Duke Medical Center Archive Blog

Oral history interviews are some of our favorite items to share from the Medical Center Archives’ collections. This month we are featuring an interview with Dr. Priya Kishnani. Jessica Roseberry interviewed her on December 29, 2010 as part of the Women in Duke Medicine Oral History Exhibit.  

Dr. Kishnani is the Chen Family Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics at the Duke University School of Medicine. She is also Chief of the Division of Medical Genetics. She was born in Bombay, India. She received her MD in Bombay in 1990. She moved to the United States in 1991 after completing a Pediatric Residency in Mumbai, India. She went on to do a second Pediatric Residency at Duke University Medical Center, and in 1995, she completed a Fellowship in Clinical and Biochemical Genetics at… MORE

Category: Collection Spotlight

Last summer we unveiled the exhibit, Highland Hospital: Portrait of 20th Century Mental Health Care, which documents the management, patient care, and educational programs of a residential psychiatric hospital located in Asheville, North Carolina. We are happy to announce that digital version is now available online.

Like the physical exhibit, Highland Hospital features photographs, administrative documents, promotional brochures, and newspaper clippings from the hospital’s history.  The exhibit explores the history of one regional hospital during the twentieth century including the daily life of its patients and the educational programs available. We hope that this portrait encourages you to… MORE

Category: News

This is Part 3 of a multi part series on the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology (CHMEP) and the records held documenting CHMEP at the Medical Center Archives. In this blog post, we spotlight the Atlantis Dive Series at the CHMEP.

Part 1 “Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology”, gives a brief history of the Duke CHMEP.

Part 2 “NASA, the Apollo Program, and the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology”, highlights the work the CHMEP did with… MORE

Category: Collection Spotlight

Duke University was established in 1924 when James B. Duke, through the Indenture of Trust, designated a gift that transformed Trinity College into a comprehensive research university. The entire university is celebrating Duke’s centennial throughout the entire year of 2024. As part of the centennial celebrations, Duke is spotlighting important individuals from the past 100 years. Below are the Duke Health individuals featured in January-March 2024 along with the archival collections and resources from our collections where you can further research these individuals.

Bessie Baker     
First Dean of the Duke School of Nursing     
Her professional papers:… MORE

Category: Collection Spotlight

MEDSpace is the Duke University Medical Center Archives’ Digital Repository. Digital repositories are “the technical infrastructure, services, and resources for the storage and management of digital information” (Society of American Archivist’s Dictionary of Archives Terminology).

Did you know that MEDSpace contains numerous publications from across Duke Health, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, and other affiliated programs? See below of a listing of some of the publications available to peruse. While some of the publications are now defunct, others are updated as new publications become available.

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  Category: Collection Highlights

The Duke University Medical Center Archives (DUMCA) actively collects the official records of the DUMC and DUHS departments and divisions, including a variety of materials that provide evidence of business, interests, and activities through the years. In doing so, the DUMCA serves as the institutional memory of the DUMC and DUHS by collecting, preserving, and making accessible materials that provide evidence of day to operations. Guided by our collection development policy, we strive to document the intellectual, administrative, social, cultural, and visual history of the DUMC and DUHS in order to provide evidence of past actions and contribute to an understanding of the structure and history of the DUMC and DUHS.

See below for a listing of materials added to the DUMCA. The… MORE

Category: News

Mrs. Jessie Parker Smith, LPN, was a member of the first graduating classes of the Durham School of Practical Nursing during the late 1940s, as well as one of the cohorts of what is now known as the "Trailblazers", the first African American nurses hired by Duke. Smith remained a nurse at Duke for over 40 years. Initially a surgical nurse, she came to work with a variety of patients and specialties over her career. Tireless in her advocacy for the profession, Smith was an active member and Treasurer of the North Carolina Licensed Practical Nurses Association.

