Duke University School of Medicine - Aesculapian Yearbook (Durham, NC)

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SURGERY Surgery applies the basic knowledge of the biologic sciences to the art of healing through an operative pro- cedure. The proper performance of the operation, with gentleness and dispatch and with strict attention to the principles of wound healing and to the altered physiology of the structures repaired, is essential. But the surgeon must first be a basic scientist and a physician. Ambrose Pare was one of the first to emphasize that knowledge other than of the technique of the operation was necessary for the surgeon, when, in closing his case reports, he frequently stated, 'Al dressed him but God healed him. Probably one of Iohn Hunter's greatest contributions to Surgery was his observation that the surgeon has no power to repair directly any injury and he must in all humility acknowledge that it is the pre- rogative of Nature to repair the waste of any structure. He must thus realize that it is his chief duty to under- stand and remove the impediments which thwart the efforts of Nature and thus, enable her to restore the parts to their normal condition. Advances in our understanding of the laws of Na- ture have been tremendous in recent years. It has been properly said that more has been added to the fund of human knowledge in the natural sciences in the past generation than had been amassed before in the whole history of mankind. This being the case, a surgeon must be constantly on the alert, as Lister was when he seized on Pasteur's discoveries, to apply this newer knowledge to his profession. Surgery is a very personal branch of the healing Art. The surgeon must establish a close relationship with the patient as he develops his diagnosis and prepares his V DR. GARDNER patient for the ordeal of surgery. He performs the opera- tion himself-and this consumes time and energy. After- wards, it is his responsibility to watch closely over the reparatory processes. This demands a continuing respon- sibility and a close association between doctor and patient which does not allow the surgeon to retire into his lab- oratory for long periods of uninterrupted study. If he does, he loses his operative dexterity or his zeal to leave a warm bed in the middle of the night to minister to an DR. BAKER DR. HUDSON DR. SEALY ZbUEHly'IWO

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DR. CALLAWAY DR. WYNG.8.ARDEN DR, NICHOLSON enjoy these learning experiences so much that he will continue them as long as he sees patients. We are not interested in covering the entire field of medicine. If one of our graduates meets a new problem, correctly identifies it and has pleasure in solving it, we are satis- fied. We are 11Ot concerned that a new area of knowl- edge is being explored without our guidance. In caring for our patients with ill-defined genetic and acquired differences and with many variables of unknown strength at play, many erroneous conclusions are drawn. The student has to learn to examine statements both oral and written with care and to ask for all authorities the source of data which underlie their conclusions. One way for the student to learn the difhculties in drawing accurate conclusions about biological systems is to give him the opportunity to establish some fact on the basis of his own work. We call this research and find it a very effective method of teaching. The intellectual dis- cipline involved better prepares him for the role of a lifetime learner. ..., .,,. ..... . W --H:--:rv ..... ......, ' ., :. - afar-afls 1 si A ' V E i 'f The health Held is a broad one. Anyone with intelli- gence enough to gain entrance to the Medical School can find an area where he can be happy and productive. We are interested in producing manpower for the entire field. We are not interested in molding our students into any single career in the health field. The faculty accepts the fact that our intake is heterogeneous and that our output will be heterogeneous. Our role is to iden- tify the area where the individual will be most produc- tive and happy, and to help him reach this goal. We will continue to produce general practitioners, specialists, administrators, research workers, biologists, government workers and various combinations. There is no special honor attached to any of these roles. Our primary in- terest is that our graduates are productive, and receive emotional and intellectual satisfaction from their work. EUGENE. A. STEAD, IR., M.D. Cfzairmcm of the Department Florence Mcdlistcfr Professor of Mealicine DR. RUNDLES DR. I'IEYlX'IAN DR, ROBINSON twenty-one

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DR. PICKRELL DR. GLExN DR. Onoxt emergency, and his powers of diagnosis and of decision may be blunted. These facts of life distinguish a surgeon from his medical colleagues. Indeed, in some localities, the lament is how to get the surgeon into the laboratory and how to get the internist back with the patient! The surgeon must keep one foot in the laboratory, for he alone can apply the discoveries in the biologic sciences in practical form to a surgical problem which the basic scientist has difhculty in understanding. It is this ability of the surgeon to seize upon the advances in the natural sciences and take them into his own labora- tory to test and apply to his own problems that has re- sulted in the phenomenal advances in surgery in recent years. Students must accept these facts. Learning to become a surgeon takes time. It requires thorough knowledge of the basic sciences, and understanding of the natural history of disease processes, and an ability to apply all of the newer knowledge in the natural sciences to surgical problems. It also requires knowledge of opera- tive procedures and manual dexterity and technical skill. The latter, though important, is subordinate to the former, and is learned during the period of postgraduate training. The former takes the longest to learn, indeed, its learning is a lifetime process. CLARENCE E. GARDNER, IR. Chairman of thc' Department DR, GREGG DR. STEPIIEN DR. AxnERsox tufenzy-zf11'fc'