Descriptive Summary
Repository: University of Virginia School of Nursing, Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry
Title: Rosemary T. McCarthy Papers
Physical Characteristics: 1.5 linear feet; 03 boxes
Language: English
Collector: Rosemary T. McCarthy.
Biographical Information
Rosemary Teresa McCarthy (1926-2012) was a member of the United States Army Nurse Corps for thirty years, retiring at the rank of Colonel in 1983. McCarthy earned a diploma in Nursing in 1948 from the McLean Hospital School of Nursing, in her native Massachusetts, followed in 1957 by a B.S. in Nursing Education at the University of Minnesota, a Master's in biology from Boston University in 1967, and a Doctor of Nursing Science degree from the Catholic University of America in 1974. Lieutenant Colonel Phyllis J. Verhonick, an early and strong proponent of nursing research, served as Dr. McCarthy's mentor in the Army Nurse Corps, and encouraged McCarthy to publish a number of research studies, among them projects related to cardio-pulmonary capacity, metabolism, and vomiting. In civilian life, Dr. McCarthy held an adjunct professorship at the Catholic University School of Nursing for many years.
McCarthy's initial military assignments came as a staff and head nurse in surgical intensive care and post-anesthesia recovery, and included postings in Korea, then embroiled in the Korean conflict. She held instructional responsibilities at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco, and in nursing service direction at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. She also served as a nursing service consultant for the U.S. Surgeon General's office. After her retirement, McCarthy joined the Korean War Veteran's Memorial Advisory Board, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. She served as the only female member of that twelve-person commission -- and the only nurse -- guiding the difficult war-memorial design process to conclusion in 1995. Her interest in nursing history extended beyond the Korean Memorial commission, and in fact, her last active-duty posting was a five-year assignment as the historian for the Army Nurse Corps. At this time, in the spring of 1979, McCarthy co-founded the Historical Methodology Research Interest Group, a precursor to the American Association for the History of Nursing (AAHN), for which she served as president from 1986-88.
Scope and Content
The bulk of the Rosemary T. McCarthy Papers concern Dr. McCarthy's interests and activities after her retirement from the Army Nurse Corps in 1983. Chief among these is her participation in the Korean War Veterans' Memorial Advisory Committee, documented in correspondence, publications, photographs, and related materials. Dr. McCarthy's collection of general correspondence ranges from the 1960s to 2004 (with her retirement years again obtaining greatest representation). These letters principally concern professional and academic matters, especially the history of nursing, and include many by McCarthy herself. Also of particular interest are a set of notes and hand-outs from various nursing courses in 1958 and 1967-68, as well as a collection of McCarthy's student papers and research reports, together indicating the state of nursing scholarship and pedagogy at the time. A complete set of McCarthy's military orders traces her career with the Army Nurse Corps from 1953-1983, and a cassette recording of an interview with Colonel Florence A. Blanchfield has been converted to digital media.
Series Description
Arrangement
The materials in the Rosemary T. McCarthy Papers are arranged alphabetically by general subject heading. Items within each folder are in chronological order.
