr. Katz as chief under his chairmanship. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation. Includes 2 master CDs, 2 use CDs, and 1 transcript.

This oral history interview was conducted with Sezer Aksel on September 13, 2007 by Jessica Roseberry as part of the Women in Duke Medicine Oral History Exhibit.
Duration: 00:43:32
Sezer Aksel discusses her background in Turkey; her desire to become a physician even against her family's desires; coming to Duke Medical School; the difficulty understanding Southern accents; the friendly atmosphere at Duke; completing premedical courses at Duke; the new curriculum at Duke Medical School; her interest in physiology and endocrinology; her second year of residency at Johns Hopkins; women in her medical school class; the busy residency schedule at Duke; dressing facilities in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; working twice as hard initially to gain men's respect; her acceptance from the faculty of her department; the reputation of Dr. Eleanor Easley in the department; previous female interns in the department having a difficult time and leaving Duke; support from the nursing staff in the department; support from the department chair, Dr. Roy Parker; the supposition among some in the department that women patients did not like to see female doctors for ob-gyn care and Dr. Aksel's experiences to the contrary; the first baby delivered; endocrinology; endocrinology-related surgical procedures; laparoscopy; the length of residency determined by the department chair; operating as a resident; learning by doing; the growth of department; females who joined the residency in the department after she came; changes due to more females; the male-dominated nature of dressing facilities in department; job opportunities after finishing residency; and establishing the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at the University of South Alabama. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation. Includes 1 master audiocassette tape, 1 master and 1 use CD, and 1 transcript.

This oral history interview was conducted with Nancy Allen on November 10, 2006 by Jessica Roseberry.

Duration: 01:15:02

Nancy Allen discusses her family background; medical education; women in science during time of her education; coming to Duke; her husband being accepted into Duke's PhD program; Dr. Ralph Snyderman as chief of Immunology; Dr. James Wyngaarden as chair of Department of Medicine; Dr. Wyngaarden's emphasis on bench research; her own preference for patient care above research; women in department in 1970s and 1980s; the treatment of females in the department; Dr. Joseph Greenfield as chair of Department of Medicine; support of Dr. Greenfield; her pregnancy; the lack of maternity leave policy in the department; the institution of her proposal for maternity leave in the department; her service on the university campus wide committee to implement maternity leave policy; the chairmanship of Department of Medicine Women's Committee; meeting with women in other medical departments about women's issues; women's networking and advocacy on campus; Dr. Rebecca Buckley's service on the otherwise all-male appointment, promotion, and tenure (APT) committee; her own service on advisory committee to Chancellor William Anlyan on women's issues; women of primarily Caucasian decent on these committees; the difficulty of salary comparisons in medical center due to income from patients; her clinical work as a rheumatologist; work in outreach clinics; patients (without identifying information) who stand out in her mind; high percentage of female patients in her practice; rewarding nature of rheumatology; academic council; Dr. Nannerl Keohane; her service as chair of academic council; Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Faculty Development position; other committees to advance the concerns of women on campus; women who might be important to remember; and the support of her husband, Dr. Barry Allen. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation. Includes 2 master CDs, a use CD, and a transcript.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Nancy B. Allen on June 1, 2020 by Joseph O'Connell as part of the Department of Medicine's Oral History Project.

Duration: 01:46:21 (full interview)

Duration: 00:10:51 (Voices of Medicine podcast with interview highlights)

