ECU’s Country Doctor Museum selected for program to increase impact, visibility
Miles from campus in rural Nash County, East Carolina University’s Country Doctor Museum holds keys to eastern North Carolina’s history in health care. The museum has been selected to participate in a program that will boost its ability to share this valuable historical information with visitors.
The Country Doctor Museum has been named to the 2023 cohort of the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community. The Country Doctor Museum, a medical history museum located in Bailey, North Carolina, is managed by ECU’s Laupus Health Sciences Library and is one of 79 museums from across the country to participate in the 2023 national program.
The Country Doctor Museum, located in Bailey, North Carolina, is managed by East Carolina University’s Laupus Health Sciences Library. The museum was selected as a member of the 2023 cohort of the Museum Assessment Program. (Contributed photos)
Since its inception in 1981, MAP has helped more than 5,000 small and mid-sized museums strengthen operations, plan for the future and meet standards of excellence. With five types of assessments available, more than 60% of AAM-accredited museums have participated in the program. By participating in MAP, museums often gain clarity on an institutional roadmap or strategic plan and see positive impacts to their visitor experience or community response to their museum. They also increase their ability to identify their strengths and challenges, and gain valuable assistance with updating museum policy, successes in fundraising and other benefits.
Country Doctor Museum Director Annie Anderson is pleased to take advantage of this opportunity to improve museum operations.
“I am excited for our museum to participate in the MAP organizational assessment,” Anderson said. “Our team here at the Country Doctor Museum and at ECU’s Laupus Library looks forward to working through this yearlong process to learn how we can make the museum stronger and more responsive to our guests.”
Established in 1967 as one of the first museums in the country dedicated to the history of rural medicine, the Country Doctor Museum was donated to the ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation in 2003. The museum is managed as part of the health sciences library’s Collections and Historical Services Department. The Country Doctor Museum continues to honor the work of rural physicians and hopes to enlighten and inspire guests about the rich history of health care in rural America.
To participate in the Museum Assessment Program, museums choose from one of five institutional assessment types: organizational, collections stewardship, education and interpretation, community and audience engagement, or board leadership. All five assessment types are grounded in AAM’s core standards; are inclusive of diversity, equity, access and inclusion issues as they relate to the assessment focus; help museums look at both functional and strategic aspects of their operations, and present focused learning modules and action plans for the museum; and include a peer-reviewed site visit. More than one-third of participating museums found the experience so valuable that they returned to participate another time in the Museum Assessment Program.
MAP is supported through a cooperative agreement between the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the American Alliance of Museums. Read more about the Alliance’s Museum Assessment Program and Continuum of Excellence. The AAM is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, the AAM champions museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.
The Country Doctor Museum is located at 7089 Peele Road, Bailey, NC, 27807. For more information on museum programs, call 252-235-4165.
The Country Doctor Museum featured a nursing display this year as part of efforts to educate the public on the history of health care in eastern North Carolina.