Contents List
ROSEMARY T. McCARTHY: CURRICULUM VITAE, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BURIAL MASS PROGRAM
ca. 1960-1980 Box-Folder: 01-001
CERTIFICATES [9 OVERSIZE CERTIFICATES SHELVED IN OVERSIZE COLLECTION 04-06-005 TO 04-06-013]
1948-2009, n.d. Box-Folder: 01-002
CORRESPONDENCE
1960s Box-Folder: 01-003
CORRESPONDENCE
1971-76 Box-Folder: 01-004
CORRESPONDENCE
1977-78 Box-Folder: 01-005
CORRESPONDENCE
1979-1980 Box-Folder: 01-006
CORRESPONDENCE
1983-84 Box-Folder: 01-007
CORRESPONDENCE
1985. Box-Folder: 01-008
CORRESPONDENCE
1986 Box-Folder: 01-009
CORRESPONDENCE
1987 Box-Folder: 01-010
CORRESPONDENCE
1988 Box-Folder: 01-011
CORRESPONDENCE
1989 Box-Folder: 01-012
CORRESPONDENCE
1991-2004 Box-Folder: 01-013
COURSES: ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY REVIEW
ca. 1968 Box-Folder: 01-014
COURSES: BIOPHYSICAL FOUNDATIONS OF NURSING PRACTICE
1968 Box-Folder: 01-015
COURSES: MEDICAL SPECIALIST ADVANCED COURSE
1958 Box-Folder: 01-016
COURSES: MILITARY NURSING PRACTICE AND RESEARCH [INCOMPLETE]
1967-68 Box-Folder: 01-017
COURSES: MISCELLANEOUS COURSE MATERIAL AND NOTES
1968, n.d. Box-Folder: 01-018
COURSES: NURSING THEORY SEMINAR, HANDOUTS AND NOTES
1967-68 Box-Folder: 01-019
KOREAN WAR VETERANS' MEMORIAL: ADVISORY BOARD: MEMBERSHIP LIST AND MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
1995, n.d. Box-Folder: 02-001
KOREAN WAR VETERANS' MEMORIAL: AUTHORIZING LEGISLATION AND TESTIMONY, WITH RELATED MATERIALS
1986-1991 Box-Folder: 02-002
KOREAN WAR VETERANS' MEMORIAL: DESIGN: CORRESPONDENCE AND RELATED MATERIALS
1989-1991 Box-Folder: 02-003
KOREAN WAR VETERANS' MEMORIAL: EXHIBITION POSTER NOTES
ca. 1989 Box-Folder: 02-004
KOREAN WAR VETERANS' MEMORIAL: MEMORIAL COIN MATERIALS
1991 Box-Folder: 02-005
KOREAN WAR VETERANS' MEMORIAL: PRESS RELEASE, VETERAN'S PERSONAL HISTORY FORM
1987, 1991 Box-Folder: 02-006
KOREAN WAR VETERANS' MEMORIAL: PUBLICATIONS
1988-1991 Box-Folder: 02-007
KOREAN WAR VETERANS' MEMORIAL: GEN. R. G. STILWELL, CHAIRMAN
1989-1991 Box-Folder: 02-008
MILITARY ORDERS
1953-1985, n.d. Box-Folder: 02-009
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS: AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSING (ANA)
1977, 1986 Box-Folder: 02-010
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS: AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE HISTORY OF NURSING (AAHN)
[1986?, 1987?] Box-Folder: 02-011
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS: ARMY NURSE CORPS
1974-[1978?] Box-Folder: 02-012
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS: CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA, INCLUDING DOCTORATE IN NURSING SCIENCE BOOKLET
1968-1988 Box-Folder: 02-013
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS: NURSING PRACTICE REGULATIONS [LOCATION UNIDENTIFIED]
n.d. Box-Folder: 02-014
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS: SOCIETY FOR NURSING HISTORY
1984-88 Box-Folder: 02-015
PAPERS (UNPUBLISHED)
1964-1987, n.d. Box-Folder: 02-016
PHOTOGRAPHS: AMERICAN ACADEMY FOR THE HISTORY OF NURSING (AAHN)
1990, n.d. Box-Folder: 02-017
PHOTOGRAPHS: ARMY NURSE CORPS 100TH ANNIVERSARY
2001 Box-Folder: 02-018
PHOTOGRAPHS: GENERAL, PORTRAITS
ca. 1930-2010, n.d. Box-Folder: 03-001
PHOTOGRAPHS: KOREAN WAR VETERANS' MEMORIAL
1988-1995, n.d. Box-Folder: 03-002
PHOTOGRAPHS: MILITARY SUBJECTS, KOREA, VIETNAM
1955, 1966, n.d. Box-Folder: 03-003
PHOTOGRAPHS, POSTER: CONCERNING MILITARY NURSING [3 OVERSIZE PHOTOGRAPHS SHELVED IN OVERSIZE COLLECTION 02-07-001 TO 02-07-003]
n.d. Box-Folder: 03-004
SCRAPBOOK
1945-48 Box-Folder: 03-005
ARTIFACTS: MEDALS AND INSIGNIA (6), NAME TAG, CLASS RING, CASSETTE TAPE INTERVIEWS: INCLUDING COLONEL FLORENCE A. BLANCHFIELD [11 December 2013, cassette tapes missing]
1968, n.d. Box-Folder: 03-006
Notes
Access
No Restrictions
Use Restrictions
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Preferred Citation
University of Virginia School of Nursing, Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry, Rosemary T. McCarthy Papers
Processing Information
Processed by Henry K. Sharp in 2012.