During the interview, Allen discusses her early life, interest in medicine, summer jobs in medical labs, medical education at the Medical College of Virginia and Tufts, medical residency and fellowship at Duke, work in outreach clinics around North Carolina, Duke administrative and committee work, and her experiences preparing for retirement during the Spring 2020 emergence of COVID-19. The themes of this interview include the development of the treatment of rheumatic conditions, medical training and career advancement, and clinical work in outreach settings. Digital files include interview metadata and transcript (PDF), interview with stereo (WAV), interview with mono (MP3), Voices of Medicine podcast with interview highlights (WAV), image (JPEG), consent form (PDF), and TXT files.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Hilda P. Willett on May 21, 2007 by Jessica Roseberry as part of the Women in Duke Medicine Oral History Exhibit
Duration: 01:53:21
Hilda P. Willett discusses her background; her siblings; her parents' emphasis on education; the lack of funding for higher education; scholarship; Georgia State College for Women; Dr. James Stokes's encouragement for further education; other career choices for women (teaching); the lack of finances for graduate school; Dr. David Tillerson (D. T.) Smith (chair of Duke Department of Microbiology); doing tuberculosis research for Dr. Smith; attaining the first PhD in the Department of Microbiology (1949); her faculty position in the department; the advancement of male members of department to full professorship; the resistance by male members of department that she become a full professor; Dr. Smith's protest of this unfair situation; the appointment, promotion, and tenure committee within her department; her own research on the tubercle bacillus; her discovery of why isoniazid worked; the new chairman of department; her small laboratory; her ceasing of research due to wishes of new chair; the directorship of graduate studies for the department; the awareness of lower salaries for women; women in clinical departments aware of this discrepancy; Mary Poston's role in the department; Mary Poston as the only female in the department; Dr. Willett as the only female in the department; name changes to the department; focus changes of the department due to scientific advancements; Dr. Joe Nevins; Mary Poston's clinical laboratory; having more women on main campus than in the medical center; her husband as a private practitioner in the community; her husband's help with the household; hiring help to take care of her children; her husband's practice in Raleigh; her commute; teaching; assigning lectures as course director; her own social strengths and weaknesses; research funded by the National Tuberculosis Association; presenting at conferences; her fear of flying; elaboration on her own research; Dr. Wolfgang Joklik's reliance on her; the character of Dr. Smith; Dr. Norman Conant; her major contributions in research; editorial contributions to editions of "Zinsser's Microbiology"; the largeness of the task of serving as co-editor of "Zinsser's Microbiology"; her parents; working during her college years; and working with graduate students. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation. Includes 2 master CDs, 2 use CDs, and 1 transcript.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Sheila J. Counce-Nicklas on June 21, 2007 by Jessica Roseberry.
Duration: 1:46:03
Dr. Counce-Nicklas discusses her background; her love of science and of learning; her interest in how things work; her Fulbright scholarship to Edinburgh; her professor suggesting she get a PhD instead of diploma at Edinburgh; studying sex-linked lethal chromosomes in fruit flies; the advantage of being a female in working with males; asking for a promotion in the Duke Department of Anatomy; her reputation in Europe; coming to Duke; other women at Duke: Dr. Lois Pounds, Dr. Jo Rae Wright, Dr. Nell Cant, Dr. Rebecca H. Buckley; women during the time period of late 1960s and early 1970s; the necessity of self-assurance for these women; her husband's work in Duke's Department of Zoology; being the lone woman in the department; not being treated much differently; her continued research on sex-linked lethal chromosomes in fruit flies; this research not enabling her to see the way that the sexes develop, as she had hoped; Duke's increasing emphasis on competing in the research arena; changes in the Department of Anatomy; her research being rewarding; her major contribution as being a two-volume work on insect development; her reputation in Europe as an important factor in her promotion; support from colleagues; the solitary nature of working in the laboratory; the work of other members of the department; teaching; Dr. Montrose Moses; service on Academic Council; the necessity of fairness in appointments; mentors; mentorship; the freedom to explore in her work at Duke; the necessity of grants in research; sharing the workload at home with her husband, Bruce Nicklas; the Promotions and Tenure Committee; the move in the field toward cell and molecular biology; the change in the Department of Anatomy under a new chair; Duke's academic reputation; the increase in the number of women since she first arrived; women in the basic sciences; and being outspoken. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation. Includes 2 master CDs, 2 use CDs, and a transcript.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Kathleen Clem on June 27, 2007 by Jessica Roseberry.
Duration: 01:15:32
Clem discusses her desire to become an emergency physician; her background as a nurse; her family background; Loma Linda University; starting one of the first international emergency medical fellowships in the country (at Loma Linda); coming to North Carolina; her desire to improve Duke's Division of Emergency Medicine; becoming division chief of Emergency Medicine; having to fire many of the current faculty in the division to ensure the division was staffed by personnel trained to higher standards; recruiting new faculty; the development of the residency program in the division as crucial and her achievement of that goal in 1993; completely renovating the division's physical space; her goals in renovating the space; women's often circuitous careers; her own circuitous career; the importance of embracing the diversity of career experiences; Duke's support of her career path; the difficulties of being a female leader of the Division of Emergency Medicine within the male-dominated Department of Surgery; doing things that were "uniquely feminine"; changing the culture in Emergency Medicine; impacting the Department of Surgery; overcoming the difficulties of being a female leader; maintaining her integrity; her hard work to get changes made to the division; her allies; the female surgeons in the department; the types of patients who access emergency medicine at Duke; overcrowding in emergency departments; Duke's renovation and expansion as part of the solution to overcrowding; the state of Division of Emergency Medicine when she first arrived; educating Duke about what emergency medicine physicians are supposed to do; the role of emergency medicine physicians; why Emergency Medicine is currently a division and not a department, as she would hope it would be; the percentage of her time spent as administrator and career sacrifices she made to be an administrator; the Faculty Women's Committee; topics the committee has dealt with; the women at Duke who inspire her; the exhibit honoring women undertaken by Faculty Women's Committee; other women; embracing the circuitous career paths of women within her division; why women have more circuitous career paths; importance of mentorship; her past and current mentors; her own methods of balancing work and family; the change in culture at Duke in support of families; the differences between nurses and physicians in emergency medicine; collaboration with nursing; the issues of patient flow in emergency medicine; the rapid nature of decision-making in emergency medicine; her book, "Emergent Field Medicine"; and the current state of the Division of Emergency Medicine. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation. Includes 2 master CDs, 2 use CDs, and a transcript.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Elizabeth Bullitt on October 18, 2005 by Jessica Roseberry.
Duration: 01:15:00
Bullitt discusses her background; her fascination with the brain and neurosurgery; residency at University of Colorado; internal problems in program at University of Colorado; coming to Duke under Dr. Robert Wilkins; military feel of Duke program; rules in Duke program; Dr. Guy Odom; Dr. David Sabiston; hierarchy in Department of Surgery; male presence in neurosurgery, particularly at the time; husband as present chief of Neurosurgery at Duke; being the first female neurosurgeon on staff at both Mayfield Neurological Institute and University of North Carolina; feeling need to survive as opposed to feeling like a pioneer at Duke; treatment as a female neurosurgeon at Duke; her sensitivity to her treatment and dedication to her field; evaluation of her treatment versus current regulations against such treatment; facilities for female neurosurgeons; being overlooked at Duke because female; feeling uncomfortable returning to Duke; uniforms in Duke Department of Surgery; Dr. Robert Wilkins; others in the department who influenced her, including Dr. Blaine Nashold; meeting husband [Dr. Allan Friedman] at this time; time commitment as resident at that time versus the current time commitment; technology at Duke at the time; Carol Ludolph; conservative nature of Duke Surgery Department in terms of operating, flexibility; treatment received from patients; history of career at University of North Carolina; balancing home life and work life; current work with brain imaging at University of North Carolina. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation. Includes 2 master audio cassette tapes, 2 use audio cassette tapes, and a transcript.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Marianne S. Breslin on June 12, 2007 by Jessica Roseberry.
Duration: 01:57:33
Dr. Marianne S. Breslin discusses her background; her father's occupation as a horse breeder in Germany; Germany's political climate affecting her family; Nazi influence in her town; anti-Nazi sentiment after the war; extreme changes in family due to the war and politics; going to medical school in 1941; World War II's impact on her life; becoming a surgeon; her fellowship to go to the United States; coming to the United States (New York); meeting her husband; moving to Chapel Hill; complications of the fellowship program; working at Dorothea Dix Hospital as chief of the female service; choosing to change to psychiatry over surgery; Dr. Ewald Busse persuading her to come to Duke's Department of Psychiatry; heading the Division of Psychosomatic Medicine in Duke's Department of Psychiatry; other people in the department; being the first female in the Adult Psychiatry Department; the positive treatment she received as the only female; being busy; raising a large family alone; her experience with a grateful patient; psychosomatic medicine; the current trend toward medications in the field of psychiatry; Dr. Anna Friedman; Dr. Ruby Wilson; the end of clinical psychiatric nurse position; committees upon which she served in the medical center; her presidency of the North Carolina Neuropsychiatric Society; other people in other divisions in the department; the end of the Division of Psychosomatic Medicine after her retirement; her retirement; the positive aspects and accomplishments of the division; working with a patient who was afraid to fly; the death of her two husbands; her children; psychiatry in Germany; her initial interest in psychosomatic medicine; her popularity; passing the state boards in North Carolina; being the only foreigner to pass the boards in her group; taking the boards; other exams necessary to practice in the United States; her family; and social workers in Duke's Department of Psychiatry. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation. Includes 2 master and 2 use CDs.

