Evelyn Booker Wicker
Evelyn Booker Wicker, a North Carolina native, graduated from Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing in 1963 with a Diploma in Nursing. She went on to attain a BS in Nursing from North Carolina Central University, an MS in Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill and a PhD in Adult Education from North Carolina State University.
Dr. Wicker first began working at Duke University Hospital as a Staff Nurse in 1969 after several years of previous hospital nursing experience. In 1974, she became Supervisor of Ambulatory Nursing Services for Duke University Hospital, which included the management of nursing personnel and the oversight of appropriate delivery of patient care in a number of clinical departments. From 1978 to 1986, she was the Director of Nursing Services for Duke South Hospital which included supervisory capacity for all nursing services in Duke South Hospital. In 1986, she became Director of Nursing in the Division of Women’s and Children’s Health. From 1991 to 2000, she was Director of the Hospital Career Development Program at Duke University Medical Center Human Resources.
After leaving Duke in 2000, Dr. Wicker was an active lecturer, an educator in the Wake County Public Schools, a nurse consultant, and a Clinical Instructor at Wake Technical Community College. She has been active in the Triangle community and was the first nurse elected to serve on the Board of Health of Durham County. She has also served on the Association Board of the YMCA of greater Durham and the Black Achievement Advisory Board of the YMCA.
Dr. Wicker has given numerous presentations on nursing, leadership, and mentorship at national conferences, to the state government, and at Duke University Medical Center. She is the author of Voices: Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing, Durham, North Carolina, 1903, which offers a complete picture of the Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing as one of three strong nursing schools for African Americans in North Carolina, along with St. Agnes School of Nursing in Raleigh and Good Samaritan School of Nursing in Charlotte.
Interview
This oral history interview was conducted with Dr. Evelyn Booker Wicker on February 10, 2006 by Jessica Roseberry.