The Virginia C. Dericks Papers include a small group of biographical materials and publication reprints, but the vast majority of the papers concern Dericks' academic and professional interests. These include research projects and course notes; materials for the development and maintenance of professional standards, best practices, and definitions; public and professional talks; and patient care strategies. Six folders of the Dericks Papers contain restricted materials which require, prior to consultation, Institutional Review Board certification. These concern a mastectomy patient care study; interviews with colostomy patients; and patient correspondence, referrals, and lists.
Virginia C. Dericks, M.A., R.N., (ca. 1919-2010), was a professor of surgical nursing, a public health nurse, and a clinical nurse consultant, with a specialization in ostomy care and rehabilitation. She held academic and professional positions at the City University of New York, New York Hospital Medical Center; the Westchester County, New York, Department of Health; and the American University School of Nursing, in Washington, D.C. Dericks received a diploma in nursing from the St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1939. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing education and a Master's in medical-surgical nursing in 1943 and 1947, respectively, at the Teachers College, Columbia University. Dericks had numerous publications to her credit, including both professional nursing journal articles and informational booklets and materials for patients, and she maintained membership in numerous professional associations for Nursing, in general, and more specifically in ostomy and oncology societies. She was a much beloved colleague and mentor.
The Dericks Papers are organized by general subject category. Biographical items and publications come first, followed by Cancer Nursing, Chronic Disease and Rehabilitation Nursing, Clinical Nurse Specialist materials, Mastectomy Patient Care, Nursing Rounds, Ostomy Care, Patients, and Surgical Nursing. The restricted folders are separated at the end of the papers.