Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Lois Whaley Highsmith, Lois Whaley Highsmith, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

After originally studying chemical engineering at Penn State, Lois Highsmith decided to instead pursue nursing. At Jefferson she found a passion for community health nursing, specifically related to obstetrics, gynecology, and maternal child health. Ms. Highsmith graduated in 1986 and over the years worked mostly in maternal care but also in psychology. Among other positions, she worked for ten years at Pennsylvania Hospital where she founded STEPS, Strategies to Encourage Parental Self-Sufficiency, a teen pregnancy clinic, and worked as a home visitor for Mercy Home Health educating new moms about postpartum care. Since 2002 she has worked for Nurse Family …

Vera Paoletti, Vera Paoletti, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Vera Paoletti became interested in nursing as a teenager after watching a close family member succumb to leukemia. This experience led her to work as a candy striper at Jefferson Hospital through her high school years and then enroll in the Jefferson Hospital School of Nursing in 1966. Once she graduated in 1969 Ms. Paoletti began her career as a nurse at Jefferson, first in surgery on Ninth Pavilion and then in oncology on Eleventh Pavilion before becoming head nurse first of a nineteen-bed unit reserved for VIPs and then two years later of Sixth Main. In 1975 she left …

Joan Walker Randolph, Joan Walker Randolph, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Joan Randolph is a 1956 graduate of the Jefferson School of Nursing’s Diploma Program. Though she enjoyed all of her nursing rotations as a student, upon graduation she decided to go into medical-surgical nursing, starting her career at Jefferson Hospital working with, among others, Dr. John Gibbon. After leaving Jefferson, Ms. Randolph spent the bulk of her career at Jeanes Hospital, where she worked her way up from staff nurse to head nurse and eventually on to Vice President of Patient Care Services. Though now retired Ms. Randolph continues to be involved with the field of nursing by serving on …

Colleen Young Elwood, Colleen Young Elwood, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Colleen Young Elwood discovered her interest in nursing after finishing a Bachelor’s of Science in psychology and starting her career at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Learning about diabetes and working with diabetics sparked an interest in public and community health so she enrolled in Thomas Jefferson University’s two-year BSN program, which she graduated from in 2013. While at Jefferson her clinical experiences confirmed she was not interested in hospital nursing but instead in community nursing. After graduating she started working at Nurse Family Partnership, first as an intern and then as a Nurse-Home Visitor, where she helps new mothers during …

Grace Spena, Grace Spena, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Grace Spena grew up with an interest in health sciences, first wanting to be a medical laboratory technologist and later a registered nurse after attending an open house on nursing at Saint Agnes Hospital, where she volunteered as a teenager. Upon completing her education in 1971 from the Jefferson Diploma School of Nursing, Ms. Spena began her career as a Staff Nurse in the Surgical ICU at Jefferson Hospital. She then went to Medical College of Pennsylvania, working as a Staff Nurse in the combined Medical/Surgical ICU and later as the Head Nurse of the 3 West Medical/Surgical unit. After …

Eileen Healy Garrity, Eileen Healy Garrity, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Eileen Garrity’s first draw to the medical field came through her interest in Christiaan Barnard’s work as a cardiac surgeon. After deciding to pursue nursing instead of medicine, Ms. Garrity entered the Jefferson School of Nursing’s Diploma program, graduating in 1976. She began her career as an ER and ICU nurse, working at Atlantic City Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, and Mercy Fitzgerald. She eventually left hospital nursing to work at Blue Cross, ending there as the manager of their risk programs department before moving on to Taylor Hospital as a director of social work case management and later manager of …

Breanne Ward, Breanne Ward, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Though she originally decided to become an accountant during college, Breanne Ward soon realized she would rather be in a field where she could work more closely with people. She chose nursing because she wanted the opportunity to physically care for others. Ms. Ward was accepted as a nursing student in Jefferson’s Full-time Accelerated Coursework Track (FACT) program, during which time she discovered an interest in community health through both her non-hospital clinical experiences and volunteering with Jeff HEALTH (Helping East Africa Link To Health). After working in the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and completing her Master’s in Community Systems …

