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MARY ANN WHITAKER ROBINSON STUDENT
NURSING PAPERS, 1955 - 1959, 1985, #499
By Grace Meyer, August 30, 1994
HISTORY
During her summer holidays while in high school, Mary Ann Whitaker
worked at Memorial Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, as a nurse's aid.
This cemented her long-standing desire to become a nurse and she entered
Memorial Hospital's school of nursing on September 6, 1955. In 1956, she
earned her cap and bib after completing her probationary period. She
graduated in 1958 and in October of that successfully passed the
Delaware State professional licensure examination to become a Registered
Nurse. Soon afterwards, she married and became Mary Ann Robinson. She
has worked in hospitals in Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia in
obstetrics, critical care units and infection control. As of 1991, she
was employed at Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia.
In 1985, the 80 year old Memorial Hospital in Wilmington was closed
and the building demolished to prepare the site for a twin high-rise
condominium.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The materials mainly concern the nursing program at Memorial Hospital
and Miss Whitaker's years as a student there between 1955 and 1958.
Included are residence policies, student government regulations,
pamphlets about the "Guild of St. Barnabas for Nurses," and
other materials related to the school's history. There are photo prints
of Miss Whitaker and her classmates as a probationer and at her
graduation ceremony, along with a 1959 Yearbook from the school. Of
particular interest are two original drawings of Miss Whitaker done by a
patient while an affiliate student at the Philadelphia General Hospital
in 1957. Also included is an autobiographical narrative prepared by Mrs.
Robinson in 1991. Lastly, the collection includes photocopies of news
clippings about the 1985 demolition of Memorial Hospital.
PROVENANCE
Mary Ann Robinson (nee Whitaker) donated this collection -- along
with her student nurse's uniform -- to the Division of Medical Science,
NMAH, in December 1991. These papers were transferred to the Archives
Center in August 1993.
Container List
Box 1
Folder 1, Memorial Hospital School of Nursing
Booklet, n.d., Residence Policy and Regulations, n.d., Student
Government Association Handbook, 1957, Student Government Constitution
and By-Laws, 1957; 2, "Guild of St. Barnabas for
Nurses" Pamphlet, 1955; 3, Probation & Capping
Ceremony, 1955-1957; 4, Graduation, 1958 (click here
to view a sample from this folder); 5, Certificate - Board of
Nurse Examiners, 1958; 6, 1959 year book, The Lamp; 7,
100th Anniversary Homeopathic-Memorial Hospital and Nurses Alumnae
Association, 1891-1991 Booklet; 8, Autobiography &
Resume; 9, Drawings of Miss Whitaker done by a Patient, 1957; 10,
Photocopies of News clippings re: demolition of Memorial Hospital 1985
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