This oral history interview was conducted with Doris Howell on November 12, 2007 by Jessica Roseberry.
Duration: 01:01:00
Dr. Doris Howell discusses her early background; medical school at McGill University; positive treatment in medical school; her initial desire to go into the field of psychiatry; her choice to go into pediatrics; the characterization of pediatric work; her internship at Children's Memorial Hospital in Montreal, Canada; her residency at Duke; the difference between styles of training in Canada and the United States; her more rigid style due to Canadian training; Dr. Bill DeMaria convincing her to change her style; her fellowship at Harvard with Dr. Lou Diamond; her field of pediatric hematology; the large numbers of leukemia patients in her work at Duke; growing the division to take care of these patients; being the only trained pediatric hematologist between Washington, New Orleans, and Miami; the immense patient load; training residents and fellows; many fellows being Middle Eastern; becoming the chair of Pediatrics at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania; being concerned about all-women's medical college; Dr. Susan Dees as a role model; pediatrics as a field easier for women to enter during her time; her positive treatment at Duke; awards; convincing the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania to become coeducational; being only female chair of pediatrics nationally; working briefly at the Association of American Medical Colleges; becoming the temporary chair of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego; the difficulty of being a chair in a field you have not trained in; her return to the field of pediatrics; the development of San Diego Hospice; San Diego Hospice as being an all-purpose hospice for all ages; staying involved; building a research fund for women's health; the difference between women's health issues and men's health issues; her working philosophy; not having biological children but caring for her patients; being engaged several times but being a female physician as complicating the relationships; her decision to stay single and commit her time to pediatric care; her advice to young female medical students; and her contentment with the life she has led. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation.

