SUNY Downstate Medical Center - Iatros Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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Speaking of Surgery, we cannot fail to pay the highest tribute to Dr Thomas M Brennan Dr Brennan IS an exception to the generality we remarked at the outset, namely that w1th the maturity and ripening of our wits and our judgment came a changing of views, of concepts, and of opinions about people and things The very first contact with Dr Brennan seems to strike a note of admiration, of interest, of respectful affection He at once wins the heart as well as the mind One finds that as time goes on, this opinion does not change or grow dim but with every contact grows stronger for Dr Brennan truly represents the aristocracy of the intellect, the quintessence of the gentleman scholar In describing the word gentleman, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, and lf finds Great usefulness here, It is a spontaneous fruit of talents and feelings of precisely that class who have most vigor, who take the lead in the world of this hour It is made of the spirit, more than of the talent of men, and 1S a com pound result in which every great force enters as an ingredient, namely virtue, Wlt, beauty wealth, and power And Oliver Wendell Holmes, in one of his beautiful sonners, seems to speak most eloquently for the consensus of student opinion about Dr Brennan Thoughtful in youth but not austere 1n age Calm but not cold, and cheerful though a sage, Too true to flatter, and too lxlfld to sneer, And only just, when seemingly severe, So gently blending courtesy and art That wisdom s lips seemed borrowing fr1endsh1p s heart We speak of lookmg back, of retrospecting, of reviewing the past Nowhere is one more rewarded in this than 1n ,ump1ng, in the mind s eye, the gap between the first and fourth years, a distance of three years chronolog1cally but for what it wrought in the evolution of a medical embryo, in terms of the evolution of man it spanned more than three generations Entering the race were a motley crew of uncouth creatures, each perhaps with a strange brand of char for somehow inadvertently and imperceptibly there creeps over the entering freshman the feeling that he has entered an 1nsr1tut1on and an organization where he IS asked to abide by everything, Question nothing and express no views The art1st1c eye could soon see this enter ing group as a collect1on of small soft particles, as motes of dust dancing quietly and harm lesslv in a sunbeam Anv professor who enjoys engaging a student in good natured and casual conversation while walkincf to and fiom the school, well knows that almost inspired reticencc. with wh1 h the student partitipatcs in the remarks and well recognizes that sort of expiratory grunt which IS meant as a little laugh of approval to almost everything which IS sa1d, whether it be funny serious, or of no consequence Any other response would probably be looked upon as a stroke of genius And ver in the space of those few short years, a Prognathus becomes an Apollo, and from the thorns there sprouts a rose Individuals evolve with personalities and radiance Thev did not evolve but rather emerge from under a cloak of 1nh1b1t1ons that made restraint appear like poverty of thought With the begmmnfr of the fourth vear and the splitting of the class 1nto small groups the pro ess of making these men of those mice had begun Fortunately for us, the faculty men who conduct the last mile, as it were, of this journey are men of the greatest brilliance, the most sterling characters and the highest eminence that the school can boast The p1ty IS that we do not meet them sooner CC011l772Zl66l7 011 Page 1785 Twenty and ' 9 , . ' . ' zz an ' ' u yr ' 7 1 . U Q ,I 7 - ' 7 U A 7 l 7 7 ' I - O ' I . . , . . . . , . acter, individualism, and ideals but, as a group, with not the slightest trace of anv of these W . - . . , A 4 . I . . , - 4 ' v A 7 . ' - 4 - . 5 - , 5 . . , . .C -I U g . 5 . . . v , ' . - , t A A v ' . . . H . . L4 I . 7 5 , -

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LICHONIAN ered his message, moved him as much as it did us. . . We might say of Dr. Oliver what Mitchell said of Sir John Hill, the poet-physician: For physics and farces, His equal there scarce is, His farces are physics, His physics a farce is. We were next to meet Dr. Jean Oliver. Whatever good may be said of any man, will never fail to find something of its counterpart in bad. Dr. Oliver was singular in this respect, for he has the distinction of winning the unanimous respect and admiration of every class that meets him. He represents a certain majestic grandeur of the intellect . . . honest, noble, and sincere. The clarity and methodical treatment of his lectures has become common knowledge at the college and the friendly sternness of his demeanor was very apparent . . . but through the rigidity of it all one noticed the signs of kindness, of friendliness, of indulgence. There was never a note of coercion, of iron-rule teaching in the conduct of his course and yet every class was aware of a self-imposed obligation to attend every lecture and note every word. And here both by similarity and contrast we are led to that other great luminary who was to help guide us through the remaining years of school. Again we speak of order and method when we come to Dr. Beck . . . order in lectures and in the conduct of a course . . . but here was an order that was unmistakable and stern. An order that must be accepted, an order that made conformists of us all, for a hundred distinct and different personalities quivered and shivered as one. For non-conformity the world whips you with its displeasure. And therefore a man must know how to estimate a sour face. It took three years to learn how to estimate Dr. Beck. Though never, as time went on, did one catch a note of friendliness or humility of spirit, it became increasingly evident to us that Dr. Beck submerged any softness or flexibility in his carriage in order to be certain to attain results with those he taught. That he accomplishes this has become an aphorism. He has succeeded in making of obstetrics almost the every thought of the conforming student, a place it does not hold in many another eminent medical school. With us it is our joy and pride as well as our misery and apprehension. It was from the very first that we came to know Dr. Warren, and had many a contact with him through our three years. With his passing, little has been left unsaid of his greatness. He was truly a great man and a source of inspiration to many a student who listened attentively to his wisdom and watched, wide-eyed, his handling of patients while attending them. Vigor, enthusiasm, keen penetrating eyes, a springy step, and an alert mind were the attributes in Dr. Warren that the student noted and hoped to emulate. In his passing we sustained a great loss. Our third year surgery was enlightening and presented a contrast of two great personali- ties . . . the one, stately, tall, well-dressed, brilliant . . . the other, jovial, short, stout, neat, and abounding in experience . . . Dr. Goetsch and Dr Barber. Here again it took time and maturity for us to thoroughly evaluate these two men. In the third year we were as ready to be amused as taught, with the result that we realized both. As time went on and the medical embryo mind evolved to greater maturity in the fourth year, the former junior regard for Dr. Goetsch turned to senior respect, esteem, and admiration. For not only did he dignify the bedside clinic with his appearance and not only did he inspire clarity in thinking, but he also flavored the moments by an occasional jest, which demonstrated a more than usual sense of humor and ability to amuse. Twenty

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LICHONIAN THE SENIOR CLASS PAYS TRIBUTE T0 ALFRED C. BECK An Inspiring Teacher A Splendid Physician And A Staunch Friend