Barbara Summers, PhD, Oral History Interview, April 29, 2014
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Description
Major Topics Covered:
- The Nursing Congress
- Primary Team Nursing
- Professional Practice Mode
- Creating the Department of Nursing
- MD Anderson as a matrixed institution
Identifier
SummersB_03_20140429
Publication Date
4-29-2014
Publisher
The Historical Resources Center, Research Medical Library, The University of Texas Cancer Center
City
Houston, Texas
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Topics Covered
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas System. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute
Disciplines
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Oncology | Oral History
Recommended Citation
Summers, Barbara PhD and Rosolowski, Tacey A. PhD, "Barbara Summers, PhD, Oral History Interview, April 29, 2014" (2014). Interview Sessions. 198.
https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewsessions/198
Conditions Governing Access
Open
About the Interview
About the Interview Subject:
Dr. Summers (b. 4 March 1951, Aurora, Illinois) joined MD Anderson 1997 as clinical administrative director for the hematology clinical program. From 1997 to 2000 she served as the Administrative Director of the Department of Nursing. From 2000−2003 she served as Chief Nursing Officer and Associate Vice President of Clinical Programs. Since 2003 she has served as the Chief Nursing Officer and Head of the Division of Nursing. Dr. Summers is Professor and Chair of the Department of Nursing, a department she was instrumental in founding.
These sessions provide a detailed portrait of the activities of oncology nursing at MD Anderson and beyond as the field continues to define and theorize its contributions to patient care and healthcare institutions. Dr. Summers is deeply connected to MD Anderson. She is passionately articulate about the hope that the institution offers to patients and about the role that nurses serve in care.
Original Interview Profile #46:
Barbara Summers, Ph.D.
Submitted by: Tacey A. Rosolowski, Ph.D. Date: 10 May 2014
This interview with Dr. Barbara Summers (b. 4 March 1951, Aurora, Illinois) takes place over three interview sessions conducted in spring 2014 (for an approximate total duration of 3 hours and 50 minutes). Dr. Summers joined MD Anderson 1997 as clinical administrative director for the hematology clinical program. She is currently Vice President of Nursing Practice and also serves as the Chief Nursing Officer and Head of the Division of Nursing. Dr. Summers is Professor and Chair of the Department of Nursing, a department she was instrumental in founding. This interview takes place in Dr. Summers’ office in Pickens Academic Tower on the Main Campus of MD Anderson. Tacey A. Rosolowski, Ph.D. is the interviewer.
Dr. Summers received her BSN in Nursing in 1978 from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Continuing her education at the same institution, she received her MSN in 1981 in Advanced Clinical Practice and her PHD in Health Care Administration in 1995. Dr. Summers Just prior to coming to MD Anderson, Dr. Summers worked as a Nurse Specialist in the Department of Nursing at National Institutes of Health, Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland (1993−1996). From 1996−1997, she served as Manager of the Department of Nursing at that institution, during which time she was recruited to MD Anderson. From 1997 to 2000 she served as the Administrative Director of the Department of Nursing. From 2000−2003 she served as Chief Nursing Officer and Associate Vice President of Clinical Programs. Since 2003 she has served as Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer and Head of of the Division of Nursing.
In this interview, Dr. Summers traces the evolution of her thinking about nursing through her varied work and educational history: throughout, she comments on the evolution of nursing practice as a field and her own desire to have an impact at this level of professional practice. Her narrative of experiences at MD Anderson include detailed descriptions of the activities and structure of the Division of Nursing and her mission to develop not only nursing care at MD Anderson, but the stature of oncology nursing as a unique professional practice at MD Anderson. She speaks about MD Anderson’s Magnet designation, the Nursing Congress, Primary Team Nursing, and the Professional Practice Model, all which have evolved significantly under her leadership. She also tells how she created the Department of Nursing. Implicit in her discussions is the history of nursing’s evolution as a complex and autonomous professional practice (an important theme in the light of still-enduring notions that nurses are “doctors’ helpers.”)
This interview expands the understanding of the role of nurses and oncology nurses on patient care teams and in complex healthcare institutions. Her narrative provides a portrait of a woman who felt the impulse to lead very quickly and turned her skills to developing the practice of nursing. As her career has unfolded simultaneously with theoretical and practical advances in the field of nursing, her experiences provide a demonstration of evolution in the field. She also comments on her growth as a leader within different administrative structures: she provides insight into MD Anderson’s matrixed structure. These sessions provide a detailed portrait of the activities of oncology nursing, a field that continues to work to define and theorize its contributions to patient care and healthcare institutions. Dr. Summers is deeply connected to MD Anderson. She is passionately articulate about the hope that the institution offers to patients and about the role that nurses serve in care.