Dr. Pearce speaks about the beginnings of his interest in medicine; Air Force leadership coercing him to choose obstetrics and gynecology; medical school at Duke; residency at Duke; his rotation with Dr. Easley; Dr. Easley starting a physician partnership with Dr. Richard Pearse (no relation) during World War II; Dr. Easley's hardworking nature; Dr. Easley's intelligence; Dr. Easley having to prove herself as a woman physician; the good reputation of the Durham Women's Clinic; Dr. Pearce's choice to join Durham Women's Clinic instead of staying at Duke; the partnership affiliation with Watts Hospital; partners' appointments at Duke Hospital; the eventual competitive relationship with Duke's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; some women choosing Durham Women's Clinic even when their health plan restricted them to Duke; Dr. Easley's business acumen; Dr. Pearse's lack of business acumen; Dr. Pearse's persona; Dr. Easley sometimes scolding Dr. Pearse; Dr. Pearse's expertise at hypnotism; other partners in the clinic using hypnosis, although not to as great effect as Dr. Pearse; Dr. Easley's relationships to patients; Dr. Easley's frankness with patients about health issues; Dr. Robert Ross; Dr. Easley advocating to the legislature for the legalization of safe abortions; Dr. Easley potentially performing abortions; Nancy Carreras, a nurse midwife hired by Dr. Easley; the practice's tendency to adopt progressive methods; Dr. Easley's tendency to adopt progressive methods; Dr. Easley as a speaker on sex education; the payment system at the Durham Women's Clinic set up by Dr. Easley; other partners in the clinic; Dr. Easley never having children in order to commit to her profession; her husband, Dr. Howard Easley; the Easley's donation of land to the Eno River Association; Dr. Easley's encouragement of young doctors; Dr. Easley's encountering opposition to abortion; working at Lincoln Hospital and the Salvation Army Home for unwed mothers; changes in the field; women as ob-gyn physicians; some people's confusion between Dr. Pearce's name and Dr. Pearse's.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Alfred Gras on September 23, 2005 by Jessica Roseberry.
Duration: 00:20:00
Gras discusses his renaissance of interest in his own receipt of penicillin as medical student; notes from his father's journal about the event; Mary Poston; David Tillerson Smith; sulfonamides; his near death and miraculous recovery from bilateral staphylococcal pneumonia from use of penicillin; availability of penicillin at the time; Dr. Edward Levy and Dr. John Peck setting up penicillin drip; Dr. Levy and Dr. Peck telling him he was receiving a "vitabrew " in his leg; vein problems due to the treatment; further use of the penicillin extracted from his urine; obtaining the penicillin; his lack of having heard about penicillin; write-up of case in New England Journal of Medicine; cost (none) of his experimental penicillin versus estimated cost of same amount ($10,000); coming to Duke Medical School; lack of event status of the incident among his peers; cessation of penicillin due to complications from intravenous delivery; and further career. Includes a master and use audio cassette tapes and a transcript, which is available both in print and digitally.