Pat Owens, Pat Owens, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

From a young age Pat Owens had a strong interest in nursing, and as a high school student she was even the President of her school’s Future Nurses Club. However, she also really liked home economics so when she went to college she decided to pursue home economics rather than nursing. After working as at the Dairy Council as a nutrition consultant and later at Campbell’s Soup in their test kitchen, Ms. Owens decided that she wanted to instead pursue a career in nursing. After looking into different programs in the Philadelphia area, she chose Jefferson, entering in 1990 and …

Mary Greenwood Schaal, Mary Greenwood Schaal, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Dr. Schaal graduated from Jefferson’s Nursing Diploma Program in 1963 and received her BSN from Jefferson in 1981. Though she started her career as an operating room nurse she soon discovered an interest in public health. After coming back to Jefferson for her Bachelor’s degree and then going on to the University of Pennsylvania for her Master’s degree and Rutgers for her Doctorate, she began teaching Community Health to nursing students at Rutgers in Camden. Dr. Schaal then went on to teach in MCP Hahnemann’s graduate program, which is now Drexel, before coming back to Thomas Jefferson University and ending …

Aileen Ishuin Macmillan, Aileen Ishuin Macmillan, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Aileen Ishuin MacMillan did not grow up wanting to be a nurse, but after two years of college in Montclair not knowing what she wanted to do, Ms. MacMillan decided by chance to pursue nursing at Jefferson. After graduating in 1976 from the Diploma program she took a job as a nurse in the maternity ward of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. During her forty year career at Jefferson Ms. MacMillan also completed her BSN at Gwynedd Mercy University. She remains very involved in Jefferson Nursing, serving on both the Jefferson Nursing College Alumni Board and, as president, on the Diploma …

Karen Jordan, Karen Jordan, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Karen Jordan was a member of the civil rights movement in Philadelphia during the 1960s, first becoming involved with the fight to desegregate Girard College. After a semester at Cheyney University Ms. Jordan took time away from school before deciding to study nursing. She enrolled in the Jefferson Diploma Nursing program in 1973 and graduated in 1976. She would later go on to also receive her Bachelor’s in Nursing Science, also from Thomas Jefferson University. Ms. Jordan has spent her long career at Jefferson working as a medical-surgical, oncology, and neonatal nurse. In her free …

Mary Woltemate Stec, Mary Woltemate Stec, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Dr. Stec began her nursing career in 1973 as a graduate of Jefferson’s Nursing Diploma School. She would go on to receive her BS in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania, her MSN from Gwynedd Mercy College, and her PhD in Nursing from Widener University. Dr. Stec has spent the majority of her career as a nursing educator, including as an instructor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital School of Nursing, Gwynedd Mercy College, and Abington Memorial Hospital Dixon School of Nursing. She is now an Assistant Professor at Temple University. She is also a Certified Nurse Educator, an Evaluator for …

Katherine Kingsley Kinsey, Katherine Kingsley Kinsey, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Dr. Kinsey received her nursing diploma from the Jefferson Hospital School of Nursing in 1963 and later a BS in Education and School Health from Millersville University. She also has a BS in Nursing, Magna Cum Laude, a MS in Nursing in Community Health, and a PhD in Education, all from the University of Pennsylvania. She currently serves as the Nurse Administrator and Principal Investigator for the Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), the Mabel Morris Family Home Visit Program (MM), and other early childhood initiatives. Previously, Dr. Kinsey was a tenured professor at La Salle University School of Nursing where she …

Patricia Maro Dehart, Patricia Maro Dehart, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Patricia Maro DeHart first became interested in nursing in high school when she first volunteered, and later worked, as a nurses’ aide in a local nursing home. She decided to attend Jefferson’s Diploma Nursing program and graduated in 1977. After starting her career in medical surgery at West Jersey Hospital she then worked as an OB-GYN nurse at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital for eleven years. As her career progressed she moved to Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she held a number of varied positions that allowed her to combine both her degrees in nursing and business, including as account executive and government …

Amilu Martin Stewart, Amilu Martin Stewart, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. Stewart spent her career as a surgeon and was in the first class of women who graduated from the Jefferson Medical College. When she started medical school she was married with a newborn baby, and even when her second child was born during her third year, she was only able to take a week off in order to retain her place within the medical college Despite an initial interest in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Stewart pursued a residency in general surgery and a fellowship in transplantation surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She maintained an active …

Stella Jedrziewski Wawrynovic, Genevieve Jedrziewski Williams, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

This oral history was completed with Genevieve (Jenny) Williams about her older sister Stella Jedrziewski Wawrynovic, a 1940 graduate of Jefferson's Nursing Training School.

