American College of Surgeons - Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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GENERAL SURVEY CLOSELY related to the advance made by the medical profession during the last decade is a movement initiated by the surgeons of this continent which finds its expression in the American College of Surgeons. This College is not a teaching institution. It is a society, or a college in the original sense, whose reason for existence lies in its disinterested and unselfish efforts to elevate the standards of the profession, moral as well as intellectual, to foster research, and to educate the public up to the idea that there is a difference between the honest, con- scientious, well-trained surgeon and the purely commercial operator. It aims to include within its Fellowship those surgeons who are competent in the science and technique of surgery, and who have in them that moral timber which characterizes a fine conception of public service. The College developed directly out of a consciousness within the Clinical Congress of Surgeons, first, that such an organization would serve to inspire genuine advance, not only on the human or moral side of the practice of surgery, but also on the side of the art and technique; and, second, that it would serve as a safe-guard to the public in the matter of honest and competent practice of surgery. In the minds of these men the motive was to foster high professional ideals in medicine and to instruct the public as to what these ideals mean. This motive in November, 191 2, found its first constructive expression. The Congress, at that time, appointed a committee to consider the advisability of organizing the College and it further empowered this committee to proceed with the organization if, after a thorough survey, such a step were deemed wise. The personnel of the committee was Edward Martin of Philadelphia, Emmet Rixford of San Francisco, John B. Murphy of Chicago, Rudolph Matas of New Orleans, Albert J. Ochsner of Chicago, Charles H. Mayo of Rochester, Minn., Frederic J. Cotton of Boston, George Emerson Brewer of New York, J. M. T. Finney of Baltimore, W. W. Chipman of Montreal, George W. Crile of Cleveland, and Franklin H. Martin of Chicago. President ' s address by Dr. J. M. T. Finney, November 13, 1913. I

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XIV American College of Surgeons William M. Harsha . Thomas W. Huntington Chevalier Jackson . Charles E. Kahlke . Allen B. Kanavel William H. Keller Edward L. Keyes, Jr. Robert Grier LeConte Bransford Lewis Dean Lewis Lawrence W. Littig . Fred B. Lund . Frank W. Lynch . K. A. J. Mackenzie . Archibald MacLaren Arthur T. Mann . Frederick W. Marlow Edward Martin . Frank Martin Franklin H. Martin. Chicago San Francisco Chicago Chicago Chicago Tacoma New York Philadelphia St. Louis Chicago Davenport Boston Chicago Portland St. Paul Minneapolis Toronto Philadelphia Baltimore Chicago Charles H. Mayo William J. Mayo . Robert E. McKecknle James F. McKernon . Lewis S. McMurtry . Floyd W. McRae . . Frederick Menge E. E. Montgomery James E. Moore . William H. Morley . Harvey G. Mudd . John B. Murphy . Franklin S. Newell Edward Hall Nichols Herbert S. Nichols . George Henry Noble A. J. Ochsner . Horace Packard . George E. Shambaugh Myles Standish . . Rochester Rochester Vancouver New York Louisville Atlanta Chicago Philadelphia Minneapolis Detroit St. Louis Chicago Boston Boston Portland Atlanta Chicago Boston Chicago Boston

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2 American College of Surgeons Without delay, the committee thus appointed took up its task with great earnestness. It sought the advice and guidance of the surgeons of this continent who stood out preeminently as leaders in each of the divisions of surgery. Especially did it seek counsel of the professors of surgery among the stronger medical schools. In March, 1913, so abundantly was the committee assured of the approval and support of these men that it issued a call for a meeting of the organization to be held in Washington on May 5, 19 13. About five hundred surgeons were invited to this meeting and at the appointed time most of those invited were present. The purposes of the proposed College, as stated in the call, were as follows, — 1. It should formulate a minimum standard of requirements which should be possessed by any authorized graduate in medicine who is allowed to perform, independently, surgical operations in general surgery or any of its specialties. 2. It should consider the desirability of listing the names of those men who desire to practice surgery and who come under the authorized requirements. 3. It should seek the means of legalizing under national, colonial, state or provincial laws, a distinct degree supplementing the medical degree, which shall be conferred upon physicians possessing the requirements recognized by this law as necessary to be possessed by operating surgeons. 4. It should seek cooperation with the medical schools of the continent which have the right to confer the degree of M.D. under the present recognized standards, and urge these colleges to confer a supplementary degree on those of its graduates who have, in addition to their medical course, fulfilled the necessary apprentice- ship in surgical hospitals, operative laboratories, and actual operative surgery. 5. It should authorize and popularize the use of this title by men upon whom it is conferred, and its use should especially be urged in all directories of physicians in order that the laity, as well as medical men, may distinguish between the men who have been authorized to practice surgery and those who have not. At this meeting in Washington the College was legally organ- ized. By-laws, rules, and regulations were adopted after due consideration, and the Board of Governors, the Board of Regents, and the officers of the College were elected. But, more than this,