This oral history interview was conducted with Rebecca Clayton on March 15, 2007 by Rebecca Clayton.
Duration: 01:02:26
Clayton discusses beginning work as the secretary for Dr. Grace Kerby, in 1960; being pregnant and delivering her first child; there being no maternity leave policy; her care for Dr. Kerby after Kerby's retirement; Dr. Kerby's attention to detail; Dr. Kerby's very private nature; other elements of Dr. Kerby's character; Dr. Kerby's dedication to her work; Dr. Kerby's work on house staff schedules and Clayton's assistance to Kerby in this work; Dr. Kerby's assistance to then-Department of Medicine chair, Dr. Eugene Stead; Bess Cebe, Dr. Stead's assistant; Clayton's close relationship with Dr. Kerby; the interactions of secretaries in the department; Dr. Kerby's materials that Clayton has; Dr. Kerby upon retirement; Clayton's workload under Dr. Kerby; equipment Clayton used at the time; the proportion of work dedicated to house staff schedules; Dr. Kerby's privacy about her own schedule; and Clayton's previous work. Includes a master CD, a use CD, and a transcript.

Dr. McCarty speaks about how she came to know Dr. Grace Kerby; Dr. Kerby as her mentor and colleague; Dr. Kerby as a stalwart of Duke's Department of Medicine; others' impressions of Dr. Kerby gathered from Dr. McCarty's own oral research about Kerby; Dr. Kerby's educational background; Dr. Kerby doing clinical trials in the 1950s; Dr. Kerby as director of house staff scheduling in Duke's Department of Medicine; Dr. Kerby's importance to the Department of Medicine; Dr. Kerby's publications; Dr. Kerby's thoroughness; Dr. Kerby's hearing loss in one ear; misunderstandings about Dr. Kerby due to her hearing loss; others' memories of Dr. Kerby (Dr. William Stead, son of Dr. Eugene Stead, and Dr. Ralph Snyderman); Dr. Kerby as wearing a short white intern's coat as opposed to a long physician's coat; Dr. Kerby sharing equipment; Dr. Kerby's background in athletics; misunderstandings about Dr. Kerby due to her reticent nature; misunderstandings about Dr. Kerby due to other causes; Dr. Kerby's enjoyment of life; Dr. Kerby's hobbies; Dr. Kerby having cancer at the end of her life; Dr. Kerby's research; and Dr. Kerby's legacy.

Dr. Wicker speaks about her doctorate of adult education; thinking about Duke since leaving due to a restructuring layoff in 2000; her family background; her interest in becoming a nurse; attending Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing; diploma programs as prevalent at the time she received her education; the Lincoln program being available to African-Americans; the creativity within the Lincoln program since it was underfunded; the camaraderie in the program; Duke's involvement in the Lincoln program; working at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina; working towards her master's degree at North Carolina Memorial Hospital; being a black registered nurse [RN] when most other black nurses were licensed practical nurses [LPNs] and most other RNs were white women; physicians noticing her after the white LPNs because she was black; this being the impetus for her to attain her bachelor's degree in nursing; attaining a master's in nursing supervision; approaching Wilma Minnear [director of nursing services at Duke Hospital] in 1973 for a position; teaching at North Carolina Central University for a year; working at Duke as supervisor of the Outpatient Department; being the first African-American nursing supervisor at the hospital; her deep interest in staff development; supervising nurse managers; expectation that the nurse was the handmaiden to the physician; Dr. Wicker as trying to counter that expectation in those whom she supervised; programs she initiated as supervisor of the Outpatient Department; discovering that she had hired two union plants; supervising in the emergency room; a challenging person she supervised in the emergency room; the emergency room as not her area of expertise; Wilma Minnear asking her to be the supervisor of nursing services for Duke Hospital South; her original hesitation at the offer because of her small children at home; the internship program where interns could work with nurses; overlap at times between nursing services and Duke School of Nursing; the restructuring of hospital administration after Wilma Minnear left; Duke Hospital South as having more black nursing administrators and supervisors than Duke Hospital North; rumors of discontent about nurses at Duke Hospital South, and that discontent being trivial; the retreat about the reorganization of Duke Hospital North and South nursing leadership in Williamsburg, Virginia.; being more dictated to than asked for her opinion at the retreat; being asked to choose an assistant, but being told that her decision was not correct; writing a letter after being told that she could not make this decision; black nurses as not being able to obtain positions; a blue ribbon committee looking into this problem; her letter to the blue ribbon committee; her interactions with the blue ribbon committee; her work in creating the Hospital Career Development program; transitioning into a career development role; her excitement in that program; new administration not valuing the program; her being given a pink slip; her processing being given a pink slip after all her years of contribution to Duke; other contributions she had made to Duke; having no contact with Duke until the invitation to participate in the oral history interview; things she has done since leaving Duke; working on the history of Lincoln Hospital project; that project not being completed; changes in nursing; Brenda Nevidjon; wanting to have a conversation with Dr. Ralph Snyderman before leaving but being denied that opportunity; positives and negatives of Duke culture.