Stella Jedrziewski Wawrynovic was born in Osceola Mills, Pennsylvania to Polish immigrants. Her parents championed the importance of education for all of their children, and so when the oldest daughter Stella graduated from high school in 1936 she moved to Philadelphia to pursue a nursing degree at Jefferson's Nursing School. She began her career at Jefferson before joining the Army during WWII to work as a nurse. After the war she returned to Jefferson, where she …

Barbara Tenney, Barbara Tenney, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. Tenney knew from a very young age she wanted to become a pediatrician and first discovered her love of interacting with patients as a candy striper. After graduating from Wilson College she attended Jefferson Medical College, graduating in 1971. She then completed her fellowship and residency at New York University - Bellevue Hospital Center, where she helped establish a child abuse team. She left NYU and Bellevue Hospital Center for West Virginia for three years before rejoining the NYU faculty and becoming the Director of Pediatrics at Booth Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Tenney eventually joined a group practice in …

Kathleen Mcnicholas, Kathleen Mcnicholas, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. McNicholas graduated from Chestnut Hill College and worked in Radiation Oncology at the Stein Center before coming to Jefferson Medical College in 1969. Dr. McNicholas had a passion for medicine from a young age, in part because her father was a doctor and Jefferson grad. She first discovered her interest in surgery after working closely with Dr. John Templeton while a student and taking a surgery elective at Chestnut Hill Hospital. Upon graduation Dr. McNicholas went to Columbia, where she completed her internship, residency, and fellowship in Cardiac Surgery. In addition to her career as a cardiac surgeon Dr. …

Nancy Szwec Czarnecki, Nancy Czarnecki, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. Czarnecki was both the first woman to matriculate to and the first woman to graduate from Jefferson Medical College. She first learned that Jefferson was accepting women students from a newspaper notice while still at Temple University. After graduating Alpha Omega Alpha she continued her training in family medicine at Nazareth Hospital in Philadelphia. She then went on to form a family practice with her husband in Port Richmond. Upon leaving private practice in the early 1990’s Dr. Czarnecki became the Senior Medical Director at Prudential Healthcare and later the Patient Management Medical Director for Aetna’s Northeast Region.

Over …

Marie Olivieri Russell And Sarah Sundborg Long, Sarah Long, Marie Russell, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Marie Olivieri Russell

Dr. Russell attended Jefferson Medical College where she graduated top of her class in 1970. In addition to being the first woman to receive the Alumni Prize for highest cumulative GPA, in 1971 she became the first student to serve as a full voting member of the Board of Trustees at Jefferson. After graduation she completed both a residency in Pediatrics and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology Oncology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia before continuing on as a part of their academic staff until 1981 and managing the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program. After leaving Children’s and academic …

Anita Robinson, Anita Robinson, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. Robinson attended Morgan State University in Baltimore for her undergraduate degree before coming to the University of Pennsylvania for graduate school. However, she soon realized that she was more interested in medicine than bench research so after completing her first year of graduate school she transferred to Jefferson Medical College. After graduating in 1974 Dr. Robinson went to Martin Luther King Junior General Hospital in Los Angeles for her residency in Pediatrics. She then went to New York University to pursue a fellowship in Adolescent Pediatrics. Upon finishing her fellowship she worked briefly at DC General Hospital before accepting …

Mary Osbakken, Mary Osbakken, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. Osbakken graduated from the University of Illinois with her undergraduate degree and Master’s degree in Physiology before coming to Jefferson to complete a PhD in Physiology. After graduating in 1969 she began teaching at Beaver College (now Arcadia University) and concurrently pursuing a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University. She then went on to earn an M.D. from Temple University Medical School. Dr. Osbakken completed her internship at Pennsylvania Hospital before taking fellowships in Cardiology and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at Temple University Medical School, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital. After her fellowships she worked …

