Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine - Synapsis Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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The year 1966 was marked by turmoil. The Vietnam conflict continued to grow uncontrollably. Scanty reports from Red China told of purges of anti-Mao factions. Africa was in ferment: Nkhruma was ousted from Ghana, Rhodesia cut ties with Britain, Verwoerd was assassinated in South Africa, and 7000 Ibo tribesmen were massacred in Nigeria. India was racked by famine and rioting, DeGaul ordered NATO out of France, and floods destroyed priceless art works in Florence and Venice. In the United States, the term Black Power came into being, and more cities were faced with riot- ing. In contrast to this destruction, Medicare, over the opposition of the AMA, came into effect, and several million senior citizens began reaping its benefits. The fantastic Project Gemini was completed when Lovell and Aldrin orbited the earth 59 times, linked up with an Agena rocket, and took the historic five hour space walk. Nineteen sixty-seven, the 25th year of the atom and many of our 25th birthdays, saw the war in Viet- nam brought home to our people. Boys died and parents asked why. Peace marchers vied with civil rights demonstrators for headlines. Rioting in the cities was again sporadically repeated; the Israelis conducted a successful six-day war against the Arabs; and, as if in response to madness, the Age of Psy- chedelia blossomed. Dr. Christian Barnard and his team performed a successful heart transplant in South Africa, McNamara quit as Defense Secretary, and Carl Sandburg passed away. As we entered our fourth and last year we were able to emerge for a brief glance at our surroundings. From our clinic booth or hospital assignment we found ourselves debating political issues and reacting emotionally to live war battles on television, to the surprise withdrawal of Johnson from the presidential race, and to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The world was once again becoming a real place wherein we would have to reside. A potential riot became a personal threat. Many of us were now married, buying that new car, having that long-awaited first child, and anticipating paying debts rather than incurring them. Not without some trepidation internships were chosen and impatiently awaited. With mixed feeling of exuberance over having attained our goal, and awe at the great responsibility in- trinsic to our new profession, we prepared to leave the Cloister and enter the world All this was before the home and oflnce, the pro-rated income, and the fourteen-hour work day. Very likely you. like (jthers before you, will one day ask when time slipped away. Reflecting on it you may even pull this dusty and well-traveled pea-green volume from some forgotten shelf. Then, on skimming these pages, semblance of an answer may be found. In the end, years from now, these pictures (some wanting focus) and words (some wanting objectivity) will recall, not without melancholy, the beginning. Hopefully you may be moved in all this retrcjspeetion to chuckle to yourself.

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This yearbook is the record of those ninety souls, known collectively as the Class of 1968, who chose to relinquish their identities, subdue their passions, delay their maturi- ty and, in many ways, divorce themselves from the external world in order to seek that Most Noble Title — Physician. There is no denying that total immersion in the subject matter was necessary; nor should we feel guilty about time and energy spent in pursuit of an adequate education — in classroom and laboratory, in hospitals throughout the city, and in the reading of texts and journals. This was required. This was our free choice. Yet in this period of concen- trated study we missed much. What happened during these four years of confinement? Most of our friends in the outside world were married, having their first child, and working on their second raise just about the time we were making our first big loan and stepping into that greatest of anxiety producers — the anatomy lab. Sep- tember of 1964 marked the onset of ten months during which we could do little else but keep up with the pace. Few took more than passing note of the fact that Johnson was re-elected president, that Dr. Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize, or that China exploded its first atomic bomb. More impor- tant were the arteries, veins, and nerves of the brachial plexus. We entered the second year with a much lighter heart and far less anxiety; yet the total commitment and high pressured study remained. Some of us actually began to enjoy the study of medicine. At the same time, however, we began to recognize and feel personally the sacrifices which are inherent in the life of both medical student and physician. Those who were married found perhaps that their wives were not willing to be cast off by that ever pre- sent mistress — medicine. Fathers becam e strangers to their children. The many single men of the class grudgingly recognized that little energy was left for the pursuit of a mate, let alone good times. Few friendships outside of classmates could be maintained, if for no other reason than lack of time. Most of us gave up completely any notions of keeping in good physical shape and few maintained an interest in the world outside the Cloister. For nostalgic reference on looking back over these four years, it might be of interest to enumerate some of the more moving events which passed us by, all but unnoticed. In early 1965, President Johnson reaffirmed our commitment in Vietnam and the war was escalated with the first air attacks on the north; U.S. troops were rushed to the Dominican Republic to prevent a communist takeover there; and in the summer, an event occurred which shattered the smug security of most Americans. An area in Los Angeles called Watts, little known outside of California, was completely devastated by race riots. On the other side of the world, Albert Schweitzer passed away, and far above us all, the two astronauts Grissom and Young orbited the earth in our first two-man spacecraft. Their televised take-off was viewed by mil- lions.

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