Ms. Nichols speaks about growing up in rural North Carolina; her family structure; her aunt as a matriarch; her marriage and move to Durham; her husband's desertion of new family; her financial situation; public housing; Operation Breakthrough; her complaints to the Housing Authority over living conditions; eviction; other struggles; fighting eviction; suing the Housing Authority; others' help in taking care of children; the media attention over the lawsuit; studies to be a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at Duke Hospital; her work on the cardiac intensive care unit; other possible opportunities for upward mobility at Duke; application to physician assistant (PA) program; her rejection from and ultimate acceptance into the program; balancing her work as an LPN and studies in PA program; teaching without a degree; requirements of the LPN program; her personal motivation to succeed; work as an LPN; studies to be physician assistant; classmates in third physician assistant class; her treatment by classmates as the only female and only African-American in class; her work in Lincoln Hospital; the current status of Lincoln Community Health Center; her upcoming presentation to county commissioners on behalf of Lincoln Community Health Center; working at Duke; Dr. Harvey Estes; the treatment of African-Americans at Duke Hospital before the integration of the wards; the integration of the wards; the previous integration of the CCU (cardiac care unit) before the official integration of the wards; the current status of family land; the support of others throughout her career; the subtle discrimination against her as an African-American; the interactions between nurses and physicians assistants; teaching; her daughter running for district court judge; her own remarriage; her second husband's support; her family; balancing her family life and her career; her contributions as a physician assistant to the profession.

This oral history interview was conducted with Joanne A. P. Wilson on May 24, 2007 by Jessica Roseberry as part of the Women in Duke Medicine Oral History Exhibit.

Duration: 02:03:39

Dr. Joanne A. P. Wilson discusses the importance of recognizing history; her own background; parochial school; being an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; medical school at Duke; house staff training at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital; being a woman and minority in some of these situations; her faculty position at the University of Michigan; the new maternity leave policy at Michigan; the lack of adjustment on the tenure clock for faculty having children at Michigan; her return to Duke in 1986; being among the first wave of African-Americans to graduate from Duke Medical School; working a summer program at Duke in the 1970s to help disadvantaged students become interested in medicine; the lack of North Carolinians at Duke; her community service work during medical school; her medical school class's interest in community service work and in activism; her own children's community service work; her current community service work; the spirit of activism on campus (during her medical school years) as opposed to an earlier spirit of unrest; her treatment as an African-American as a medical student; the importance of expecting excellence of young people; assumptions made when people do see African-American role models in medicine; attracting attention as one of the few African-American medical students; the increase in the number of African-American medical students upon her return to the faculty in 1986; the slow nature of medicine to change due to length of schooling; Dr. Grace Kerby; being the second female in the department to be appointed a full professor, after Grace Kerby; Dr. Charles Johnson, early African-American faculty member; her field of gastroenterology; the few numbers of women in the specialty when she began; changes in this trend; common conditions in gastroenterology; patients who stand out in her mind; her enjoyment of the field; seeing patients over time; her husband staying at the VA Hospital over time; balancing family life; the importance of working towards this balance; creative ways she and her family have achieved this balance; her children's activities and accomplishments; managing over commitment; the importance of being an example to young people; her daughter finding some of the difficulties of volunteerism in complicated situations; her research in the past; her lack of time currently to do research; clinical research studies; her strong science background being a help in clinical research studies; the importance of understanding the clinical significance of statistical findings; the enjoyment of, but less time to do, teaching at Duke; being awarded the Trailblazers Award from the Student National Medical Association; her impact on the medical center; the desire that anyone can have access to medical education; her efforts to stress the importance of nondiscrimination; medical school dean Sanders Williams's actions to get more women and minority medical students at Duke; the importance of reaching children early; the importance of algebra; other women at Duke; the importance of receiving mentorship from other places if you don't see people who look like you around you; her inspiration coming from female family members; the male doctors who helped her; and the project for which the Duke Medicine Archives is interviewing her. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation. Includes 2 master CDs, 2 use CDs, and 1 transcript.