Anna Marie D'Amico, Anna Marie D'Amico, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. D’Amico entered Jefferson Medical College in 1968 after spending three years as a biology major at Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. After graduating from Jefferson in 1972 she did her internship and residency at Wilmington General Hospital before going into practice on her own in 1976. Dr. D’Amico retired from practice in 2007. Since then she has volunteered at the Claymont Family Health Clinic, a clinic for the uninsured, and from 2009-2011 she was the Medical Director of Planned Parenthood of Delaware. Most recently she is the Medical Director of a new medical spa.

Dr. D’Amico has …

Bonnie Lee Ashby, Bonnie Lee Ashby, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. Ashby completed her undergraduate studies at Wilson College before attending Jefferson Medical College, where she graduated in 1968. She did both her internship and residency at Bryn Mawr Hospital before accepting an infectious disease fellowship at Lankenau Hospital. Dr. Ashby is still in practice today as a general practitioner and Infectious Disease specialist in Bryn Mawr. She is also the Medical Director of the Quadrangle Life Care Community in Haverford, PA.

Margaret Libonati Leahy, Margaret Libonati, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. Libonati wanted to be a physician from an early age, but she knew that she could not afford to attend college right after high school so she decided to attend nursing school with plans to work her way through college and then medical school. After graduating from St. Joseph’s Nursing School she enrolled as a chemistry major in the Chestnut Hill College Pre-Med program. At the end of her second year she learned that Jefferson Medical College was planning to accept women for the first time. She soon became one of the first women in Jefferson’s Class of 1965. …

Sonia Schorr Sloan, Sonia Sloan, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Ms. Sonia Schorr Sloan received her Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University in 1949. Upon graduation she went to Jefferson Medical College to pursue a Master of Science degree in Microbiology, where she became the first woman to receive any degree from the University. From Jefferson Ms. Sloan went to teach in the Department of Microbiology at Temple Medical School for two years before being hired as the first woman to work in the Central Research Department at DuPont. From the 1950s onward Ms. Sloan has been involved with a variety of community and political organizations, many of them …

Carolyn Parry Decker, Carolyn Decker, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. Parry, a Pennsylvania native, graduated from Abington Friends School in 1957. She went on to attend Beaver College (now Arcadia University), where she graduated in 1961 before coming to Jefferson Medical College, becoming a member of the first class to accept women. After graduating in 1965, Dr. Parry completed an internship at Chestnut Hill Hospital before returning to Jefferson to complete her residency in Radiology.

Dr. Parry went on to become an Assistant Professor in Radiology at Jefferson Medical College and subsequently a Clinical Associate Professor of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. At Pennsylvania Hospital, …

Merle Gross Salerno Edelstein, Merle Edelstein, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Dr. Edelstein is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who works with children, adolescents, and adults. After graduating from Jefferson Medical College in 1965 with the first class of women, she completed her internship at Bryn Mawr and did her residency training in Psychiatry at Hahneman University Hospital and Albert Einstein Medical Center. She did her analytic training at the Philadelphia Association for Psychoanalysis.

Kay Ellen Burdette Frank And Linda Lane Izquierdo, Linda Izquierdo, Ellen Frank, Kelsey Duinkerken

First Women at Jefferson Oral Histories

Kay Ellen Burdette Frank

Dr. Frank graduated from Bethany College in West Virginia before starting at Jefferson Medical College in 1965. Dr. Frank completed her residency in Ophthalmology in Cleveland and then spent nineteen years on the staff at Case Western Reserve University. From there she went to Kaiser, where she worked for eighteen years before retiring and moving to West Virginia.

Linda Lane Izquierdo

Dr. Izquierdo attended the College of William and Mary for her undergraduate degree and received her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1969. She continued her training in Radiology at Temple University and Case …

Lecture Introductory To His Course Of Lectures For 1843-4., Charles D. Meigs, Md

Jefferson Medical College Opening Addresses

No abstract provided.