In April of 2022, Smith donated the North Carolina Licensed Practical Nurses Association (NCLPNA) Records to the Duke University Medical Center Archives. The NCLPNA was a predominately African American nursing group, and… MORE

Category: News, Collection Spotlight

Mrs. Jessie Parker Smith, LPN, was a member of the first graduating classes of the Durham School of Practical Nursing during the late 1940s, as well as one of the cohorts of what is now known as the "Trailblazers", the first African American nurses hired by Duke. Smith remained a nurse at Duke for over 40 years. Initially a surgical nurse, she came to work with a variety of patients and specialties over her career. Tireless in her advocacy for the profession, Smith was an active member and Treasurer of the North Carolina Licensed Practical Nurses Association.

In April of 2022, Smith donated the North Carolina Licensed Practical Nurses Association (NCLPNA) Records to the Duke University Medical Center Archives. The NCLPNA was a predominately African American nursing group, and… MORE

Category: News, Collection Spotlight

Joining a Community of Care: Duke Midwifery Service
Medical Center Library & Archives - Level 1
On Display February- May 2024

We are excited to announce the installation of a new physical exhibit on Level 1 of the Medical Center Library & Archives as well as a companion digital exhibit.  

The foundation of the exhibit are five oral history interviews with nurse midwives and other birth workers in Durham. These interviews were conducted by Josephine McRobbie and were made possible with a grant from… MORE

Category: News

Starting in August 2021, we’ve highlighted the Medical Center Archives’ rich oral history collection of over 350 interviews spanning from the 1960s to present day. These oral histories provide a space for the medical center’s history to be told in the words of the individuals who witnessed and participated in that history. Capturing these interviews ensures that the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants are added to the historical record.

In Part 8 of this series, we want to introduce you to our newest group of oral histories documenting Duke’s involvement with maternal health in Durham from the late 1990s and into the 21st century through interviews with members of the Duke Midwifery Service (DMS) and the Durham County Health Department. These oral… MORE

Category: Collection Highlights

This is Part 2 of a multi part series on the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology (CHMEP) and the records held documenting CHMEP at the Medical Center Archives.

Part 1 “Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology”, gives a brief history of the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology (CHMEP).

Part 3: “How Low Can you Go? Atlantis Dive Series at the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology” 

Part 4: "… MORE

Category: Collection Spotlight

Kayla Cavenaugh joined the Archives staff as an Intern in August 2023. During her internship at the Medical Center Archives, Kayla will process archival collections, write archival description, create finding aids, assist with acquisitions, as well as assist with the selection of images and writing metadata for MEDSpace and MediaBeacon. Her first project is to help complete the processing of the North Carolina Licensed Practical Nurses Association Records.

Kayla earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Art History and German with a minor in English, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. After graduating, she served as a Fulbright English-Language Teaching Assistant in the rural community of Murau, Austria. In 2017, she learned to read Old German Script through a course… MORE

Category: News

Emma Eubank joined the Archives staff as an Intern in August 2023. During her internship at the Medical Center Archives, Emma will process archival collections, write archival descriptions, create finding aids, and assist with acquisitions. Her first project is to process the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology Records to make the collection available to researchers. 

Emma earned a BA in Anthropology and Medieval & Renaissance Studies from William & Mary in 2022. She is now in the dual degree program between the North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill working towards a MA in Public History from NCSU and a MSLS with a… MORE

Category: News

Archives Month is an annual, month-long observance of the agencies and people responsible for maintaining and making available the archival and historical records of our nation, state, communities, and people. Archives serve as the memory of our nation, and by celebrating, we recognize and give legitimacy to the enduring value of American records and America’s archives.

We encourage you to check out our Instagram account where we'll be highlighting treasures from the Medical Center Archives collection all month long.

This year the Society of North Carolina Archivists theme is for Archives Month is “Scandals, Nuisance, Calamity, and Anguish in the Archives… MORE

Category: News

Location: Medical Center Library & Archives, Level 1

Date: Tuesday, October 31, 11am – 2pm

Please join us for the Duke University Medical Center Archives’ annual Halloween event! This casual open house event will feature a selection of odd, intriguing, and rarely seen materials from our collections. 

All are invited to drop in to view detailed medical illustrations, touch old medical instruments, explore forgotten stories from the history of Duke Health, and much more. 

Come by for a fun break to learn some history and enjoy free Halloween candy!

Category: News