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Robert (Bob) P. Drucker on April 22, 2022 by Josephine McRobbie.

Duration: 01:29:39 (MP3); 01:29:47 (WAV)

During the interview, Drucker discusses his background, work as an advisory dean, the impact of COVID-19 on medical education, and his experiences working in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases. The themes of this interview includes pediatrics, medical education, and careers in medicine. 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 Dr. James M. Douglas on February 1, 2022 by Konstantinos Economopoulos as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project.

Duration: 00:33:05

During the interview, Douglas discusses his early life; education; why wanted to become a surgeon; his interest in music; how he came to complete his residency at Duke; what it was like to be the first African American to complete a surgery residency at Duke; what it was like to be a surgery resident under Sabiston including Sabiston's militaristic discipline and the different way he treated medical students from surgery residents--especially the surgery chief resident; the overall experience of being a surgery intern at Duke; Sabiston's incredible work ethic; what Sabiston taught Douglas; and other memories of Sabiston. Digital files include transcript (DOCX), interview (M4A), and consent form (PDF).

This oral history interview was conducted with William J. Donelan on March 10, 2020 by Emily Stewart as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project.
Duration: 00:49:39
During the interview, Donelan discusses his early life; educational background; his professional career path at Duke, where he started in 1969 as an insurance office supervisor in the medical private diagnostic clinic; the business administration side Duke's transformation into a premier academic hospital; the growth of Duke University Medical Center; the early days of Duke Hospital North; becoming Chief Operating Officer of Duke University Hospital; his relationship Sabiston; how Sabiston tried to recruit him as the business manager for the Department of Surgery; and Sabiston's legacy at Duke. Digital files include transcript (.DOCX), interview (.MP3), and consent form (.PDF).

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. William C. DeVries on August 20, 2019 by Emily Stewart as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project.
Duration: 00:50:35
During the interview, DeVries discusses his education; work at the University of Utah School of Medicine with Dr. Willem Kolff on the artificial heart; how Kolff "loaned" him to Sabiston for his surgical residency at Duke; his surgical residency at Duke; memories of Sabiston including the time Sabiston sent him home because he dressed in the dark and accidentally put on different colored socks; learning about the importance of the pursuit of excellence of Sabsiton; building the cardiac surgery program at the University of Utah and VA Hospital; putting artificial hearts in animals; first patient to receive an artificial heart and the media frenzy; his move to Louisville, Kentucky, to work on artificial hearts at Humana; and other career related memories.
Digital files include transcript (.DOCX), interview (.MP3), and consent form (.PDF).

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Don E. Detmer on February 2, 2022 by Dr. Konstantinos Economopoulos as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project.

Duration: 01:16:29

During the interview, Detmer discusses his early life, education, his medical training, individuals who shaped him along the way during his career, how he came to Duke for the third year of his surgical residency, memories of Sabiston, Sabiston's rigid belief system, his interest in health policy, how he went into administration and medical informatics, different positions he held over the years, and his work with the Duke Physician Assistant Program. Digital files include transcript (DOCX), interview (MP4 and M4A), and consent form (PDF).

This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Elizabeth R. DeLong on October 21, 2010 by Jessica Roseberry.
Duration: 00:45:39
Dr. DeLong discusses similarities and differences between working at a clinical research organization (Quintiles) and an academic research organization (Duke Medical Center); some collaborative projects between the Department of Biostatistics and other Duke departments; the importance of biostatistics to medical practice and medical research; the extent to which people in an academic institution are aware of the importance of statistics in their own work; the importance of having training in doing statistical work; master's versus PhD statisticians; the Duke Clinical Research Institute's emphasis on collaboration between medical investigators and statisticians; working with partners to make sure they set up their studies correctly; outcomes research versus clinical trials; equipoise; the importance of equipoise; personalized medicine; the accuracy of predictions in personalized medicine; bioinformatics; the importance of the department being accepted by other outside departments and groups; growth of the department; being a female in the sciences; her own background; mentors; Dean Nancy Andrews; whether she brings something different to the table as a female department chair; and the future of the department. Includes a master CD, a use CD, and a transcript.