Nursing, School of, Records, 1930-2006

Collection Number: AR.0048
School of Nursing Records, 1930-2006

Access Restrictions

This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals or IRB approval may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Duke University assumes no responsibility.

Contains University administrative records. These include records of the officers of the University, as defined in the Bylaws, the deans of schools and colleges, and departments, institutes, and other offices as designated by the President. For a period of twenty-five years from the origin of the material, permission in writing from the director of the office of record and the University Archivist is required for use. After twenty-five years, records that have been processed may be consulted with the permission of the University Archivist. (Issued by the Office of the Chancellor, December 1, 1975)

Copyright Notice

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], School of Nursing Records, Duke University Medical Center Archives.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Collections may contain Medical Center Administrative records. These include records of the officers of the University, as defined in the Bylaws, the deans of schools and colleges, and departments, institutes, and other offices as designated by the President. For a period of twenty-five years from the origin of the material, permission in writing from the director of the office of record and the Medical Center Archivist is required for use. After twenty-five years, records that have been processed may be consulted with the permission of the Medical Center Archivist.

Collection may contain Records of the Board of Trustees of the Duke University Medical Center. These include minutes and supporting documentation of the Board, its Executive Committee, and standing and ad hoc committees, and reports, studies, and the like presented solely to the Board. Records which have been existence for at least fifty years are available for scholarly research with the permission of the Medical Center Archivist. Access to records which have been in existence for less than fifty years shall be granted only by special permission, in writing, of the Medical Center Board of Trustees.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings and Medical Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collectionsuch as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the Archives' Digital Repository.

• Baker, Bessie B.
• Booth, Rachel Z.
• Brown, Myrtle Irene
• Brundage, Dorothy J., 1930-
• Duke University--Alumni and alumnae.
• Duke University--Faculty.
• Duke University--Students--Societies, etc.
• Jacobansky, Ann
• Pinkerton, Margaret
• Sigma Theta Tau International.
• Wilson, Florence K.
• Wilson, Ruby Leila
• Education, Nursing
• Initiations (into trades, societies, etc.)
• Societies, Nursing--history
• Students, Nursing

The plan for developing a School of Nursing was put into motion by Duke University School of Medicine's first dean, Wilburt Cornell Davison. In 1930, Davison recruited Bessie Baker to become the first dean of the School of Nursing. Baker served as dean, instructor, recruiter, and hospital liaison at Duke University. In 1931, Baker recruited and selected the first students to enroll in the new three-year diploma program.

In 1938, the school began awarding baccalaureate degrees to students who completed two years of college along with the nursing curricula. In 1953, a four-year professional program in nursing leading to the bachelor of nursing degree was established. In 1958, a graduate program to prepare clinical nurse specialists began. This master's program, which prepared advanced practitioners for clinical practice, was the forerunner of graduate nursing programs nationally.

Today, the School of Nursing offers a Bachelors of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, joint master's degrees, and a post-master's certificate in a variety of majors preparing students as clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, nurse administrators, and clinical research managers. The Duke University School of Nursing is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission and by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

In addition to the School of Nursing's academic and clinical functions, the school sponsors two major student associations: the Duke University School of Nursing Alumni Association and the Graduate Nursing Student Association. The Duke University School of Nursing Alumni Association is an affiliate of the Duke University General Alumni Association. The purpose of the Alumni Association is to cultivate fellowship among alumni and with current students, as well as providing opportunities for involvement in Duke University Alumni Affairs Association. The Nursing Alumni Affairs administrative office is housed within the Office of External Affairs. The office also provides opportunities for alumni to inform their classmates about changes in their lives and careers by sending information for publication in the class notes section of in the annual newsletter. The Nursing Alumni Association membership dues enable the Alumni Association to sponsor the following programs p! rojects like publishing In Touch, the annual newsletter, provides student support and assistance such as mid-year graduation events, networking events and attendance at professional conferences, providing recognition and awards during Reunion Weekend, and sponsoring Reunion Weekend events.

The Graduate Nursing Student Association (GNSA) is the student organization of the Duke University School of Nursing for graduate and accelerated B.S.N. students. The purpose of the association is to serve the student's educational and professional needs and provide a formal structure for student participation in a wide variety of events within the school. The GNSA is the governing body of the students of the school and the source of information of importance to students. Each year, the GNSA sponsors the award for Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year. The recipient of this award is chosen by students; the president of the GNSA presents the award during the school's annual Hooding and Recognition Ceremony.

Other social and honorary groups like Santa Filomena, Sigma Kappa, and Sigma Theta Tau have all contributed to Duke University School of Nursing student life. Santa Filomena, the senior honorary society of the Duke University School of Nursing, was organized in April 1944 under the sponsorship of the 1943 class. The purpose of the organization was to recognize achievement and promote leadership. New members were chosen to join the society during the end of their junior years, with new membership making up not more than twenty percent of members of the senior class. Other Santa Filomena chapters at Watts School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and North Carolina State University were active throughout the 1960s. The Duke University chapter dissolved around 1967.

The Alpha Psi chapter of Sigma Kappa was installed at Duke University in January of 1931 with ten charter members. In the early 1960s, the sorority revived itself with a renewed focus on education and scholarship. Sorority officers also focused on instilling standards of health, personal grooming, and refined manners in their members. There are few records documenting the sorority's activities from 1931 to 1960. The Alpha Psi chapter dissolved sometime after 1967.

In the spring of 1972 the Beta Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing, was established at Duke with a charter membership of 100 students, faculty, and alumni. Sigma Theta Tau is the only international honor society for nursing and is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. The society recognizes achievement of superior quality, fosters high professional standards, encourages creative work, recognizes the development of leadership qualities and strengthens the individual's commitment to the ideals and purposes of professional nursing. The induction ceremony is held once a year in the fall.

The School of Nursing is located on Trent Drive on the Duke University Medical Center campus, in close proximity to Duke Hospital, Duke Clinics, as well as the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Hanes House, which is directly across the breezeway from the School of Nursing, contains additional space shared by the School of Nursing, the Department of Community and Family Medicine, and Duke University Health Systems Education. Currently, sixteen offices in Hanes House are dedicated to School of Nursing faculty and staff. Other School of Nursing facilities are located at Duke Hospital South and the on Ninth Street in Durham.

Organized into multiple series: Accreditation Files, 1938-1982; Alumni Association Records, 1930-1995; Class Records and Class Photographs, 1934-1984; Committees, 1941-1984; Dean's Subject Files, 1944-1988; Distributive Nursing Conferences, 1973-1978; Faculty Meeting Minutes, 1939-1984; Grant Materials, 1967-1991; Nursing Student Government Association, 1938-1984; Planning and Retrenchment, 1953-1982 (bulk 1979-1982); Santa Filomena, circa 1943-1967; Sigma Kappa. Alpha Psi Chapter Records, 1960-1967; Publications, 1939-1983; Photographs and Ephemera, circa 1930-1989; Harriet Cook Carter lectureship materials, 1966-1972; A2005-038: Records, 1959-2003; Programs, Publications, and Bulletins, 1989-2004; A2006-001: Audiovisual Course and Research Materials, 2002-2004; A2006-042: Scrapbooks, 1957-1984; A2004-046: Scrapbooks, 1933-1966; A2004-046: Publications, Programs, and Bulletins, 1992-2006; and A2004-046: Audiovisual Materials, 1990-2001.

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