Collections

Pastoral services are available at all Duke Health hospitals any time of day or night. The chaplaincy program at Duke Hospital was started by P. Wesley Aitken shortly after Aikten's graduation from Duke Divinity School in July 1956. Contains a portrait of P. Wesley Aitken. Portrait is undated.

Dr. W. Gerald Austen, MD, a pioneer in the field of cardiac surgery, was the chief of the Surgical Services at Massachusetts General Hospital for 29 years, as well as a friend and colleague of Dr. David C. Sabiston. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on September 9, 2019 by Emily Stewart and is part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interview, Austen discusses his early life and education; his work at Massachusetts General Hospital; Dr. David and Agnes Sabiston, including first meeting David Sabiston and his first stroke; his wife, Patty Austen; the history of open heart surgery; and the Duke Department of Surgery.

Dr. Pamela Susan Douglas, MD, a cardiologist, specializes in diagnostic imaging of the heart. Her research has been instrumental in setting standards for the application and interpretation of echocardiograms. Douglas is the Ursula Geller Professor of Research in Cardiovascular Diseases in the Department of Medicine at Duke University, as well as the Director of the Multimodality Imaging Program at Duke Clinical Research Institute. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on September 23, 2020 by Joseph O'Connell as part of the Department of Medicine's Oral History Project. In the interview, Douglas discusses her career trajectory, her work in protocols and standards related to echocardiography and imaging technologies, and how she has contributed to efforts related to diversity and burnout in the field of cardiology. The themes of these interviews include medical standards, heart disease, and diversity and inclusion in medicine.

Alfred Gras (1920-2007) was a graduate of Duke University Medical School in 1944. He went into internal medical practice in Newark and Nutley, New Jersey; and Vermont. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on September 23, 2005 by Jessica Roseberry. Gras discusses his medical education and his experience of being the first student at Duke to receive penicillin.

George W. Newton was the former head of Duke's surgical instrument shop.