Lois Whaley Highsmith

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 Partnership, a home visiting program for first-time pregnant women that teaches women about child development, pregnancy, women’s health, and community resources.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/nursing_oral_histories/1014/thumbnail.jp

Jefferson Digital Commons quarterly report: October-December 2018

This quarterly report includes: Articles Dissertations From the Archives Grand Rounds and Lectures Industrial Design Capstones Journals and Newsletters LabArchives Launch Masters of Public Health Capstones Posters Reports Videos What People are Saying About the Jefferson Digital Common

Jefferson Digital Commons quarterly report: April-June 2019

This quarterly report includes: Articles CREATE Day Presentations Dissertations From the Archives Grand Rounds and Lectures House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Posters JCIPE Student Hotspotting Posters Journals and Newsletters MPH Capstone Presentations Posters Sigma Xi Research Day What People are Saying About the Jefferson Digital Common

Women at Jeff: New Oral Histories Posted to the JDC

The Archives and Special Collections is posting oral history interviews with some of the first women to attend Jefferson. The interviews explore how each woman became interested in the sciences or medicine, their time at Jefferson Medical College, and where their careers took them after graduate school

Anna Marie D\u27Amico

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 been professionally involved in ACOG, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, for more than twenty years and has held a variety of leadership positions in the organization, most notably as the first woman District III Chair from 2004-2007.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/oral_histories/1007/thumbnail.jp

Jefferson Digital Commons quarterly report: July-September 2018

This quarterly report includes: New Collection Alert Articles Code Red: Battling the Plague of Gun Violence Dissertations From the Archives Grand Rounds and Lectures House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Posters Journals and Newsletters Nexus Maximus Posters Third Annual Sepsis Symposium What People are Sayin

Karen Jordan

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 time she remains involved with the Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/nursing_oral_histories/1002/thumbnail.jp

Barbara Tenney

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 North Carolina before becoming part of the faculty at East Carolina University. She most recently worked in Pennsylvania before retiring. Throughout the years Dr. Tenney has been a member of numerous professional societies, most notably the American Academy of Pediatrics, where she was the National Chairperson of the Provisional Committee on Opportunities for Women in Pediatrics and of which she is a Fellow. Dr. Tenney is also Chair of Wilson College’s Board of Trustees.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/oral_histories/1013/thumbnail.jp

Nancy Szwec Czarnecki

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 the years Dr. Czarnecki has remained very involved with Jefferson. She has served as Chairperson of the Alumni Trustee Committee, the Career Day Committee, and the Women’s Forum Committee. In 1989 she became the first woman to serve as President of the Jefferson Medical College Alumni Association, and in 2003 she joined the University Board of Trustees as an Alumni Trustee. She has also been the reunion chairman for the class of 1965 since 1970. Dr. Czarnecki has been retired since 2008 and spends her time divided between Florida and New Jersey.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/oral_histories/1011/thumbnail.jp

Kathleen McNicholas

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. McNicholas also has a law degree and a Masters in Health Law. She currently works as Christiana Care’s Medical Director for Performance Improvement.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/oral_histories/1012/thumbnail.jp